2025 W-2 Forms are now available in your GMS Connect employee portal here.

Request a call Login

  • Employment Practices Liability Insurance is an often overlooked form of insurance coverage for small business owners, and many do not realize its significance until it’s too late. EPLI protects employers from employee liability damages and defense costs from claims brought by any employee alleging claims such as sexual harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination, and retaliation.

    Image of a costly lawsuit that could have been prevented with Employment Practices Liability Insurance.

    Who Needs Employment Practices Liability Insurance?

    We live in an increasingly litigious society and employers must do everything they can to protect what they have worked so hard to build. The most vulnerable companies to an EPLI lawsuit are new or small businesses, typically due to the lack of handbooks and a legal department.

    The EPLI policy provided by GMS to its clients covers four major areas of concern: Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Wrongful Employment Actions, and Retaliation. There are many subcategories to these titles that are ever increasing as employment law develops in the courts. Examples are wrongful termination, defamation, invasion of privacy, malicious prosecution, wrongful demotion, or failure to employ, promote, train or enforce workplace policies and procedures. 

    The Claims Journal provides a list of the top trending EPLI claims as of 2014:

    • Genetic Discrimination: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Information Act prevents companies from using genetic information to influence hiring decisions. 
    • Pregnancy Discrimination: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act prevents employers from any negative action taken as a result of an employee’s pregnancy.
    • Illegal Background Checks: Employers must notify candidates of the request in writing and notify them that the results will factor into their employment decision.
    • Unpaid Interns: The Department of Labor set standards for whether it is acceptable to have unpaid interns. If they are simply performing the tasks of a paid employee without any educational element, the DOL has deemed that they require monetary compensation. 

    The Cost of a Lawsuit

    Many fail to understand that their existing general liability insurance policies will not cover them in these events. The effects of these lawsuits can be financially catastrophic for a small business owner.

    Recent studies show the average cost to simply defend your company against a suit is $45,000. They go on to state that even though 75 percent of these are found to be “groundless.” the rest have an average jury award of $342,000.

    How GMS Can Help

    The GMS EPLI policy has a $50,000 deductible, with the first $25,000 responsibility on the client. There are specific notice requirements that must be met in order to trigger the coverage. A GMS client must advise its assigned account manager of facts or circumstances which may reasonably be expected to give rise to a claim. It has been our experience that swift fact finding and analysis by our HR professionals and legal counsel can effectively diffuse a claim before it becomes a matter that needs referral to defense counsel.  GMS will counsel the client to either fight the claim or negotiate a proper resolution where warranted. GMS has often shielded its clients from spending needless sums in legal fees and expenses through risk management services.

    As you can see, it’s of the utmost importance to make sure you are covered against such allegations. Contact GMS today to see how we can make your business simpler, safer, and stronger.

  • Happiness can be very lucrative for a business. Unfortunately, unhappy employees can hurt bottom line and make it harder for businesses to grow. Employee morale can be affected by a number of factors, including work conditions, coworkers, and personal matters, but regardless of the reason, disengaged workers can lead to future issues for business owners.

    Image of an unhappy employee.

    How Unhappy Employees Can Hurt Your Business

    Unhappy employees cost businesses a lot of money. Gallup found that actively disengaged employees cost U.S. businesses roughly half a billion dollars per year, affecting everything from small businesses to large corporations. 

    These losses can come from a variety of reasons, ranging from small offenses to serious problems. On the lower end, a disinterested employee can skirt their responsibilities. This can result in a loss of productivity due to a lack of motivation and happiness. In extreme cases, the employee may start to even steal from the company. Either way, your company gets hurt.

    What Happy Employees Can Do

    While unhappy employees can cause serious financial damage, happy employees are a boon to business. Studies have shown that actively engaged, happy employees are more productive than normal workers, making for better results for their bosses. Happy employees also have less incentive to leave their jobs, which can benefit your business since employee replacement can be quite costly.

    What You Can Do About Unhappy Employees

    Sometimes it doesn’t take much to inspire some unhappy employees. Good benefits and opportunities can be enough to support your workforce. It’s also important to hire people who make sense for your company and fit into your company culture. Initiatives like a workplace wellness program can also help your employees improve the quality of their lives – and potentially their happiness.

