| Listing Date | Source | Article Link | Title | Article Review / Excerpt |
| 11/21/2008 | Long Island Business News | Information Link | Employers Hurt by Swollen Health Care Costs | The drastic rise in the costs for employer for health insurance is fueling demand for Health Savings Accounts or HSAs Another option is an HSA, in which dollars are allocated to employees, who can roll the accounts over every year and take them with them when they leave. I have a host of clients that uses HRAs, and a host of clients that uses HSAs,” Bradley said. “Some companies prefer HRAs because they are not as cumbersome to set up, and they retain the funds, rather than returning them to employees.” But others favor the HSA for the effect it has on employees. “It encourages them to become better consumers of health care, since they’re spending their own money,” Bradley said. For instance, “if the money is coming out of their own pocket, consumers might ask doctors if they really need all three tests, or if they really need 100 pills instead of 50,” said Lou Basso, president of The Alcott Group, a Farmingdale-based professional employer organization and provider of human resources services. |
| 11/17/2008 | Palm Beach Post | Information Link | Florida - NCCI Proposes 18.6% Workers Comp Rate Hike | Although workers' compensation rates are expected to drop in January 2009, NCCI has proposed to hike rates shortly thereafter beginning in March and another hike later in 2009. The schedule, a key part of the 2002 workers comp reform, capped attorneys fees that had helped make Florida's rates among the highest in the nation. Since the legislative overhaul, rates have fallen by 60 percent, and Florida is now among the lowest states in terms of workers comp rates. A representative of the Florida Chamber of Commerce said small businesses cannot tolerate an increase, and he charged trial lawyers with getting a "bailout'' as the result of the Supreme Court decision. |
| 11/13/2008 | San Francisco Business Times | Information Link | California State Fund files for 8.9% workers’ comp increase | Since dropping by 63% since 2003, work comp rates in California are now on the rise, with state fund jacking rates up 8.9% for 2009. Since increases in workers’ compensation premium rates typically hit some lines of business harder than others, the steepest increases are likely to affect businesses in areas such as construction, manufacturing, transportation and retail, which are already struggling due to the rapidly weakening U.S. and California economies. |
| 11/6/2008 | StaffMarket | Information Link | Department of Justice Provides Additional No-Match Guidance | The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued new guidance confirming that an employer using the safe harbor provisions of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) no-match rule when letters or notices that a worker’s Social Security number does not match existing records, will not be potentially guilty of discrimination. New rules from the DOJ help employers meet the letter of the law for hiring and avoid discrimination charges. |
| 10/29/2008 | Law.com | Information Link | Get Ready to Relearn the Americans with Diabilities Act | Beginning January 1, 2009, employers must comply with the ADAAA - Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act. Since originally passed (ADA) in 1990, judicial decisions have limited the scope of coverage originally intended by congress. The ADAAA legislatively broadens the responsibility and liabilities for employers. All employers need to review the new rules and ensure they are ready to be compliant. Consequently, in the new world of the ADAAA, employers should keep records of accommodations requests made and accommodations denied or provided, along with some evidentiary back-up for the decisions made. Further, consider refresher training of human resources professionals and line managers about the ADA's requirements about the interactive process and reasonable accommodations. The ADA is about to change. Your company's managers need to be ready. |
| 10/2/2008 | PEO Legislation Introduced to Congress | Information Link | HR 7103 Introduced to Congress - tax treatment and reporting of wages paid by professional employer organizations. | Also known as the small business efficiency act. A certified professional employer organization entering into a service contract with a customer with respect to a work site employee shall be treated as a successor employer and the customer shall be treated as a predecessor employer during the term of such service contract. |
| 10/1/2008 | Business Wire | Information Link | Administaff Announces Results of Business Survey and Compensation Data | Survey of small and medium sized businesses show more caution for 2009. The economy was listed by 81.5 percent of business owners as their biggest concern for 2009 versus 45.8 percent last year. More than 60 percent listed controlling costs as a leading concern, compared to 53.3 percent in Nov. 2007. Rising health care costs were another concern for 43.1 percent of respondents, a slight decrease from 44.6 percent in 2007. Retaining their most valued employees ranked fourth by 31.2 percent of those polled, and 28.9 percent of respondents listed hiring the right people. |
| 9/14/2008 | Florida Keys Keynoter | Information Link | Agencies can offer power in numbers | Companies in the Florida keys discuss the advantages of co-employment, employee leasing and PEO arrangements. “It helps me stay more focused on what I do, and that’s construction,” he said. “They keep me more in the field and out from behind a desk. Compared to what I was spending doing payroll myself and paying workman’s compensation, I’m saving at least 30 percent going through them.” A PEO provides outsourcing of payroll, workers’ compensation, human resources and employee benefits administration. It does this by hiring a client company’s employees, and becoming their employer of record. It then leases them back under contract to the original employer. This is known as co-employment, employee leasing or staff leasing. |
| 9/9/2008 | CCH | Information Link | Colorado amends law for employee leasing companies | Colorado lawmakers formally define the co-employment relationship. The law now defines the term “co-employer” as an employee leasing company or work-site employer. The term “co-employment relationship” is defined as one intended to be ongoing, rather than temporary or project specific, and where the rights and obligations of the employer have been allocated between the co-employers by an employee leasing contract. In addition, the employee leasing company and work-site employer are entitled to enforce only the employer rights and obligations allocated to them under the contract. The work-site employer also may enforce any right and perform any obligation not specifically allocated to the employee leasing company by the contract. The terms “covered employee” and “work-site employee” mean an individual who is in an employment relationship with an employee leasing company and work-site employer and has received notice of the co-employment. |
| 9/2/2008 | Nevada Business Journal | Information Link | Payroll Issues - Knowing when to ask for help | Article reviews the ever-changing complexities of doing payroll correctly and maintaining legislative compliance.
