Nearly all of us have filled out a job application at some point in our lives, but for certain industries or companies, recruiters or hiring managers may wonder whether requiring applications is really necessary. Even if you’re in a unique industry or operate differently from a normal company, however, we’re here to lend you a major tip: Job applications are beneficial for several reasons, and you should almost never consider eschewing them for any reason.

At WTA Inc., we happily assist numerous clients with recruitment and hiring solutions, along with numerous other HR services in Salt Lake City. We’ve been asked plenty about certain scenarios where avoiding job applications or simply not requiring them for an open position is a viable option – generally speaking, unless there’s some sort of planned internal promotion taking place here, this is not the way to go. This two-part blog series will look at all the different ways job applications benefit not only the applicant, but also the company doing the hiring.

Keeps You Organized

For starters, many processes companies take to fill their open positions will involve seeing a large number of applicants – and job applications are an ideal initial way to separate them into various bins based on qualifications, years of experience, education and more. Having the ability to quickly look up and reference this information for all your applicants will make numerous parts of this search simpler and easier.

In fact, many hiring managers have begun requiring job applications in an online format as a way of standardizing their internal records. With basic hiring software, this method allows even simpler computerized tracking of all your applicants and their qualities, plus the ability to make notes for each candidate during the process.

Limits Bias, Encourages Diversity

By requiring all job applicants to complete the same application with the same information on it, employers help themselves encourage diversity while also being compliant with equal opportunity employment laws. If you use only resumes, or if you go only by word of mouth or references, you risk unconscious bias in the hiring process that will not only damage your ability to find the best candidates, but also often break laws.

Limiting Liability

In addition, a job application signed by the applicant becomes a legal document that gives the employer recourse later on if it’s found the applicant (or employee, if hired) falsified any information. In other situations, this application can be used as consent for background checks or employment verification. On top of this, you also limit your risk of discrimination claims by emphasizing key at-will and equal employment policies on the application itself.

For more on why it pays to require job applications for all open positions regardless of circumstance, or to learn about any of our human resources or other services in Salt Lake City, speak to the staff at WTA Inc. today.

In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some basics on how employers should be navigating the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine landscape. Specifically, can employers require the COVID-19 vaccine for employees who work in close proximity with others? Can employers face liability suits or related risks if they allow non-vaccinated individuals to work alongside potentially at-risk people?

At WTA Inc., we’re happy to help with a variety of these and other HR needs, from employer liability management services to hiring, payroll services, worker’s compensation and many other areas. While part one of our series mostly went over the normal approach to vaccines during public health issues, today’s will focus on certain laws and regulations specific to the COVID-19 vaccine situation many employers will be entering in the near future.

2009 EEOC Guidance

In 2009, the US Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance known as the Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act. These sets of guidelines contained several specific areas, but the ones pertinent to this conversation surround potential pandemics.

Specifically, both the ADA and Title VII prevent employers from compelling employees to be vaccinated for influenza regardless of their medical condition or medical beliefs. This prevention even extends to pandemic situations.

2020 EEOC Changes

In March of 2020, however, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the EEOC updated its Pandemic Preparedness for the Workplace guidelines. They stated a few things here:

• The EEOC stated that the COVID-19 pandemic met the ADA’s “direct threat standard,” which allows for more extensive medical inquiries in the workplace than the areas we went over above would have allowed. That is, having someone in the workplace with COVID-19 or its symptoms creates a “significant risk of substantial harm” to others in the workplace.
• As a result of the above, employers have been able to put medical testing in place in the workplace that would not otherwise have been acceptable, such as temperature testing.
• In addition, the EEOC noted that during March, no vaccine was available for COVID-19 – now that such a vaccine is available, many expect the EEOC to further update these guidelines for mandatory vaccinations. Until then, employers should follow present guidance for any vaccine plans.

State Laws

Finally, employers must follow any state law that’s more stringent than federal law when it comes to employee regulations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention keep a list of various vaccination laws throughout states that helps employers understand exactly how they may have to alter their program here, specifically for laws related to healthcare workers and educational requirements.

For more on employers and mandatory COVID-19 vaccination, or to learn about any of our human resource services, speak to the staff at WTA Inc today.