    These are all services that a Professional Employer Organization can provide for your business to help support your workforce and strengthen your business. Contact us today to talk to an expert at GMS about how improved HR functions and benefits can improve company morale.

  • Employers often wonder if a wellness program can truly fit into their workforce demographic. Every employee’s needs can vary depending on their job description and working environment. Nowadays, this could mean work that is sedentary office-based, labor intensive, extended shifts, travel, working from home, and more. The good news is that there is a way to provide specific information to any diverse demographic. 

    Image of a diverse workplace with a workplace wellness program.

    Health Risk Assessments are beneficial for employers.

    Data gathered from Health Risk Assessments can provide employers the most accurate analysis on the health status and health risks of their employees. According to an article in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, “Health Risk Assessments originally were designed to predict the probability of common causes of death based on an individual’s lifestyle and biometric risk factors.” With time and continued research, health care providers have found these assessments to provide so much more. 

    On an individual level, it can provide specific data based on their self-report of health history and status. On an employer level, it can help provide structure and specific information in all future efforts made with worksite health promotion. If employees are willing to participate in an HRA, the next step is to adopt a worksite wellness program to address those modifiable health risks among the workforce.

    What is a Health Risk Assessment?

    An HRA may consist of several different components. Its primary form involves a questionnaire about an individual’s health history and health status. After that, it may be accompanied with a Biometric Screening that may include blood pressure, height, weight, body mass index, cholesterol, or glucose testing. Participation of an HRA is completely voluntary, but when paired with a specific type of Workplace Wellness Program, it can be made mandatory.

    What good comes from knowing the risks of your population if nothing is implemented to help improve those specific risks?  

    Federal regulations do apply when collecting such personal information. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “medical information obtained by any program may only be provided to the employer in aggregate terms that do not disclose or are not reasonably likely to disclose the identity of any employee.” Collected information must be kept confidential, secure, and separate from all other employment records and you must stay in compliance with federal, state, and local laws.

    How can a Wellness Program help tackle health risks in your workforce?

    A wellness program can offer several different services, which can positively influence your employee’s health and overall well-being. Some examples of these services include:

    • Health risk assessments
    • Health screenings
    • Lifestyle management services
    • Lunch and learns
    • Disease management services
    • One on one communications
    • Monthly newsletters
    • Informational meetings
    • Exercise demonstrations

    What research has found is that the delivery of healthcare information needs to move outside of the clinical environment to reach and influence a larger population, such as schools, work, community based organizations, etc. 

    After an organization adopts a healthier outlook, the next step is to provide ongoing support for those individuals, which is exactly what a wellness program can provide for you.  Contact GMS today to learn more about setting up a Workplace Wellness Program for your employees.

  • As your business grows, so will your team. Adding new employees is a big part of any business, but it can be a problem if you hire new people when your business isn’t ready to take on more staff. Here are some things you should think about when you’re considering hiring additional employees.

    Image of a new hire. Learn about hiring tips from GMS.

    Good Timing

    Before you go and start hiring people, you should ask whether or not it’s a good time to do so. The hiring process can take weeks, so it’s important to time up new additions to the team. If you’re looking to fill a position right away, start your search now. If you want to time it up with a seasonal change or so that you aren’t training right during busy season, adjust your hiring search appropriately.

    Money

    Once you’ve determined that it’s a good time to hire new employees, you should think about how this move will affect you financially. An important factor to consider is if you can afford to hire someone. If you don’t have it in the budget to do so and there aren’t any indicators that business is trending up, it may not be in the cards to hire at that moment. However, if you can justify that bringing in additional help can drive revenue, then hiring is still an option.

    There are also some hidden costs of hiring that you may not expect, such as the time you’ll have to invest in employee interviews and training for new hires. You’re going to want to spend enough time finding and developing the right team, so make sure that you’re prepared to set some time aside to do so.

    Promote or Hire?

