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  • The IRS Form 941, also known as Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, was scheduled to change in June 2022. Previously, Form 941 was only updated in March for the first quarter reports. Now, the IRS has extended it to the second, third, and fourth quarters.

    Employers use Form 941 from the IRS to report income taxes, social security tax, or Medicare tax withheld from employee’s paychecks. Without this report, the IRS would not know if you deposited your employment taxes on time.

    Changes To Form 941-X

    The new report, Form 941-X, only has two worksheets that must be turned in versus several forms needed to be submitted for Form 941. The IRS also updated changes to Form 941-X to match the changes from Form 941.

    How GMS Can Help

    Dealing with taxes can be complicated and can take away focus from your business. Outsourcing payroll administration will provide you with a team of experts by your side to give you dedicated support, proprietary technology, and operational efficiencies. Contact us today to learn how you can benefit from partnering with a PEO for your payroll needs. 

  • The announcement that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade has prompted employers to revisit their employee benefits. This new court ruling declares that the federal constitutional right to abortion no longer exists. It ends federal protections and leaves the decisions up to each individual US state. Abortions will be rolled back in nearly half of the states immediately, with more restrictions to follow.

    To learn more about handling Roe v. Wade discussions in the workplace, check out our blog.

    Employers’ Responses

    In response, several companies released statements reaffirming their commitment to helping employees access health care services they may not be able to obtain in their state. The following are just some of the companies that have revisited their employee benefits/policies:

    • Starbucks
    • Tesla
    • Dick’s Sporting Goods
    • Patagonia 
    • Microsoft
    • JPMorgan Chase
    • Disney

    The companies above, along with others, have created policies covering expenses for travel if an employee were to need an abortion for various reasons.

    Prior to this overturn by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) conducted a survey taken by HR professionals. The following are key findings:

    • 32 percent of employers provide paid time off to access reproductive care.
    • 18 percent allow unpaid time off to attend marches, protests, demonstrations, and similar events to support reproductive rights.
    • 5 percent provide travel expense benefits outside of a health savings account (HSA) for employees to access abortion and reproductive services that aren’t accessible in their state of residence. 
    • 4 percent offer company matches for employee donations to groups that support reproductive rights. 

    What Impact Will You Have?

    As we continue to learn more about the impacts the overturn will have on individuals, it’s essential to make sure your employees feel heard. What steps will you take as a business owner to ensure your employees feel valued during challenging times? By partnering with GMS, our experts can update your employee handbook with new policies. In addition, we provide businesses with various tools and resources to find a coverage solution tailored to your needs. Interested in learning more about how GMS can be a resource to you? Contact us today.

  • Companies have been forced to review their emergency plans and create anti-violence training as a result of several factors. With the recent spike in shootings and other acts of violence affecting workers, protocols must change. If you add that to an increase of employees returning to work following the COVID-19 pandemic, you might need to reconsider your emergency action plans to reduce workplace violence.

    Workplace violence is “violence or the threat of violence against workers. It can occur at or outside the workplace, ranging from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicide, one of the leading causes of job-related deaths.”

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires workplaces to have an emergency action plan to facilitate and organize employer and employee actions during workplace emergencies. Did you know, on average, nearly two million U.S. workers report being a victim of violence at work? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the annual number of workplace homicides is nearly 400.

    How Employers Can Protect Their Employees

    Employers must establish a zero-tolerance policy toward workplace violence against or by their employees. If you do not already have a workplace violence prevention program set in place, consider doing so immediately to ensure the safety of your employees. Another option is to add a new section to your employee handbook regarding workplace violence. It’s imperative that the policy is clear and understood by all employees so that if an accident occurs, all workplace claims are investigated and dealt with promptly.

    In the event of workplace violence, take the following actions:

    • Encourage employees to report and log all incidents and threats of workplace violence. 
    • Provide prompt medical evaluation and treatment after the incident. 
    • Report violent incidents to the local police. 
    • Discuss the circumstances of the incident with human resources.
    • Offer stress debriefing sessions and post-traumatic counseling services to help employees recover from a violent incident.
    • Investigate all violent incidents and threats, monitor trends in violent incidents by type or circumstance, and institute corrective actions. 
    • Discuss changes in the program during regular employee meetings. 

    Create A Plan Before It’s Too Late

    At GMS, the safety of our clients is at the top of our priority list. Our experts create and update our clients’ emergency action plans with the latest laws and regulations. Furthermore, HR experts at GMS enhance your employee handbooks to ensure that your employees are protected and adhere to a zero-tolerance policy for workplace violence. Don’t let your employees be at risk. Contact us today.

  • Anthem, a large health insurance company, and Northside, an Atlanta hospital system, go head-to-head in a legal controversy in Georgia’s Supreme Court that could impact the state residents’ healthcare.