For all of us around the world, recent positive developments regarding the COVID-19 vaccine are fantastic news, signaling our best method yet for fighting this disease. At the same time, employers and HR staffs around the country are asking themselves similar questions, generally focused around one primary query: Can and should we require employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine when they are eligible?

These and many more are the kinds of issues we assist with at WTA, Inc. We cover a variety of human resource services, including employer liability management and several others that might be involved in the topic we’re discussing here. While there’s still a bit of time here, as it’s not expected that the vaccine is available to the general public for at least another few months, many businesses are already looking to prepare here, including looking into vaccination laws for their state and the role these might play. This two-part blog series will go over all the ins and outs of this important question from an HR perspective.

COVID and Vaccines

There remains significant debate regarding vaccines, and this is at the heart of many of the issues we’re discussing here. There are a wide number of people who report that they will not get the vaccine immediately upon it being released, whether due to fears of safety or other concerns.

Naturally, this is of particular concern to employers. There could be issues on both sides of the coin: Can employers mandate COVID vaccines, or are they infringing upon personal rights? If they cannot mandate vaccination, are they putting other employees at risk by allowing non-vaccinated people into the workplace? This could turn into a somewhat fraught issue in many cases.

Comparison to Recent Vaccines

For those who have been employers or in the HR world for any significant period of time, this potential issue may look familiar. For many years, there’s been push and pull on whether employers can require the flu vaccine among their employees.

This issue is usually relatively straightforward: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits religious discrimination in the workplace, and this is the top reason many employees resist the flu vaccine. However, this law states that the employer must accommodate religious employees in this way only if doing so requires a minimal cost to the employer – in the case of COVID-19, where non-vaccinated employees may risk the safety of others and may cause significant impacts on the workplace as a whole, the argument can easily be made that this is not a “minimal cost,” and therefore that the law will be different in this case.

In part two, we’ll go over some other laws that may be more prudent for COVID-19 specifically. For more on this or any of our payroll services or other HR solutions, speak to the staff at WTA Inc. today.

In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some of the basics on the “Final Rule” and Fair Labor Standards Act, and how these relate to exempt and non-exempt employees. The FLSA plays a big role here, and those recent changes also made some significant alterations to how exemption works within many businesses.

At WTA, Inc., we’re here to provide numerous payroll and tax-related services to our clients, including assistance with all FLSA or employee exemption needs or determinations you may face. Today’s part two of our series will get a bit more specific, looking at some of the tools you can use to determine whether an employee is exempt, plus some examples of special scenarios where exemption comes into play.

Tests to Determine Exemption

There’s a simple way to remember the most basic difference between exempt and non-exempt employees: The former are those who cannot be paid overtime, while the latter can. Exempt employees are paid via salary, not hourly, while non-exempt employees get an hourly wage and can enter into overtime anytime they exceed 40 hours worked in a week.

However, simply relying on a job tile or similar description is not enough to determine exemption. Rather, you must use the “salary and duties” test, which involves confirming that an exempt employee receives at least $684 per week (or $35,568 per year) – if the employee is below this, they are non-exempt. In addition, exempt employees must meet certain job duties standards, including meeting FLSA guidelines for administrative, professional, computer or outside sales exemptions based on duties. If these are not met, even an employee over the requisite weekly compensation level will be considered non-exempt.

Specific Examples

There are a few situations where exemptions become a tricky game. Here are a few examples to be aware of:

• Vacation: If a non-exempt employee takes a vacation or sick day within a week, these days do not count as work days when calculating overtime.
• Leaving early: If a non-exempt employee leaves work early for any non-work-related reason, they do not have to be paid for a full day and will not count a full day for overtime. For exempt employees, however, a full day’s pay will be required here.
• Comp time: Employers who run compensatory time policies, allowing employees who go over their number of regular hours in a work week to take those hours off as comp time later on, may run into to some issues with the FLSA. Non-government employees must be paid in money here, and time off in exchange for cash is not allowed for those in the private sector. However, if a non-exempt employee in a different field normally works below 40 hours in a given week, but exceeds their regular number while not exceeding 40 hours in a given week, they may be eligible for this kind of comp time.

For more on exemption status, the FLSA and other related payroll areas, speak to the staff at WTA, Inc. today.

For business owners, payroll staffers and many others, overtime is a major consideration. And within the last year and a couple months, significant changes have taken place to the way employers are able to classify overtime and employees who qualify.