    Not all hires need to be done outside of the company. Depending on the opening, it may be beneficial to promote someone else at the company if they’re qualified and willing. This can lead to lower hiring costs and less time dedicated to training. However, some positions may not be easily filled without outside applicants. Consider each position and see which approach best fits your business’ needs. 

    Are Your HR Functions in Place?

    Growing a business is exciting, but it can also lead to more HR responsibilities. That’s why Professional Employer Organizations like Group Management Services offer ways to work with you to strengthen your HR functions while your business grows. Contact GMS today to talk with one of our experts about employee training and recruiting and other important services.

  • The United States Construction Industry is sure to face some changes in the coming year, with the change of leadership and direction of the country. Regardless of your position, there has been a push for investment in this country’s infrastructure on both sides of the aisle.

    President-elect Trump has mapped out a $1 trillion infrastructure plan with the help of Economic Advisors Peter Navarro and Wilbur Ross. They have broken down a 10-year plan, with the focus of funding coming from private entities. The idea is for these revenue generating projects (i.e. Utilities, toll roads, airports…etc.) to provide tax credits to the private investors to be counterbalanced by the employee and company taxes generated from these projects.

    All parties have agreed on the need for investment into our infrastructure, which in turn, should generate more jobs in the construction industry across the country. That being the case, there are HR issues that need to be addressed through the industry to aid in this growth.

    Image of a construction worker. Contact GMS for help with HR issues in the construction industry.

    Top Issues Facing the Construction Industry

    1. Recruitment: According to a 2016 National Survey by the Associated General Contractors, two-thirds of contractors are having a difficult time finding qualified craft workers to keep up with the demand.
    2. Workers’ Compensation Costs: In this high risk industry, employers are finding it difficult to maintain reasonable premiums for workers’ compensation coverage. In March of 2015, workers’ compensation costs comprised 3 percent of overall compensation versus a 1.4 percent average for all occupations.
    3. Safety: In 2014, 1 in 5 U.S. work related fatalities across the country were in the construction industry, at an average rate of over 13 deaths per day. 
    4. Worker Classification: There has been a trend of companies misclassifying workers as independent contractors to avoid having to pay Overtime, Federal Unemployment, as well as Social Security and Medicare Taxes. The penalties include the Department of Labor being able secure unpaid wages, penalties for failure to withhold taxes, as well as other punitive damages.

    Many employers do not have the time or resources in order to effectively manage all of these areas. One way you can help combat these issues is by outsourcing all of your HR functions to a Professional Employer Organization. At Group Management Services, we have the experts to help make sure you are protected. Whether it is through recruiting, risk management, or competitive benefits plans, we have the ability to make your business simpler, safer, and stronger. Contact GMS today to learn more!  

  • One of the largest contributors to mental health problems in the workplace is stress. Not only are mental health issues difficult to recognize, we also cannot assume an employee’s stresses from everyday life are checked at the door when they arrive at work every morning.

    Everyday life stresses coupled with the pressures that work brings could be detrimental to both the employee and the business. This can have serious impact on an employee’s overall health and employers must take the appropriate steps to protect both the employees and the business.

    Image of a stressed out employee.

    Stress in the Workplace

    This begs the question, how can stressed out employees affect a business? Several factors combine to impact the business negatively:

    • Poor performance
    • Increased human error
    • Mental lapses
    • Lack of motivation
    • Workplace accidents

    These factors combined could determine the employee’s likelihood to quit or could end up being the reason for their termination. The resulting increase in turnover costs a businesses, and even the economy, a lot of money. 

    Workplace stress, according to Dr. David Posen, “is costing the American economy hundreds of billions of dollars each year in lost productivity and health care expenses.” Beyond the workplace effects, the stress and mental health issues could have serious physical implications on the individual, including: 

    • Heart disease
    • Headaches
    • Depression
    • Anxiety
    • Medication abuse

    What Employers Can Do About Stress

    There are numerous steps employers can take to prevent mental issues from entering the workplace. This process can start with proper management training to promote:

    • Effective communication
    • The setting of achievable goals
    • Adequate lifetime training for employees
    • Teamwork/team first workplace 

    On top of these steps, many companies offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) to help make sure their stress is appropriately managed. It’s important to set expectations with each employee and keep these expectations realistic and reasonable to help employees manage their workload and stress levels. Coupled with heavy workloads and daily stresses from everyday life, it is imperative to offer your employees paid time off (PTO) and encourage them to take full advantage of it to help them minimize their stress and maximize their workplace efforts. Lastly, employers can offer their employees a corporate wellness program to help promote the overall physical, mental, and emotional health of their workforce. 