    In May 2021, Anthem decided to terminate Northside from its network due to the Atlanta hospital system billing overwhelming funds to Anthem. According to Insurance Newsnet, “One legal issue centers around the definition of “public health emergency.” That is because the General Assembly passed a law during the 2021 session prohibiting insurers from dropping health-care providers from their networks during and for 150 days after a “public health emergency.”

    A public health emergency, as declared by the city, the state, or the Federal Government, is an occurrence of a threatening illness or medical condition caused by an epidemic, pandemic, or an infectious agent. In the lawsuit, representatives of Anthem and Northside argue for different definitions for a public health emergency. Anthem argues for a “narrow” definition of a public health emergency meanwhile Northside argues for a “broad” definition of a public health emergency.

    What This Means For Georgia Residents

    It is possible that both parties may not be able to negotiate and reach an agreement, affecting Georgia Residents. With the extension of this case in the state Supreme Court, a decision will be made within the next six months. A public health emergency dispute that cannot be resolved affects state residents not only disrupts medical treatment but the collapse of healthcare facilities and systems, use of prescribed medications, and disrupts health surveillance and programs.

    How GMS Can Help

    Here at GMS, we have experts to assist with any healthcare inquiries you may have. Having an expert team by your side can be extremely beneficial for you and your employees. Let us assist in finding you the best healthcare plan, so you can focus on growing your business. Contact us today!

  • Chicago, Illinois is now requiring employers to update their employee harassment policies and training. These policies must be implemented by July 1st, 2022. All companies with at least one employee will be required to comply with the new amendments put in place by the Municipal Code and Human Rights Ordinance. Within these changes, sexual harassment posters, policies, record keeping, and mandatory workforce training must be implemented.

    What Employers Need To Know

    By July 1, employers must have each of these amended policies updated in their handbook. Within their policies, it must state that sexual harassment and or retaliation against a reported allegation are illegal within the state of Illinois. More required adjustments include:

    • Updated state definitions of harassment 
    • Annual employee training
    • Implement a reporting system with applicable forms 
    • Recordkeeping alleged claims 
    • Provide government services 

    Additionally, Chicago employers are required to display new posters in one or more common areas. New posters have been published by the Chicago Commission on Human Relations in a Spanish and English version.

    What is The Policy 

    Sexual harassment policies must be made available in employees’ primary language. Chicago legislators expanded the definition of sexual harassment, which states, “Sexual harassment means any (i) unwelcome sexual advances or unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature or (ii) requests for sexual favors or conduct of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment; (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for any employment decision affecting the individual; or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment; or (iii) sexual misconduct, which means any behavior of a sexual nature which also involves coercion, abuse of authority, or misuse of an individual’s employment position.”

    Prevention Training

    The training must now include one hour of sexual harassment prevention for all employees. However, this is extended for supervisors and managers, which provides a second one-hour bystander training. These trainings are required to be completed by June 30, 2023, and again annually.

    The state provides pieces of training through CCHR modules which will be in effect by July 1. However, employers can make changes or develop their own related to their industry.

    Failure To Implement 

    Employers must establish a system to retain the proof of completed courses. In addition, they must also have records showing they remained compliant in adapting the policy changes to their business. Failure to maintain records may result in fines up to $1,000 per day. Fines for violations of sexual harassment within the workplace have increased to $5,000 – $10,000 per violation.

    How GMS Can Help

    As a business owner, implementing changing regulations can be overwhelming. When you partner with GMS, you can ensure your business will remain compliant. In the event of rapid regulatory changes, our HR experts will always keep you up to date and handle your business’s adjustments with ease. Contact GMS today to learn more!

  • While low-code platforms may seem confusing at first, they are simply types of visual software development environments that allow enterprise developers and citizen developers to drag and drop application components, connect them together and create mobile or web apps. In the past year, low-code development has grown more than 20%. HR industries and departments are slowly converting their technology toward low-code programs. According to SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), “A low-code development platform requires users to have little or no coding experience. When used at the workplace, the platform allows non-IT employees to build custom applications with a graphical user interface. Employees who have little understanding of coding can build modern websites and mobile apps while also applying business logic.”

    The worldwide development market for low coding was $13.8 billion. In 2022, a survey conducted by Gartner estimates that low-code revenue will rise to $16.8 billion with an increase of over one percent the following year.

    How Low-Code Can Change HR Functions

    HR leaders can save time and money since they do not have to pay a software engineer for simple problems or changes to an application. Low-coding can help with recruiting, hiring processes, training, payroll, requests for paid time off, and vacation requests. Since low-code programs require little to no experience in coding, this growing market is a trend that everyone wants to be a part of.