Similarly, more companies are outsourcing to professional employer organizations (PEOs), which provide payroll, workers compensation, human resources and employee benefits administration. However, unlike a BPO, PEOs assume employer risks for their clients via co-employment. The PEO becomes the employer of record for tax and insurance purposes. This industry has evolved to where you can go from being the employer into a PEO relationship and not ever have to worry about or know these rules because the PEO handles it as a co-employer. |
| 9/2/2008 | Chicago Business Ledger | Information Link | Fast Growing PEOs crucial for small businesses | Why some Chicago businesses have partnered with a PEO for HR Outsourcing services. The process usually involves one HR professional within a PEO who is designated as a representative for a small stable of clients. When employees in any client company have HR-related questions or problems, they can directly call their representative to get the issue resolved. The value proposition for client companies is that a PEO saves time and labor costs associated with payroll and the administration of benefit plans. In addition, the client company may also be able to offer a better overall package of benefits, which is attractive to more skilled employees.This is especially helpful considering the current state of the economy. When businesses aren’t as profitable, the staff is usually the one of the first costs to be cut, said Lisa Callaway, vice president of the Management Association of Illinois, in Downers Grove. |
| 8/27/2008 | Haleakala Times | Information Link | The Upcountry Revolution | How small businesses in Hawaii are increasing efficiencies by joining a PEO.
In response to the quiet economy, some businesses are adjusting their hours of operation and staffing, increasing or decreasing as needed, hoping to make it more convenient and appealing for residents to shop locally. Another shift is that businesses are using a PEO (Professional Employer Organization) to run the core functions of a small business such as payroll, insurance, and human resources. Carole Kooy, Maui Chamber of Commerce chair-elect and the owner of KilaKila Professional Employer Services says that in times of economic downturn outsourcing does become an option to alleviate some of the high costs related to owning and operating a business. |
| 7/30/2008 | Bradenton Herald | Information Link | Gevity earnings up | Gevity earnings show improvement from focusing on core PEO product areas and reducing expenses. Challenges remain due to the Florida smal business environment. During an earnings conference call Tuesday morning, Gevity officials said they expect to gain traction in gaining new clients, particularly since Gevity Edge Select was discontinued and the company's sales force can focus fully on the company's core business as a professional employer organization, or PEO. |
| 7/21/2008 | NJ Biz Journal | Information Link | Cutting the risk to Workers and the bottom line | Article discusses the cost to employers for work related injuries and reviews OSHA tool that calculates the cost of additional sales needed to make up for impact to workers' compensation costs. The average direct cost of a workers' compensation claim is between $5,000 and $7,000 among the clients of Gevity HR Inc a Bradenton Florida based Professional Employer Organization with and office in Edison, according to Chris Davis the firm's vice president of finance insurance. Most injuries occur when employees are doing manual labor such as lifting heavy objects. |
| 7/15/2008 | State of Connecticut | Information Link | State of Connecticut releases new legislation for Professional Employer Organizations | Connecticut establishes rules for PEOs who operate in the state including registration with the state. Professional employer organization" means any person engaged in the business of providing professional employer services, regardless of whether such person uses the term or conducts business as a professional employer organization, staff leasing company, registered staff leasing company, employee leasing company, administrative employer or any other name. |
| 6/10/2008 | El Paso Times | Information Link | Contractors must verify employees' legal status | Effective June 10, 2008 all contractors and others who do business with the federal government must us the E-Verify system to verify an applicants right to work. Pat Villalobos, president and owner of Barnhart/Taylor, which provides engineering, heating and ventilation, bids on government contracts and has worked on various projects at Fort Bliss. "When it comes to my employees, I keep up with their documents," Villalobos said. "When they come work for me, I ask them for their documents, especially if they're going to be on government property. "The E-Verify system is very user-friendly," she added. "When I use employee leasing companies, the leasing companies verify (in advance) the legal status of the workers they send me. Anyone who is not ready for this will hinder their recruiting efforts, and (immigration authorities) can conduct an audit at any time." |