    Partner with a PEO to Limit Workplace Stress

    Workplace stress management is a lot to keep up with, especially while you’re trying to simultaneously run a successful business. 

    A PEO can help your employees stay happy, healthy, and productive while you make sure business is operating smoothly and successfully. GMS offers one-on-one management training to help you with employees’ stress, difficult situations that arise, and several other areas of concern. GMS also partners with a company called ESPYR to provide a completely customizable Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to help promote overall company wellness. Customizable GMS EAP services can include:

    • Legal consultation provided by attorneys
    • Financial consultation 
    • Prenatal program
    • Child care information and referrals 
    • Elder care services
    • Adoption specialists
    • Academic resources 
    • Pet care services 
    • Life event services 
      • Such as birth, death, marriage, divorce, natural disasters, end of life services
    • Special needs services and referrals

    The EAP offered through GMS also provides:

    • Up to four sessions per problem for face-to-face counseling and referral for a full range of personal, family, and work concerns
    • Telephonic and video access to counseling 
    • 24/7 toll-free telephone access to mental health professionals 
    • Multilingual counselors and staff and multilingual interpreter services available in 140 languages

    GMS recognizes that a business’ most important assets are its employees. If business owners can take the appropriate steps to promote the well-being of their employees, it can only help to maximize the company’s potential. Contact GMS today to talk to one of our experts about taking the next step toward managing workplace stress.

  • Workplace safety oversights can be expensive mistakes for employers. When an injury occurs and a claim is made, the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) will come down hard on an offending business if they determine it is at fault. Depending on the situation, employers may also find themselves dealing with a VSSR, another violation that can lead to additional penalties.

    Image of saftey equipment. Learn what a VSSR is and how it can cost your business.

    What Exactly is a VSSR?

    As you may have guessed by the title of this post, VSSR stands for “violation of a specific safety requirement.” The list of safety requirements is outlined in the Ohio Administrative Code and are used to help determine injury claims through the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC).

    According to the BWC, “the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) states it is the responsibility of every employer in Ohio to provide a safe workplace and adhere to all safety rules.” If an employer is not adhering to one of the listed safety requirements, they could be hit with a VSSR. The existence of this VSSR could mean that the injured employee would be eligible for additional compensation through their BWC claim.

    Does Outsourcing HR Functions Mean You Lose Control of Your Business?

    How Does the BWC Determine if a VSSR Occurred?

    There are a few requirements that must be met before the BWC determines that  an injury was the result of a VSSR. In order to collect an additional compensatory award, the injured worker must prove the following:

    • That the safety requirement(s) was both specific and applicable
    • That the employer was not in compliance with the safety requirement(s) when the accident occurred
    • That the non-compliance with the requirement(s) directly contributed to the injury

    The BWC will then turn to their safety violations investigation unit (SVIU), to proceed with the investigation. An impartial investigator will notify everyone involved in the claim and contact the separate parties. After they gather all the facts, which includes a site inspection, interviews, and related documents, the investigator will file a report with his or her findings in the BWC claim before the Industrial Commission of Ohio (IC) has a hearing on the matter.

    Keep in mind that the ORC does not place all the responsibility on the employer. Workers are also expected to properly use safety equipment provided by the employer as well. If they don’t, then the BWC may not find the employer at fault for the injury.

    What are the Penalties Associated with a VSSR?

    If the IC deicides that an employer is at fault for a VSSR, it’s going to cost that company quite a bit. The IC will grant the injured worker an additional monetary award, which the BWC states can range anywhere “from 15 to 50 percent of the maximum allowable weekly compensation rate granted to the injured worker.”

    Multiple VSSRs can also become a costly problem. If a company has been charged with two or more VSSRs within a 24-month period, the IC can impose an additional penalty of up to $50,000.