    By implementing low-code software within your HR department, you can integrate HR with other departments. It also allows your team to build applications faster if needed. Using low-code software can streamline workflow and allow management teams to evaluate their teams more effectively.

    The Future Of Low-Code Software

    Using low-code applications in the HR industry allows employees to make the application unique to them. Furthermore, co-employment companies that offer HR services customize the application to meet the needs of their clients. Companies such as Microsoft and Amazon have already stepped in to make their own version of a low-code application. Other HR vendors that are converting to low-coding include Salesforce and Oracle. Last year, Salesforce introduced its next-generation Salesforce Platform, which includes a low-code development tool that gives employees the opportunity to create apps on a single platform.

    Low coding has a variety of different ways it can integrate into your everyday workflow. Additionally, it makes it possible for employees and clients to create their own paths in this rapidly growing age of digitalization.

    How GMS Integrates Low-Code

    At GMS, we understand how important it is for clients to tailor their own unique plans to fit their needs. We offer a variety of HR services that allow you to remain in control while creating a customized program that benefits your employees. Contact us today to learn more about the HR services we offer and how they can fit into your business.

  • Considering the recent healthcare regulations, now is a better time than ever to consider a self-funded health plan. Self-funding your health insurance is a long-term strategy to save money, gain total control over your plan, and may offer immediate savings.

    It is a common misconception that self-funded health plans are only advantageous for large employers. In a traditional self-funded arrangement, small employers weren’t able to absorb the risk of becoming self-insured due to potential losses. By self-insuring your plan coupled with a stop loss policy (also known as a catastrophic policy), you mitigate your financial risk while allowing your plan to reap all benefits. Stop loss policies allow employers to evaluate potential savings and maximum exposure by becoming self-funded. Prior to stop loss insurance, the potential savings were estimated, and max exposure was unknown.

    Group Management Services offers stop loss insurance that allows small employers to be rated on their own medical applications while experiencing savings due to our economies of scale. This means we can offer lower stop loss premiums due to our volume, but your premiums aren’t affected by other plans should they not do as well as yours.

    Image of a business owner who switched to a self-funded health insurance plan.

    Various Benefits Of Self-Funding

    • Transparency. Self-insuring allows employers to view all costs paid by the plan.  These costs include fees for administration, broker, network access, and actual claims data. This knowledge allows employers to accurately evaluate their costs, and identify the areas they can potentially save more money.
    • Tax. Self-insured plans are not subject to premium taxes.
    • Use of capital. Rather than paying your monthly premium to a fully insured carrier, self-funding allows you to hold a good portion of this capital. Let’s say your plan has an annual premium of $250k with your fully insured carrier. By switching over to a self-funded plan, your total annual premium costs have now decreased to $60k with a max claim liability of $180k. This means you are now only paying $5k monthly in premium (instead of $20k with your current carrier), and funding claims up to a max total of $180k throughout the year. Since your max out-of-pocket by being self-funded is only $240k (premium plus claim liability), you’re already guaranteed to save $10k. The $180k in claim liability stays in your bank account, allowing employers to utilize this capital until needed to fund claims.
    • Pay only for actual claims; not the total expected claim level from a fully insured carrier. On a fully insured plan, you know you’re paying the total monthly premium regardless of claim experience. If your self-funded plan runs extremely well throughout the plan year, any amount left over in your claim liability is additional savings to the plan. If your plan only experiences $120k in claims, the $60k left over in the claim fund is additional savings for your plan. Does your fully insured carrier offer you a refund at the end of a good plan year? If they do, are they keeping a percentage of your savings?
    • Limit the surprises. Fully insured plans don’t typically notify the employer of high claims until the renewal period. By that point, you can anticipate a heavy increase due to claim experience. Self-insured plans allow for employers to be notified of plan expenses on a weekly basis throughout the year. This is extremely valuable for plans to know if an early renewal is beneficial and other options to assist the employer and the members.
    • Let us share the risk. By offering stop loss insurance on your plans, GMS has every incentive to properly monitor your claim volume and accuracy. We are responsible for reimbursing your plan for all claims paid over your maximum liability. Therefore, we work closely with employers and their members to keep costs in line.
    • Tailor the plan design. Self-funding allows employers to decide what plan options are most advantageous for their members without having to pay for unnecessary add-ons.

    Enjoy the Benefits of Self-Funding

    Self-insuring your health plan provides a copious amount of advantages, allows you to effectively evaluate costs, and offers substantial savings. The figures used in the example provided are from an actual proposal to one of our clients. Don’t take my word for it; the numbers speak for themselves. Contact us today to speak with our experts to learn more about a self-funded plan.

  • House Bill 6173 has been recently introduced to the public. If this bill gets passed, it will end the immunity that was granted in 2020 legislation that stated:

    “An employer is not liable… for an employee’s exposure to COVID-19 if the employer was operating in compliance with federal, state, and local statutes, rules and regulations, executive orders, and agency orders related to COVID-19 that had not been denied legal effect at the time of the exposure.”