At WTA, Inc., payroll services and related tax areas are some of our most commonly-requested human resource services. The areas we’re discussing here are generally governed by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which is run by the Department of Labor. This two-part blog will dig into these standardized bodies and rules, plus the major changes that have recently taken place and how businesses can go about understanding which of their employees do or do not qualify for exemptions.

Fair Labor Standards Act

For many years, salary thresholds that dictate exempt or non-exempt employees have been governed by the FLSA. Essentially, it states that under a certain threshold of weekly earnings in a given position, employees must be considered non-exempt from overtime and paid overtime funds for any hours they work over 40 in a single week.

The major recent change? That weekly threshold, which we’ll discuss in our next section.

2019’s “Final Rule”

In late September of 2019, the Department of Labor under acting US Labor Secretary Pat Pizzella announced an update to the FLSA that’s been termed the “Final Rule” in some circles. This rule took effect to begin the 2020 calendar year and remains so, and states that the threshold number for employee exemption increased from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $684 per week ($35,568 per year). Anyone earning under this amount must be considered a non-exempt employee where overtime is concerned.

Exempt vs Non-Exempt Employees

So what does this really mean? Essentially, it refers to the fact that exempt employees cannot be paid overtime even if they work well over 40 hours in a week. These are salaried employees who will receive the same pay weekly regardless of their workload, without any hours tracked – on the flip side, hours are tracked for employees under this level.

Here are the current regulations for the FLSA with regard to exempt and non-exempt employees following the September 2019 changes:

• The above numbers we listed, which are considered “white collar” exemptions, require exemption thresholds to increase significantly.
• Total annual compensation requirement for “highly compensated employees” has moved from $100,000 to $107,432.
• Employers are able to use various incentives and bonus pay, such as commissions, to clear up to 10% of their standard salary level.
• There are also exemptions from overtime pay for people employed as executives, administrative officials, outside sales or certain others, or for specialized industries.

In part two of our series, we’ll go over some specific examples and formats for understanding which of your employees are exempt or non-exempt.

For more on any of our human resource services, from tax and payroll to worker’s compensation and many others, speak to the staff at WTA, Inc. today.

In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some general tips and themes for HR teams or hiring managers looking to infuse more diversity into their hiring processes. Workplace diversity, which includes areas like ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status and others, is very important across numerous industries, and has only grown in importance in recent years.

At WTA, Inc., we’re happy to help with a wide variety of human resource services, from employer liability and worker’s compensation to hiring and recruitment areas and many others. What are some of the other steps you can take as an HR staff or hiring manager to increase diversity within your hiring practices? Today’s part two of our series will go over these.

Eliminating Screening Bias

We talked about eliminating pathways to bias in your job sourcing approaches in part one, and similar themes apply to screening – only on perhaps an even larger scale in some situations. There are many forms of subconscious bias that can make their way into the screening process, whether it’s gender-based, ethnicity-based or several others.

For many in HR, unconscious bias training is a specific program to help limit these risks. Other workplaces take very specific steps in terms of how candidates or resumes are labeled, including deleting names, labeling with numbers rather than names, or removing addresses to ensure there’s no bias based on socioeconomic status.

Artificial Intelligence

One modern tool at your disposal for helping limit bias and related areas: Artificial intelligence technology, specifically within your applicant tracking system. These systems are designed to make the hiring process simpler, but they also contain several valuable tools for limiting bias.

Consider the halo effect, a well-known term in HR that refers to a damaging assumption that if someone is good at one thing, they will naturally be good at others. In hiring, this effect can take place on either end of the spectrum based on how much an interviewer likes or dislikes the applicant – AI, however, can interact with applicants while ignoring any subconscious discriminatory factors that may have informed that like or dislike.

No “Tokens”

One of the worst things a business or hiring group can do when narrowing down candidates for a given posting: Include a single “token” minority just for looks. This may be one woman among several men, or perhaps one ethnic minority among several white applicants.

Sadly, research has shown that more often than not, this “token” description proves correct. While a slate of two men and two women as job finalists will lead to about a 50-50 gender split in final hiring, a slate of three men and one woman leads to nearly a 0% chance the single woman will be hired – she will be viewed as “token” and not taken as seriously. Wherever possible, look to balance finalist slates.