    What Can My Business Do About VSSRs?

    It’s important to crack down on any potential violations. Make sure that you’re adhering to safety requirements and creating a safer working environment for you and your employees.

    Of course, this is easier said than done, especially if you’re not an expert on risk management and don’t have the time to become one. A Professional Employer Organization can provide your business with expert risk management services and strategies that can help you create a safer workplace and limit your risk for workers’ compensation claims. Contact us today to talk to one of our experts about how we can help you make your business a safer place.

  • It’s common for HR professionals to field questions about compliance and discrimination concerns. One question that some small business owners ask is how LGBT and gender requirements can impact their company. There are many laws and protections in place to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation that employers should know about.

    LGBT and Gender Discrimination Laws and Protections

    To start, The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is in charge enforcing federal laws that make discrimination illegal. This means that the EEOC “interprets and enforces Title VII’s prohibition of sex discrimination as forbidding any employment discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. The protections apply regardless of any contrary state or local laws.”

    The courts have held that Section 4112 of the Ohio Revised Code does not apply to sexual orientation. However, there have been state and federal government actions that do offer Ohio employees some protections from discrimination. 

    Gov. John Kasich used Ohio Executive Order 2011-05K to declare that persons employed by the state would not be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation in matters of hiring, layoff, termination, transfer, promotion, demotion, or rate of compensation. Former Gov. Ted Strickland also issued Executive Order 2007-10S that prevented the discrimination based on gender identity. In addition, former President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13672-2014, which prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against others based on both sexual orientation and gender identity.

    Additional protections against discrimination involve insurance coverage. According to HealthCare.gov, “An insurance company that offers health coverage to opposite-sex spouses must do the same for same-sex spouses.” Insurance companies can’t discriminate against same-sex couples who are legally married in a jurisdiction that can authorize the marriage. This is the case regardless of the state where the couple lives, where the insurance company is based, and where the plan is sold, renewed, or in effect.

    Potential Transgender Workplace Issues

    Aside from hiring, layoff, termination, transfer, promotion, demotion, or rate of compensation decisions, there are other potential issues that employers should consider for transgender employees. For instance, the state of Ohio allows a transgender person to change their name and employers must accept this change.

    Another issue involves company bathrooms. According to Obergefell and LGBT Employment Law, “If fellow employees do not want the transgendered person, either before her gender transformation or during it, to use their bathroom, the employer must still offer the transgendered employee a bathroom. There is no law to force employers to honor the new gender for bathroom assignment. The best practice is to have the transgendered person use the bathroom that is identified with her gender identity and tell employees who do not want to share with her to use an alternate bathroom.”

    Preventing LGBT and Gender Discrimination Claims

    Over the years, the EEOC has received “1,412 charges that included allegations of sex discrimination related to sexual orientation and/or gender identity/transgender status.” Examples of LGBT-related sex discrimination claims include failing to hire an applicant because she’s transgender or harassment of an employee because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

    Of those 1,412 charges, the EEOC resolved 1,135 of them, leading to employers paying out $3.3 million in monetary relief for the affected workers and to make changes to prevent future discrimination.

    As discrimination laws continue to evolve, it’s crucial that business owners make sure that they are following every regulation in place to prevent discrimination in the workplace. A Professional Employer organization can provide human resource management to make sure your business is following all the necessary laws and that any important internal documents, such as your employee handbook, are updated 

    for any changes in LGBT and gender discrimination laws and protections. Contact us today to talk to one of our experts about how we can help your business today.

  • Have you ever heard the expression “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?” Unfortunately, that might not always be true. 

    In the past year, recreational marijuana became legalized in the great state of Nevada. If you smoke weed and then get drug tested at work the next day, what happened in Vegas may come back to haunt you.

    How Legalized Marijuana Affects the Workplace

    This year, one in five American people reside in a state where weed is legal. What does this mean for the business owners that have employees in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Maine, California, Massachusetts, and Nevada? Here are a few things to keep in mind:

    1. Although some States have legalized marijuana, federally it is still illegal.
    2. Federal Law has been trumping State Law for the cases we have seen thus far.
    3. Your employees still cannot possess or use marijuana at work.
    4. You as an employer can still have a drug-free work place and enforce it.
    5. You need to sharpen up your policies and handbooks to protect your company.