    Michigan lawmakers will be considering this bill that will ultimately, expire the legal immunity given to employers who follow workplace safety regulations and whose employees contract COVID-19.

    Stay In The Know

    Since the beginning of COVID-19 in 2020, business owners have always been on the lookout for ever-changing laws and regulations. Let GMS experts keep you up-to-date on these laws so you don’t have to. Learn more on how GMS can help you and your business.

  • As the U.S. continues to experience rising inflation, there is immense pressure for business owners to increase employee wages. As of June 10th, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reported the inflation rate reached 8.6 percent

    The Continued Workforce Shortage 

    The gap between job openings and available workers has continued to widen. The unemployment rate within the U.S. hit over 5.5 million in the month of April. This equates to two jobs per every unemployed worker. The continued pressure on wages has created an increase in the consumer price index (CPI). The CPI has risen to over 8.5% — biggest price 12-month increase since 1981. The labor shortage combined with inflation has become detrimental for businesses.

    The Rising Cost 

    Workers have begun taking advantage of the tight labor market. Despite the unemployment rate falling in recent months, the U.S. is still enduring a major gap. As inflation continues to rise, employee take-home pay holds less buying power. The recent surge in inflation leaves employees desiring more wages and benefits. As a result, employers are now offering increased compensation in hopes of attracting top talent, while remaining competitive. 

    According to SHRM, the average budgeted salary in 2022 climbed to 5.2 percent, compared to 4.5 percent last year. Many companies must adjust where budgets are typically set in advance. To keep key employees, some businesses are planning a midyear pay increase and salary adjustments – in addition to annual raises. While employers continue increasing salaries to retain their top talent, they must implement changes to attract new talent.

    Employee Benefits Options

    One way to remain competitive within the current market is to offer perks beyond salary adjustments. Companies are providing remote working options, providing gift cards to their employees for gas and groceries, and increasing bonus opportunities. Other organizations are offering additional perks such as student loan reimbursement, daycare options, or fertility benefits. These investments have a payoff as employees want to feel supported and appreciated.

    How GMS Can Help

    Due to rising inflation, it is vital for employers to remain competitive. When you partner with GMS, our HR experts can help you attract and retain top talent. Along with providing you top-of-the-line benefits, while ensuring the lowest rate. Our team supports your business through all unprecedented times and ensures your business has all the tools to remain competitive and successful. Contact us today to learn more.

  • Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, business operations have never been the same, and workplace cultures continue to evolve. Employees transitioned to working from home and having to adapt to a new way of doing business. In fact, many employees working from home claim they feel more productive, maintaining a robust work-life balance.

    However, it might not be as glamorous for the employer. There has been a rise in employee lawsuits demanding reimbursement for expenses acquired while working from home during the pandemic. Remote workers say that their employers have a legal obligation under state law to reimburse them for work-related expenses.

    Employees are requesting reimbursement for the following:

    • Cellphone
    • Internet
    • Supplies
    • Utility bills
    • Home office stipends 

    What This Means For The Future

    Finally, after two-plus years in a pandemic, business owners have requested that their employees return to the office. However, hiring new employees is at an all-time high. As a result, keeping and attracting quality talent is essential for the growth of one’s business. Since working from home is popular among employees, offering it as an option for employment will attract top candidates. 1,700 workers were surveyed, and the results showed that 48 percent of the workers said they would seek a remote position for their next job.

    With these lawsuits in many states, it’s vital that you observe what your employees want and how to create a solution that benefits both them and your business.

    Currently, no federal laws require you to reimburse your remote workers unless the expenses drop below the employees’ minimum wage. A 2022 survey showed that 62 percent of organizations currently offer employees reimbursement for at-home office or work equipment. For employers that offer reimbursement for business expenses, utilizing expense management software can help streamline the process. Employees are able to itemize and upload receipts directly into the system for the administrator’s approval.

    Should you choose to reimburse your remote workers, ensure you are clearly defining your reimbursement policy. Keep a file of every expense and reimbursement to avoid disputes in the future. An expense report system is an additional tool that will allow you to track all business-related purchases including travel, gas, meals, hotel and lodging, and more for a simplified expense reporting process.

    Protect Your Business

    In today’s unprecedented times, it’s difficult to stay on top of your daily tasks while wearing multiple hats. How can you be proactive and create future plans at the same time? When you partner with GMS, our experts are there to guide you through challenging times and ensure you stay compliant, all while keeping your employees happy. Our HR experts will work with you to update your employee handbook to ensure there are no discrepancies between what your employees may expect versus what you offer. We take on the administrative burdens, so you don’t have to. Contact us today.