The PEO legal and regulatory environment is like the 24/seven news cycle: the flood of information never stops. You can check any time of the day or night, any day of the week, and there will be something requiring your attention.
Surely, there can’t be that much news to fill so much time. The fact is, there is. Just like the torrent of never-ending Internet and cable reports, there are new stories every day, but at the same time, the news may not always be new—it’s often a rehash of previous news. And, the news may not always be complete—it’s frequently an announcement about forthcoming or developing news. The difference is, however, that PEOs need to pay attention to rehashed news and incomplete news as well as the latest developments, because every little regulatory change matters, and it often takes time to prepare for forthcoming changes.
Jet-Pro PEO recently entered a partnership with the Independent Fixed Base Operators Association (IFBOA) to provide their member companies with access to Fortune 100 benefits, HR, payroll, and healthcare reform-compliant solutions.
Non-profits don’t have to pay overtime. Interns can file for you all summer and you don’t have to pay them a dime. Your receptionist is an exempt employee because she went to college and if you go to college, you don’t have to punch a clock. Seriously—it’s true! I read it on the Internet.
So, your PEO has entered into a contract with a new client. Congratulations! But, you have also acquired a number of silent business partners—the many regulatory agencies and regimens you must now address. One of the biggest and newest is the Affordable Care Act (ACA). A big issue under the ACA is how to address healthcare coverage responsibilities that may arise when a PEO co-employs a new client’s staff.
There are numerous challenges in owning and operating a business, not the least of which is existing and pending government regulations. Not only is an individual business affected by various regulations, but so are all the businesses associated together within a defined industry. Understanding the varied profiles and differing needs of the stakeholders and other audiences is crucial. In this article, I will present my observations about an individual PEO’s approach to having an effective government affairs strategy.
As NAPEO Chairman Mark Perlberg notes in his column this month, PEO market share has hovered between 3 and 5 percent for many years now. Despite the PEO value proposition and the important services provided by PEOs, moving beyond the 3 to 5 percent barrier has proved challenging.
Pretty much everyone who was in the PEO industry throughout the 1980s and early 1990s has a war story about state government affairs in the industry’s early days. Bob Burbidge, president of Genesis HR Solutions, Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts, has several, in fact.
After several years of an essentially upward trajectory, the PEO Index turned decidedly negative in the first quarter of this year. Despite a seasonal propensity to indicate a decline in the first quarter of past years, 2014 was more pronounced.
May was a busy month around NAPEO, as it seemingly grows into a permanent condition. As I write this, I have just returned from our small business focus groups in Dallas, Texas.
Q. Our group health plan charges a tobacco premium surcharge but allows avoidance of the charge if at enrollment or re-enrollment the participant agrees to take and complete within the plan year an educational program to cease smoking. If one of our participants (a smoker) initially fails to enroll in the tobacco cessation program but enrolls mid-year, is he entitled to avoid the surcharge?
From the earliest days of our industry (even when it was called staff leasing), people who understood the true value of the co-employment concept (before it had that name) were drawn to PEO. Entrepreneurs in related industries heard about it and wanted to join the initial “pioneers.”
The surge in commercial activity that will be made possible under major trade deals that the United States is negotiating with key global partners may seem worlds away for the average small business or consumer.
While it doesn’t seem like Congress can get anything done, the Obama administration has been aggressively moving forward on regulations and executive orders, especially in the areas of workplace, labor, and safety standards.
NAPEO’s effort to introduce and pass federal legislation has definitely been a long haul on a very long and winding road. Many NAPEO members are aware of the effort to move what is now known as the Small Business Efficiency Act (SBEA), but may not be aware or don’t remember the genesis of the legislation. Let’s review.