Daylight Savings ends March 8th: This year has gone fast and now we are changing time again.  Set your clocks forward one hour Sunday morning, March 8^th. Daylight Saving Time was first proposed by George Vernon Hudson in 1895, and its use in the U.S. was first mandated during World War I. It was subsequently used on and off for years by various countries and U.S. states. Since the 1970s; however, it has mostly remained in effect in the U.S. and Europe. The salaries of exempt employees are not affected by Daylight Savings Time. As for non-exempt employees, employers will have to decide whether to pay those employees who are at work when the clock is set forward for this “lost” hour. They do not have to be paid for it since they did not actually work it. The employer may also have to decide whether the lost hour, if paid, will count toward overtime or not (it does not have to). However, an employer must also determine if the hour counts towards leave accrual. To get a copy of a poster, click here. 

Michigan Unemployment Contribution Rates 2020:  Contribution rates for employers with three or more years of experience will continue to range from 0.06% to 10.3% in 2020. The maximum rate of 10.3% includes a 6.3% maximum chargeable benefit component, a 3.0% maximum account building component, and a 1.0% maximum nonchargeable benefits component. Note that if the employer has submitted no quarterly tax reports, that employer's maximum tax rate will be 10.3%, and the employer also will be assessed a penalty of 3.0%, which is separate from the contribution rate. In addition, the new employer rate remains at 2.7%, plus part of its chargeable benefits component depending on the employer's year of liability, except for new construction employers.   The nonchargeable benefits component (NBC) for 2020 may range from 0.06% to 1.0%, depending upon an employer's experience. For an employer with no benefit charges for nine years, the NBC is 0.06%. For an employer with no benefit charges for eight years, the NBC will be 0.07%. For an employer with no benefit charges for seven years, the NBC will be 0.08%. For an employer with no benefit charges for six years, the NBC will be 0.09%. For an employer with no benefit charges for five years, the NBC will be 0.1%. For all other employers, the NBC is 1.0%.   In 2020, there is no obligation assessment (OA) for contributing employers. The state's refinancing bonds have been repaid.

Prescription eyedrops in Michigan still covered: Health insurance policies that provide coverage for prescription eye drops will not be able to deny coverage for a refill of the prescription, if the prescribed eye drops are covered under the policy, the original prescription indicates additional quantities are needed, and a certain period of time has passed for renewal.

HR isn’t sleeping because: According to a survey of more than 300 HR executives representing mid- to large-size employers across multiple industries conducted by Human Resource Executive® (HRE) between December 2019 and January 2020, slightly more than half of the respondents worry about retaining key talent, with the next most common concern being developing leaders and succession planning, followed by improving the employee experience, and driving innovation and helping teams work together. Although the talent shortage began dominating the labor market more than a decade ago, the No. 1 issue among HR professionals in the last three consecutive HRE surveys was employee engagement; last year was the first time that retaining key talent tied for the top spot. Susan Haberman, senior partner and U.S. leader of Career Business at Mercer, points to the 3.5% jobless rate, which encourages job hopping; employers’ increased need for specific skills, especially those involving digitization of work; and the challenge of improving employee productivity, which requires a blended mix of new skills and institutional knowledge.  Source:  HR Executive 2/17/20

Can your managers discuss pay?While 67% of organizations say pay transparency is increasingly important — with 4% reporting it's of the highest importance — only 14% of organizations have dealt with pay transparency beyond a "moderate" level, according to a study by WorldatWork and Mercer. While near half of employers have a "moderate" approach," 4% have nonexistent approaches to pay transparency, 35% have minimal transparency, and just 1% have extreme transparency, according to the survey of 478 respondents. Additionally, more than 60% of respondents said their managers are not trained to effectively deliver pay communications.  Nearly half (42%) of respondents do not share information about how jobs are valued and compensated within the organization. When pay equity adjustments are made, only 53% of organizations communicate to their employees that the increase is the result of a pay equity adjustment; 30% bundle the adjustment along with other pay increases and don't explicitly mention it.  Source: HR Dive 2/17/20

Google’s discipline of engineer who complained about diversity policy was illegal:  The earlier of the two Google memos — both issued in the same case — found that the software engineer made posts on Google’s internal message board that were shielded under the National Labor Relations Act since they involved concerns that were shared among a group of employees.  The later memo, written two years after the first when Google sought reconsideration of the advice division’s initial conclusion, rejected the tech giant’s argument that the warning it gave the software engineer was part of the company's lawful attempt “to ‘nip in the bud’ the kind of employee conduct that could lead to a hostile workplace.”  Source:  Law360 2/14/20

Do your employees talk politics at work?  78% of employees report discussing politics at work, and 47% report that the 2020 U.S. presidential election has impacted their ability to get work done, according to Gartner, Inc.  A February 2020 Gartner survey of 500 employees across the United States found that politics and the topic of the 2020 U.S. presidential election are negatively affecting productivity, collaboration, and employee morale in the workplace. Other notable findings from Gartner’s Election 2020 Survey include: 26% of employees say the election has had a moderate or big impact on their ability to do their jobs.  33% of employees report that the topic of the 2020 U.S. presidential election has led them to spend more time getting political news while at work.  36% of employees report that the topic of the 2020 U.S. presidential election has led them to avoid talking to or working with a coworker because of their political views.  31% of employees who talk politics at work report these conversations to be stressful and/or frustrating.  Source:  Gartner 2/18/20