How To Keep Track Of State Required Forms And Changing Legislation?

Leveraging third-party solutions to help simplify and streamline processes

Remote work is here to stay. According to Ladder, 25 percent of all professional jobs in North America will be remote by the end of 2022, and remote opportunities will continue to increase through 2023. For companies that hire in multiple states – or those hiring fully-remote employees based in locations across the country – tracking varying state wage and hour notifications requirements for employees only adds to human resources’ (HR) administrative burden. 

Changing legislation and the current workforce environment bring constantly evolving requirements for HR to keep up with. Many states require employers to send wage and hour notifications to employees at the time of hire or when implementing pay reductions. In addition, according to data compiled by NELP, changing minimum wages implemented in multiple states this year have left HR departments with even more to track. 
 

Consequently, employer risk continues to grow, as those unique forms must be interpreted, distributed, acknowledged by new hires and employees, and retained by employers. The already-overwhelmed HR departments can help mitigate these risks – and cut down on time and resources spent that could better be used elsewhere by working with a trusted third party to help keep track of state required forms and changing legislation. 

Help Streamline and Simplify Onboarding and Required State Forms

In today’s increasingly competitive hiring environment, new hires are in the driver’s seat. It’s more important than ever to get new hires to work quickly, and an intuitive onboarding process can set a positive tone for a new candidate’s employment, and help drive retention. By adopting a third-party solution that helps streamline and simplify onboarding paperwork and required state forms, HR departments can help do just that. 

Managing all the new hire notification requirements is one of the more tedious but essential parts of the onboarding process. With third-party onboarding solutions that enable tracking, new hires can more easily acknowledge receipt of notifications with electronic signature tools that provide an audit trail, helping simplify the process for new hires while also helping HR departments ensure greater accuracy. 

Stay on Top of Changing Legislation

Potential fines for noncompliance with new hire notification requirements – especially those for wage and hour reductions – can be steep. There is also the possibility of civil litigation from potential, current and former employees that can lead to significant judgements and refunds of improperly accounted-for wages. 

Litigation will also increase the possibility of additional inquiries from state Departments of Labor for other employment-related violations. This makes keeping up with changes to legislation crucial. But the many nuances of each state’s requirements leave room for human error, creating even more stress and administrative work for HR. 

In Connecticut, for example, withholding and notice requirements for paid leave began on January 1, 2021, for eligible wages paid beginning January 1, 2022. That’s just one example of the many nuanced requirements HR departments have to follow, often across numerous states. 

Leveraging a third-party service can help automate your onboarding process and track state-required forms along the employee lifecycle. For example, notifications can be updated with changing state requirements within the third-party solution. These notices can also often be filled out with the necessary employee/employer specific data. As a result, HR departments can have greater confidence that they’re staying up-to-date with changing regulations, while spending their valuable time on other priorities. 

Jason Fry is the Product Manager at Equifax. He has more than 20 years of experience in pre-employment regulatory compliance with a specific focus on employee screening and work eligibility verification. He is responsible for helping guide the strategic direction, compliance alignment and risk mitigation services for workforce regulatory issues, helping guide the development of Form I-9 and E-Verify product enhancements. Jason has worked for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Georgia State University’s College of Law, and the Clayton County Solicitor General’s Office.   Visit www.equifax.com Connect Jason Fry Follow @EquifaxInsights