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The following is provided for general
informational purposes only, and not intended to constitute
legal advice.
IDO Info: HR
News 2006 ~ Winter Update 2005-2006
Greetings!
Welcome to the
inaugural issue of IDO Info, your quarterly newsletter from
Idomeneo Enterprises providing you with quick HR updates, tools
and solutions to help you better manage your business and your
staff.
In this Issue:
Get to Know Us!
The 411 on the
Year Ahead
Year End Payroll:
Quick Tips
Resolving Conflicts: Take the Pain
Out of Confrontations
Highlight on
Training: Sexual Harassment
Headline Humor:
Work-Life Balance
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Get to Know Us!
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The 411 on the Year Ahead
by Meredith
Hauger, HR Business Partner
Compliance,
Compliance, Compliance! Here is the 411 on some employment legal
changes that have happened recently or will be in effect January
1, 2006.
The maximum amount of
elective deferrals contributed to a qualified plan (401k)
increases to $15,000 ($20,000 if you are age 50 or over).
Business
miles.
The standard mileage rate for the cost of operating your car
increases to
44.5
cents a mile for all business miles driven.
There is a new Federal
posting requirement for the Uniformed Services Employment
and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The new USERRA poster
should be displayed along with your other Federal and State
postings effective immediately.
CA Law A.B.
1093 permits employers to pay an employee's final wages by
direct deposit provided the employee has authorized this
method of wage payment. (All other Labor Codes provisions that
regulate the payment of final wages still apply.)
Small plan HIPPA privacy
security standards go into effect April 21, 2006. Check with
your benefits providers on their compliance strategy, ensuring
your employee's privacy.
CA Sexual Harassment
Training of all supervisory level employees should be
complete by January 1, 2006. (See Article: Highlight on Training
for more information)
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 Year End
Payroll: Quick Tips
by Meredith
Hauger, HR Business Partner
Don’t leave anything out! Here
are some quick tips and best practices to ensure a successful
year-end payroll:
Confirm all of your employee
addresses and social security numbers on file. Send out a
quick email notice asking for any address changes or social
security number corrections can prevent W-2 errors and
reprints down the road.
All W-2 and 1099 forms
for 2005 must be provided to employees and former employees by
January 31, 2006.
Tax exempt withholding status expires on
February 15th each year. Each employee claiming
exempt must complete a new Form W-4 by February 15th
to re-main exempt. If an employee does not sign a new Form
W-4, you are required to change the employee’s Federal and
State withholding status to “single” with zero (0) withholding
allowances
Don’t forget to update
your 2006 Unemployment and SDI Contribution Rates with your
Payroll Provider or in your Payroll system.
Reset any annual YTD
Accumulator or Accrual buckets you may have, such as 401K
limits, Vacation, Sick or PTO.
There are many online
links, tools and experts to assist you during your year-end
payroll process, including Idomeneo Enterprises. Check out the
suggested links below or give us a call!
Helpful Year
End Payroll Links:
CA Employer: Year End 2006
CA
Employer Guide 2006
IRS: Employers Tax Guide
<TOP>
 Resolving
Conflict: Take the Pain Out of Confrontations
Source:
Communication Briefing July 2005,
703-518-2343,
www.briefings.com
Coaching, Mentoring and
Managing
Occasional workplace
conflicts are inevitable, but they need not be destructive.
Follow these basic tips to smooth confrontations:
When
dealing with a grumbler, be honest and direct.
Stick to the facts, and resist raising unrelated topics. If
you stray from your main point, you may unintentionally signal
that you don’t consider the core issue serious.
Caution:
Don’t judge or speculate about the person’s motives. That
indicates that you’re predisposed to opinion not fact.
Act
immediately.
Confrontations aren’t pleasant, but don’t make excuses not to
speak up. Example: “The end of the week is a better
time to deal with it, after we meet this deadline.”
Solution: Meet early to address problems, or you risk
letting productivity suffer.
Choose
the most appropriate moment
to discuss issues with difficult employees. Example: If
you’re upset wait until you’re calm. Impulsive confrontations
often leave lasting scars. But if you are criticizing someone
for a specific action or behavior, it’s best to meet soon as
that behavior occurs.
Relax.
A confrontation is just like any other
important conversation. There’s no need to resort to
threatening edicts or theatrical displays.
End your conversation on a positive note
to stress that it’s professional and not personal. Say,
“Thanks for listening and telling me your side. I’m sure we
can get past this and work together productively.”
<TOP>
Highlight on
Training: Sexual Harassment
by Meredith
Hauger, HR Business Partner
Harassment
prevention training is now the law in California.
Assembly Bill 1825 requires all
employers with 50+ workers to provide at least two hours of
sexual harassment training to all supervisory workers by January
1, 2006.
Not sure if this training
requirement applies to
your organization, ask Idomeneo!
As a best practice, Idomeneo
recommends that training be provided to all workers regardless
or organization size. Whether you have 1 or 100+ employees,
your organization is still responsible to provide a harassment
free work
environment and is at risk of a
claim or worse . . .
Additionally, your training
should encourage a safe, healthy and respectful work
environment, covering all forms of workplace harassment.
Like to know more? Give us a
call. We would be happy to assist in
assessing your harassment
training needs, as well as provide you with some training
options specific to your organization.
Idomeneo Enterprises
310.308.7680
<TOP>
Humor Headline:
Work-Life Balance
Featured
Quote:
“Work-life
balance . . . it's like a see-saw, one minute you are on the
work side and the next on the home side. You really don't
balance; just keep moving from side to side. The goal is to
spend equal time on each side."
~ Michelle Zambetti, Certified
Franklin-Covey Trainer
Featured
Links:
Work-life Balance is Employer’s Edge posted by the Boston Herald
Employee
Satisfaction Driven By Compensation and Work/Life Balance
posted by SHRM
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