Mileage rate increased three cents: In a rare move, because of increasing gas prices, the IRS has increased in midyear the mileage rate from $.585 to $.625 per mile. Source: IRS 6/9/22
It's all the Boomers’ fault: The outpouring of people who want to stay remote is so great that people are quitting their jobs at a very high and alarming rate. Besides obvious costs, many parents had the time to see their children more. Some also cut back on daycare expenses. So those workers are giving up a lot when returning to an office and returning to the office is starting to become a requirement. Portia Twidt is one mom who no longer feels the need to work in an office. Being at home means she's more easily accessible to her kids, and she feels as if her work wouldn't be better if she did it in an office setting. She has a very good point. "I felt like it was a boomer power play," Portia said. She, along with others, felt as if their bosses didn't think they were actually getting work done at home. But most people found themselves even more productive. Is intergenerational war next? Source: littlethings.com 6/1/22
Yet Boomers are coming back to the workforce: Among those who became unemployed during the COVID pandemic, 94% say they would consider coming back to work for the right job and pay, a new CNBC All-America Workforce Survey found. Returning the labor force participation rate to where it was before the pandemic is critical for the economy right now as it would alleviate a nationwide worker shortage that threatens higher inflation. The special workforce survey reached 1,200 currently employed people, 450 people who retired during the pandemic and 400 people not in the workforce but also not retired. For those who retired during the pandemic, flexible hours are the most important criteria, followed by pay and work-life balance. Most retirees said they would prefer to come back part time. The survey confirms government data that many retirees accelerated their departure, with 62% of retirees saying they left earlier than planned. In fact, 67% said they left at least two years early. A significant percentage made that call after being laid off. Source: CNBC 6/8/22
Healthcare costs increasing dramatically: In 2022, the cost of health care for a hypothetical American family of four covered by an average employer-sponsored preferred provider organization (PPO) plan is $30,260, according to recent research from Milliman. Health care costs for individual coverage average $6,859. The 2022 Milliman Medical Index (MMI) noted the year 2020 marked the first time in the history of the survey that health care costs decreased year over year; however, health care costs increased 13.2% in 2021. Milliman projects that health care costs will stabilize and increase 4.6% in 2022. According to the survey, in 2022, employers will pay 58% of the total cost of coverage. Of the $6,859 total cost for an average person, the employer spends $3,984, while the employee pays the remaining $2,875 ($1,798 through payroll deductions and $1,077 in out-of-pocket expenses). For family coverage, employers pay $17,577 of the cost. Employees pay the remaining $12,683, with $7,934 being paid through payroll deductions and $4,750 being paid out-of-pocket. Source: Millman 5/25/22
When a pillow almost caused a labor strike: An accusation made by a hotel workers union that a Manhattan hotel violated the National Labor Relations Act by failing to bargain over the implementation of too-fluffy pillows was itself an improper escalation of a bargainable dispute, the National Labor Relations Board said. The board reversed an NLRB judge's ruling that the Jewel Hotel breached its obligation to warn its employees that newly purchased pillows could change their working conditions. The board held instead that no one could have foreseen that pillows could cause such trouble and that the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council prematurely filed an unfair labor practice charge. The board stated that "No party … knew or could have foreseen that the new pillows would be more difficult for employees to work with. The respondent cannot fairly be faulted for failing to notify the union and offer to bargain before the new pillows were put into use." Source: Law360 5/31/22
Are you advertising your jobs properly? With tens of thousands of job postings on LinkedIn currently, too many of them lack the enthusiasm necessary to attract talent. It’s time companies revise their ads so that they engage, rather than turn off, prospective employees. Here are six common mistakes that companies are making when writing job descriptions: A job ad should not be written as a job description but rather an advertisement that speaks directly to the heart and mind of the candidate you’re interested in hiring. A job ad should speak first about what makes your company special in the market. A job ad should explain what makes your company culture magnetic and enjoyable. A job ad should discuss the upward mobility you see for the person you are going to hire for this role. A job ad should be brief, but finally, when including job requirements, make sure that the few bullet points listed are enticing and relevant. Source: AZ Big Media 6/7/22
Colorado becomes the 7th state to pass a clean slate law: On May 31, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the Clean Slate Act into law, making Colorado the seventh state to have one. “Clean slate” laws “create an automatic sealing process for old criminal records if a person remains crime-free for a set period of time,” said Abby Diebold of the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ). Pennsylvania, Utah, Michigan, Connecticut, Delaware, and Oklahoma have similar laws. Colorado’s Clean Slate Act, SB22-099, allows for arrest records that don’t result in a conviction to be automatically sealed. Other criminal records that can be automatically sealed include civil infractions with four years since the final disposition, petty offense or misdemeanor records with seven years since the final disposition, and felonies with 10 years since the final disposition or release from jail, whichever comes later, Diebold explained. Crimes involving violence, such as murder, assault, sexual assault, and robbery, which fall under the Crime Victims Rights Act, are not eligible as well as other situations. Automatic sealing of qualifying records under SB22-099 begins in 2024. Source: HR Dive