    At this point, there is no significant case law to support employment decisions one way or another, as we are still in the infant stages of this new legislation. However, the Colorado Supreme Court reviewed a case involving the Lawful Activities Statute, C.R.S. § 24-34-402.5, last year.  

    The case, Coats v. Dish Network, LLC, 350 P.3d 970 (Colo. 2015), involved a quadriplegic employee who used medical marijuana after work hours to help control his pain. He was fired after a random drug test showed that he had THC in his system. The employee went on to sue his employer claiming that his termination was in violation of the Colorado lawful activities statute, But his employer won the case because the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that his termination did not violate the statute because marijuana use was unlawful under federal law. 

    Staying on Top Of Federal and State Marijuana Laws

    Things are going to continually change over the course of the next couple years, but one thing that is going to remain is the need for HR specialists to keep you ahead of the game. Unfortunately, this endeavor can be both costly and time consuming for a small business owner. 

    The best way to protect yourself and your employees is to partner with a Professional Employer Organization. PEOs like GMS were created to help small to mid-sized businesses navigate through the ever-changing laws and regulations. Contact us today to learn more about risk management services and other ways PEOs can help your business.

  • Employee retention is a significant area of focus for most  business owners. According to talent management and HR site ERE Media, “78 percent of business leaders rank employee retention as important or urgent,” showing that the average owner wants to avoid losing good talent. 

    There are many reasons why an unexpected departure can prove problematic for employers. It can disrupt workflow. It can have a negative impact on chemistry. Also, it can cost up to 50 percent of an entry-level employee’s annual salary to find someone to replace your outgoing employee. That’s a pricey goodbye.

    Retention is a big issue that many employers want to address before their company turns into a revolving door for talent. Fortunately, Professional Employer Organizations can help your business improve employee retention. Here’s how.

    Attract the Right Employees

    Excited about a new employee you just hired? There’s a chance that he or she might not stick around for too long. The Society for Human Resource Management cited a study in which one-third of new employees left their jobs within six months.

    An important part of retaining employees is to find the right people  from the start. Rushing through the hiring process or settling on a candidate can lead to personnel who just don’t fit your company. A PEO has a dedicated group of experienced recruiters on staff that can manage every step of the hiring process to ensure that you put your business in the best position to hire the right candidate. This includes the initial phone interview, background screening, and other services, while the employer still retains control of final hiring decisions. 

    Utilize Employee Training and Onboarding Programs

    Once you hire someone, you should put them in the best position to succeed. That includes proper onboarding and training. According to SHRM, “66 percent of companies with onboarding programs claimed a higher rate of successful assimilation of new hires into company culture, 62 percent had higher time-to-productivity ratios, and 54 percent reported higher employee engagement.”

    That initial amount of time spent to  integrate your new worker into the company can help them understand their roles and feel at home. A PEO can help your business set up proper training programs to ensure the employee is set up for success in their current career path.

    Make the Business More Desirable to New and Current Employees

    A well-trained employee is a great start. Now you have to make sure that they don’t get entranced by what they see as greener pastures. A SHRM survey shows that 60 percent of employees view their benefits package as a major contributor to their overall job satisfaction. 

    Without the right package in place, your business may be at risk of losing top talent. A PEO can help you institute 401k and benefits plans that can add even more value to your employees’ current positions, as well as add extra incentive for potential job candidates.

    Focus on Growth with a PEO

    Investing on employee retention strategies is an important way to keep your team strong and retain new talent. However, proper hiring, training, and benefits packages are all time-consuming endeavors, especially for people with little-to-no training in those fields. With a PEO, that isn’t a problem.

    A PEO can manage important services like employee training and recruiting and benefits administration, allowing you to focus your time on growing the business. This growth makes the employer even more desirable to current employees and potential candidates. Contact GMS today to talk to one of our experts about what we can do help your business with employee retention.