For more on increasing diversity in the hiring process, or to learn about any of our HR services, speak to the staff at WTA, Inc. today.

Within numerous areas of business human resources, particularly recruitment and hiring, diversity is a vital theme. Workplace diversity includes varying ethnicities, genders, socioeconomic states and other variables, with research showing repeatedly that diverse teams foster innovation and productivity across numerous industries.

At WTA, Inc., we’ve assisted numerous clients with recruitment and hiring solutions along with our other human resource services, which include payroll, worker’s compensation claims and many other areas. In this two-part blog series, we’ll take a deep look into several of the themes we often recommend to recruiters and hiring managers when it comes to promoting and increasing diversity in the workplace.

Sourcing Processes

The first major step here for many recruiters or hiring managers involves increasing the diversity potential in the pools from which job candidates are drawn. There are several ways to do this, and one of the top methods involves evaluating the language being used in job postings – and the places they’re posted in.

For instance, you want to use welcoming words like “join” or “collaborate” rather than “lead” or other forceful terms. You should also be sure jobs are posted in several different forums, including those you know feature the sorts of candidates you’re looking to attract. Proactivity is never a bad thing here.

Job Requirement Alterations

Most businesses have long been including statements regarding equal employment opportunity in their job postings, often required by law, but it’s important not to stop there. While writing such postings, it’s also vital to think about the requirements and other variables being listed, and how these will impact those who read them.

Take a requirement like years of experience, for instance, which many companies have begun to minimize on job postings for several reasons. One is the way it may impact different groups in varying ways: Research has shown that women are more likely to only apply for a job if they meet 100% of the posted requirements, whereas men will apply more often even if they only meet a majority of the criteria. Leaving out these kinds of arbitrary benchmarks in several areas will help you attract a more diverse range of applicants.

Current Employee Networking

One excellent source of diverse talent for your business will often be current employees. Many of the best hiring managers and recruiters set up easy-to-use employee referral programs that offer incentives to employees who recommend friends, family or others who end up hired.

If you create such a program, or simply canvass employees for suggestions regularly, be sure to emphasize that the company desires employees from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. Promote diversity here, and the results will speak for themselves.

For more on increasing diversity in recruiting and hiring, or to learn about any of our human resource services, speak to the staff at WTA, Inc. today.

Within the realm of human resources for business, one of the single most important areas is payroll services. And within this broad area, a factor that’s seen some recent changes relates to hourly employees who qualify for overtime, plus exemptions involved in this process for certain employees.

At WTA Inc., we’re proud to provide a wide range of human resource services, including payroll services and several related areas. When you hear a business professional or HR team member talk about exempt versus non-exempt employees, what are they talking about? And how do recent changes from the Department of Labor play a role in this area? Here are some basics to understand.

What Exemption Means

As we noted above, exemptions in this scenario speak to whether a given employee is eligible for overtime payments. Exempt employees are those who are not subject to overtime hours or tracking, usually on a salary, and they must typically meet the following conditions to qualify as exempt:

• Paid at least $35,568 per year, or $684 per week, as of January 1, 2020.
• Paid on a salary basis rather than hourly.
• Performs exempt job duties, generally including high-level areas. Definitions here come down to actual responsibilities and duties, not job titles alone – services may be provided to clients, businesses, corporations or even government agencies. More information on exemptions can be found here.

Non-Exempt Employees

Non-exempt employees, then, are those who are paid by the hour instead of on a salaried basis. In such cases, any employees who work above 40 hours in a given week will have the right to claim overtime and receive time and a half pay for these hours.

Recent FLSA Changes

Everything we’re discussing here is governed by the Department of Labor, or DOL, and as we’ve alluded to previously, there have been some major recent changes in this realm that are worth discussing. Namely, the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, has been updated as of the beginning of the 2020 calendar year. The FLSA is the document governing overtime pay and exemptions, plus several other important areas. Some of the changes include:

• “White collar” exemptions, which we discussed above, increased from $455 per week to $684 per week.
• Total annual compensation requirement for salaried employees in the “highly compensated” category rose from $100,000 to $107,432.
• Employers now have the ability to use bonuses and incentives (such as commission) to account for up to 10% of a standard salary level for a given employee.

There will also be specific exemptions for workers in certain industries, which has always been the case under the FLSA.

