Nat’s Notes

If you’ve been paying attention to labor law (or more specifically worker classification) in the news or the grumbles of your last Uber driver, you may know that the on-demand driver provider is facing a three-headed monster. It’s not stoplights, stop signs, and lane changes—instead, it’s a mess of more than 70 federal lawsuits against Uber from drivers, passengers, and even the government.

What brought it all on? To start, Uber has classified their drivers (both full and part-time) as contractors, while drivers feel that they’re treated as employees. As things stand today, those drivers are correct—they are employees. That decision has cost Uber $100 million in a settlement in both California and Massachusetts. More settlements and lawsuits are still pending.

The difference between W-2 employees and 1099 independent contractors occupies a grey area. This grey area has become the target of a Department of Labor crackdown. The DOL is dropping the hammer and strengthening its enforcement of worker classification. If they’re not careful, companies could face lawsuits from many angles. If Uber is any indication, that’s not likely to turn out very well.

The bottom line

At PayReel, compliance comes first. We don’t just classify your employees properly, we even pay them properly so that you can hire who you want exactly when you want them. If grey areas aren’t your thing and if the term “lawsuit” makes your heart skip a beat—relax, we got it. Contact us around the clock at 303-526-4900 or email us here.

About the author

PayReel Customer Experience Manager Natalie “The Go Getter” McGinnis recapped 2016’s biggest news in freelancer management to help you prepare for 2017. Nat’s experience in recruitment and customer service set her up for success in providing laser-focused attention and assistance to the PayReel employees and clients who need it the most. Click here to read more of Nat’s Notes and meet the rest of the PayReel team by clicking here!

The ball has dropped and the confetti has settled. Now that we’re back to work, let’s talk about what changed—other than the year—when the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31, 2016.

Minimum wage

As of Jan. 2017, if you have employees working in one of the 29 states (plus Washington, D.C.) that passed a new minimum wage standard, they may be automatically eligible for a raise. Additionally, if your employees are working in one of the states that passed a built-in yearly minimum wage increase, they’re automatically set up for a raise until 2020. These raises don’t require a performance review and, if they aren’t honored, you could be liable for a lawsuit that’s sure to induce a headache worse than your New Year’s Eve escapades. That’s where PayReel’s smart software (and team!) comes in to make sure compliance comes first even in the most unique cases.

Paid sick leave

Some states are not only increasing their minimum wages; they’re also enacting a paid sick leave law. While it varies from location to location, paid sick leave essentially allows eligible employees to take paid time away from work so they or a family member can receive preventive care and/or diagnosis and care of an existing condition. As of Jan. 2017, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, District of Columbia, and Vermont have enacted paid sick leave policies statewide. Certain counties and cities in New Jersey, Washington, New York, and Maryland also have paid sick leave for eligible employees. We’ll be keeping our eyes on paid sick leave laws because, like many things when it comes to managing contractors and freelancers, they’re likely to change and grow as the year goes on. 

Mileage rates

In a nutshell: You’ll be paying your freelancers less for the miles they drive on the clock in 2017.

As of Jan. 1, 2017, the standard mileage rates paid to freelancers using their personal vehicle for business purposes decreased from 2016. You can now expect to pay 53.5 cents per mile driven for business purposes (down from 54 cents in 2016) and 17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes (down from 19 cents for 2016). Click here to dig into the details and find out how to take advantage of your mileage savings.

Overtime exemptions

One of the most impactful changes of 2017 is sure to be overtime exemptions. That is if they ever actually happen.

The Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act (DOL FLSA) is poised to double the salary threshold; making over 4 million more employees non-exempt, and therefore eligible for overtime. Click here to learn how an overtime exemption overhaul can still affect you and your bottom line even while it’s in limbo.

The bottom line

If all those names, numbers, and abbreviations make you want to pour yourself another glass of champagne, get in touch with the PayReel team. Hire who you want, when you want while we manage all the paperwork and the risk. Contact us around the clock by calling 303-526-4900 or emailing us here.

Relax. We got it!

About the author

PayReel Customer Experience Manager Natalie “The Go-Getter” McGinnis recapped 2016’s biggest news in freelancer management to help you prepare for 2017. Nat’s experience in recruitment and customer service set her up for success in providing laser-focused attention and assistance to the PayReel employees and clients who need it the most. Click here to read more of Nat’s Notes and meet the rest of the PayReel team by clicking here!

A ruling slated to put an additional $1.2 billion per year in workers’ pockets is now on ice. Here is the state of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) and what it means for your business.

What exactly is the FSLA?

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) FSLA includes new overtime exemptions. If and when it goes into effect, the law will nearly double the salary threshold (from $455/week to $913), thereby making up to 4.2 million more people non-exempt and eligible to be paid overtime.

On November 22, 2016, a week before the ruling was to take effect, a judge in Texas won a preliminary injunction against it. While the twenty other states that fought to end the act breathed a sigh of relief, the DOL cried foul and filed an appeal.

As of this posting, the battle continues.

What do stalled overtime exemptions mean for businesses?

Like all things involving government and money, it’s complicated. And it’s likely to cause headaches for anyone digging in to the nitty-gritty details.

With the issue in limbo at a federal level, states are trying to figure this thing out on their own—which makes room for a lot of gray areas. Gray areas are where lawsuits live. There are different labor laws at the federal and state levels. In most legal situations, federal trumps state. It’s different from labor laws, though, because states are only required to use federal guidelines as a baseline.

Another place with plenty of room for confusion is worker classification, which we cover in an ongoing blog series here. Often, workers fall into both exempt and non-exempt classification categories, which affects eligibility for a slew of benefits, including overtime. In these cases, classification depends on a weighted scale of the employees’ duties. It’s shockingly easy to misclassify workers and rack up legal fees and fines before you know it. Classifying workers correctly the first time around puts employers in a better position to adjust to changing laws in the future.

PayReel’s policy pros—in conjunction with our custom PayReel OnLine software—protect your sanity and your finances by sifting through the legal complexities and taking responsibility for your workers. As the employer of record for our clients, we are the ones on the hook if we get it wrong. The good news is, that rarely happens.

With PayReel, you can hire who you want, when you want, without worrying about overtime exemptions and worker classification. As the ones who are legally liable for our employees, and morally liable to our clients, we’re dedicated to understanding the ins and outs of both so we can make the right decisions.

What’s the bottom line?

The end of the year is a great time to review your payroll practices to be sure you are compliant or are in a position to stay compliant as laws change. If you don’t have the time, resources, or expertise to make sure you’re not trapped in a legal gray zone, get in touch with a team that does. PayReel’s policy pros are available around the clock at 303-526-4900, or you can shoot us an email by clicking here.

About the author

PayReel Customer Experience Manager Natalie “The Go Getter” McGinnis recapped 2016’s biggest news in freelancer management to help you prepare for 2017. Nat’s experience in recruitment and customer service set her up for success in providing laser-focused attention and assistance to the PayReel employees and clients who need it the most. Click here to read more of Nat’s Notes and meet the rest of the PayReel team by clicking here!