A recurring theme this year in PEO Insider® has been the collaborative nature of the PEO business. In this, NAPEO’s 30th anniversary year, the magazine has dedicated two regular columns—“#napeo30” and “PEO Spotlight”—to the history of both NAPEO and the PEO industry. Their development has progressed hand in hand, as NAPEO has provided a nexus for people in the PEO business to gather, network, and learn from one another. In this last feature of 2014, PEO Insider brings together five up-and-coming industry leaders for a snapshot of the industry yesterday and today, current challenges, and what they see in the future. As always, we have no intention of leaving you out—you get to be the “fly on the wall,” listening in as these five PEO professionals talk in-depth about everything from the state of the industry today, present concerns, and the business environment, to emerging issues, growth, and the future of the PEO industry.
If you have been selling in the PEO business longer than about five minutes, you have likely heard the objection: “That’s what I do” or “That’s what Jaimie does and we are not going to fire Jaimie.” Who is Jaimie and What Do You Need to Know? Jaimie is a gender neutral and generic name (used by this author) to identify the person(s) in a prospect’s organization who handles the transactional aspects of human resources, workers’ compensation, employee benefits administration, and payroll-related activities.
These are certainly high times for marijuana proponents across the country. Close to half the states in the U.S. have some form of medical marijuana law allowing people to acquire and ingest weed legally, provided they have a doctor’s permission. Voters in Washington, D.C., Oregon, and Alaska, recently approved recreational pot possession and use by adults, joining Colorado and Washington. What does this mean for PEOs? Basically, if you don’t already operate in a state where worksite employees can legally smoke weed, you almost certainly soon will. If you haven’t yet encountered a situation in which a worksite employee tests positive for marijuana during a workplace drug screen in a state where he or she can legally ingest pot, it’s only a matter of time until you do. So, how should you handle the complicated problem of legal pot in the workplace?
Fast on the heels of November’s mid-term congressional elections, several federal agencies issued a spate of new guidance regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA). One of these pieces of guidance is a set of three new frequently asked questions, or FAQs, from the departments of Labor (DOL), Treasury, and Health and Human Services (HHS) addressing the treatment of defined contribution health arrangements under the ACA. This will have significant implications for PEOs and their worksite employers and employees, so it is important that PEOs carefully review and understand the contours of this new round of guidance.
In 2014, NAPEO’s legislative and regulatory efforts led to the enactment of PEO-favorable legislation and the defeat of legislation that would have had a negative impact on the industry in areas including regulatory modernization, workers’ compensation, and unemployment insurance.
To cap off NAPEO’s 30th anniversary year, PEO Insider® posed this question to members: What do you think the PEO industry will look like in 30 years (one generation from now)? We asked people to be creative, and answer from their own vantage points in the industry—HR, benefits, legal, risk management, C-level, technology, operations, or as a service partner—or for the industry as a whole.
The PEO Employment Index continues to show growth this quarter, although the robust 17 percent annual growth rate of the index for the past five years seems to moderate slightly this quarter.
The Roman god Janus, for whom January is named, had two faces, one looking back, and one looking forward. As we begin a new year at NAPEO, it is an apt metaphor—to look back on what we accomplished in 2014 and forward to how we plan to build on these successes in 2015.
Q. Can employees override their employers’ objections to guns on work premises? A. Yes.
With another year coming to a close, it’s time for us to reflect on our goals, measure our achievements, discuss our shortcomings—and raise a toast to the excitement and opportunities of 2015. For me professionally, this time of year means reflecting upon the end of NAPEO’s three-year strategic plan.
Strike up a conversation about intellectual property (IP) at a party and you’ll likely find yourself standing alone. Though it may seem like an abstract concept to some, IP plays an essential role in our culture and economy by driving innovation, protecting consumers, and supporting everything from music, cinema, and sports to health, tech, trade, and more.
What do you do for work—I don’t get it. What is a PEO? Do you just run payroll for small businesses? These are questions people in the PEO industry are asked every day. I can say with confidence that in 10 years, this will not be the case.