For more on overtime and exemptions, or to learn about any of our worker’s compensation, employer insurance or other HR services, speak to the staff at WTA Inc. today.

In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some general tips on how businesses and HR teams can manage remote work situations during the COVID-19 outbreak. Many workplaces remain primarily in work-from-home situations, while others may be partially transitioning back to normal.

At WTA, Inc, we’re proud to offer a wide range of HR services, from payroll services to worker’s compensation claims management, employer insurance and numerous others. What are some of the top themes HR pros and business owners should be keeping in mind during these unique remote work periods? Here are a few additional areas to consider.

Responsiveness and Availability

Throughout these periods, it’s important for managers and HR staff to be available despite the lack of physical proximity to many employees. Using communication channels like email, phone and Slack, such individuals should remain directly connected to daily processes and employee needs.

Even in cases where online communications are building up, do not ignore outreach attempts from employees or colleagues. If you need more time, acknowledge receiving the communication and inform the party you haven’t yet had time to handle their request.

Flexibility Where Possible

It’s important to understand that for many employees who are working remotely, this is their first time ever in such a situation. They may not be used to some of the processes that need to be used during this time, or may have challenges with software, online platforms and related technological needs.

It’s vital for managers and HR pros to be flexible and patient during these situations. Anticipate the occasional hiccup and be prepared for them, including preparing solutions for common problems like internet connectivity or others workers at home may experience. Don’t get frustrated or annoyed with those who take a bit longer to adjust than others.

Encourage Collaboration

Collaboration is always important within many workplaces, and this remains the case even when everyone is working from home. Collaborate using tools like Slack and Zoom meetings, allowing employees to continue completing projects in many of the same ways they’re used to. If you involve new software in this effort, remember it will take some employees time to adjust.

Trust Employees

Finally, trust is a central factor in remote working arrangements. Managers and HR staff must strike a careful balance between supervision and overbearing attention – you don’t want to control employees as much as you want to inform them of realistic expectations, then trust them to meet these with light supervision and monitoring. Focus more on output and productivity than the exact amounts of time put in or how long tasks take.

For more on how HR teams and management groups can manage remote work situations, or to learn about any of our HR services, speak to the staff at WTA, Inc today.

During the recent COVID-19 outbreak that’s swept the globe, numerous businesses have transitioned partially or fully to remote work. Telework is not a new theme, one that many companies have taken advantage of for years, but it’s currently being used by many businesses or managers without much experience in this realm.

At WTA, Inc., we offer numerous human resource services for businesses, ranging from risk management to worker’s compensation claims, employer insurance, payroll services and numerous others. In this two-part blog series, we’ll give you the HR professional’s take on remote work situations and how companies should manage them, including some valuable tips to keep workflow high and retain all your business’s original qualities despite this disruption to normal work.

Strong, Consistent Policy

For starters, businesses who moved to remote work within the last couple months should have already established a strong teleworking policy for all employees. This is particularly important for employees who have never worked from home before, but should be reinforced even to those who have.

One major theme to consider here even if you already put a policy in place: It may need to be altered as the months go by – you may, in fact, already be at that point. The first few weeks or months are a great chance to evaluate remote programs and tweak them in simple ways to improve efficiency and satisfaction. In addition, as certain workplaces in some areas of the country are able to return employees to the office, you’ll need a current plan for this re-integration.

Proper Equipment

If you’re asking employees to work remotely during this crisis without their quality level suffering, you need to also provide them with the proper equipment to do so. This can be a challenge for larger offices and workplaces, particularly those who utilize laptops, videoconferencing and related technology often.

For this reason, responsive and high-quality IT teams are vital for larger businesses. These departments will take on a far larger role during remote work periods, assisting employees with their issues without being able to see their hardware.

Schedules and Interaction

It’s important that despite employees working from different locations, general schedules and interactions are maintained. Regular meetings should continue via Zoom or other technology – some companies may even add certain brainstorming sessions or others that might have otherwise been carried out in-person to the average daily schedule.

In addition, management and HR staff should regularly reach out to and stay in communication with employees. This is not only for regular check-ins on productivity and workflow, but also for personal support and answering any questions employees may have about the shifting situation. For more on managing remote work situations from an HR perspective, or to learn about any of our HR services, speak to the staff at WTA, Inc. today.