HR & Safety News, Insights and Updates | |
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Consultstu LLC delivers fractional human resources services to small/mid businesses.
Our monthly newsletter keeps clients and friends up to date on important
law updates, business news and employment trends.
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Reminder - Salary Threshold Rises to $58,656 annually on Jan 1, 2025
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Wage and Hour. The FLSA sets minimum wage, overtime pay, and other labor standards affecting most public and private sector employees. For employees to qualify for the "white-collar" exemptions—executive, administrative, and professional—their roles must meet certain criteria related to duties and be compensated at or above a set salary threshold. There is a scheduled salary threshold increase in January 2025, which will raise the weekly salary requirement for exempt employees from $844 to $1,128, or annually $58,656. Read more. | |
OSHA's Top 10 Violations Cited in 2024 | Safety. Following historical precedent, OSHA’s top ten cited violations for 2024 surprise no one. They all appeared on last year’s list, although their relative positions changed a bit. Fall protection (general requirements) remains the most cited citation and has held the spot for the fourteenth consecutive year. The good news is that 2024 saw a nearly 10% decrease in the total number of violations cited on the top 10 list compared to 2023. Violation #1 was fall protection and #2 was hazard communications. Read the rest of the most common violations. | |
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Did you know? OSHA Severe Injury Reports are Public | Safety. OSHA requires employers to report a fatality or severe injury (“SIR”). Generally, a fatality must be reported within 8 hours and an in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or eye loss must be reported within 24 hours. Information about the SIR requirement can be found on the OSHA webpage, https://www.osha.gov/report OSHA has now released an online tool giving users the ability to search its SIR database and view trends related to workplace injuries. The SIR dashboard allows users to search by year, industry, state, NAICS, event or exposure, source, nature, body part and importantly establishment name. The database covers the period January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2023. | |
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IRS Releases 2025 401k/Retirement Plan Maximums | |
Benefits. On November 1, 2024, the IRS released the 2025 limits for retirement plans and individual retirement accounts. A few of the notable changes include the following:
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The annual contribution limit for 401(k) plans will increase nominally to $23,500 (from $23,000)
- The annual catch-up contribution limit remains the same at $7,500 for participants age 50 and over
- A new category of catch-up contributions, introduced by the SECURE Act 2.0, allows participants between ages 60 to 63 to contribute up to $11,250 annually.
- The definition of “highly compensated employee” increased from $155,000 to $160,000
Read the IRS Notice.
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Onboarding with a Purpose: Connect New Hire to Company Goals Right Away | Recruitment. Bringing a new hire into the fold is an exciting moment for not just the employee but also the organization! But it’s also a pivotal time to align them with the company’s mission and goals, especially if they are coming in mid-campaign, mid-year, or during particularly crucial moments in time where it’s important to get up to speed quickly. When employees join a new company, they’re not only learning the ropes of their day-to-day responsibilities but also figuring out what the organization stands for and how they fit into the bigger picture. Read how to align new hires with company goals from Insperity. | |
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How to Honor Veterans at Work: Tips & Ideas
Recognition. With Veteran's Day on November 11, your company can show appreciation to veterans for their service by taking time to honor their efforts and their service. There are many ways that veterans on your team (and even your customers) can be thanked, and Indeed shared a great post with some good ideas. One of the simple, but great ideas, is simply saying “thank you” to veterans by name can be a powerful way to show appreciation. Read more.
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Question: When a company hires a remote employee working in another state, is a new Employee Handbook required? | | |
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Answer: No, a completely new Handbook is not needed, but adding the new state policies (in addendum) is important. | The basic rule is that a company needs to follow the employment laws in the state where the employee will be physically performing work. States have a wide range of requirements regarding wages, breaks, leaves, and other employment matters, so it’s essential to learn about the requirements in the states where your remote employee will be working. Setting up a new state unemployment account is necessary along with adding the mandatory state policies. Adding an addendum to the regular Handbook is a good way to get it done. | | | | |