| 5/28/2008 | State of Colorado | Information Link | State of Colorado passes PEO and Employee Leasing Legislation | Colorado passes legislation that clarifies the rights and responsibilities of companies when hiring a professional employer organization. PEO and employee leasing arrangements have recognized legal status in Colorado. EACH EMPLOYEE LEASING COMPANY SHALL PAY WAGES AND COLLECT, REPORT, AND PAY ALL PAYROLL-RELATED TAXES FROM ITS OWN ACCOUNTS FOR ALL COVERED EMPLOYEES. EACH EMPLOYEE LEASING COMPANY SHALL PAY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION INSURANCE TAXES AND PROVIDE, MAINTAIN, AND SECURE ALL RECORDS AND DOCUMENTS REQUIRED OF WORK-SITE EMPLOYERS UNDER THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE LAWS OF THIS STATE FOR COVERED EMPLOYEES. FOR UNEMPLOYMENT REPORTING PURPOSES, EACH EMPLOYEE LEASING COMPANY IS THE ONLY EMPLOYING UNIT FOR COVERED EMPLOYEES AND SHALL HAVE the responsibility for unemployment compensation insurance as required of an employer pursuant to the "Colorado Employment Security Act", articles 70 to 82 of this title. |
| 5/23/2008 | StaffMarket | Information Link | CoAdvantage Resources Acquires Gevity ASO Clients | Article about the CoAdvantage - Gevity deal. Gevity’s foray into the ASO marketplace was the brainchild of former CEO Erik Vonk who departed the company in October 2007. Mr. Vonk led the drive to acquire HRAmerica for $10M in February of 2007. At the time HRAmerica was acquired by Gevity it had 75 clients with 16,000 worksite employees. |
| 5/20/2008 | Jacksonville Business Journal | Information Link | Most Small Business Owners Optimistic | Administaff survey claims that small business owners are optimistic about growth in the coming year. Nearly 78 percent of owners and managers of small businesses say their companies will meet or surpass growth expectations this year, according to a national survey. The Business Confidence Survey by Administaff found more than 26 percent of employers plan to increase salaries this year, while 50 percent will maintain current wage levels. Sixty-four percent said they expect overtime to remain about the same. The business confidence survey was conducted this month via Administaff Inc.'s database of more than 6,000 small and mid-sized businesses. |
| 5/18/2008 | Tampabay.com | Information Link | Tampa Bay Companies Persevere | Brief article about the strengh of Tampa Bay PEOs and employee leasing companies. Bradenton's Bealls defies the national retail chains because it knows the Florida market well. And Clearwater's Frank Crum and Holiday's Southeast Personnel Leasing are big parts of an employee leasing industry that's become densely packed in this part of Florida. |
| 5/16/2008 | BLR | Information Link | Businesses Benefit From Training | ADP TotalSource president discusses using a PEO to help implement training programs that reduce employee turnover and employer liability costs. An alternative to in-house training programs is to work with a Professional Employee Organization (PEO). PEOs provide small- and mid-size businesses with full-service human-resource management and payroll services. A major benefit of a PEO relationship is the access to experts it provides its clients. PEOs are available to help employers through employment related situations. Mark Benjamin is the president of ADP TotalSource, the Professional Employer Organization of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. |
| 5/15/2008 | Oakland Business Review | Information Link | Worklife Financial Plans Growth | Worklife Financial Plans PEO Growth Through Acquisitions. WorkLife Financial Co. provides financial administration services such as payroll, tax compliance, risk management and succession planning. The company was formed in April by CEO Steve Groulx using outside investment and by acquiring a Dallas-based professional employer organization and restructuring his own company, formerly known as Strategic Business Solutions. |
| 5/15/2008 | New York Law Journal | Information Link | The Risk of Using Independent Contractors | Misclassification penalties of independent contractors get more attention from the IRS and state agencies.
The use of a responsible employee leasing organization is a practical and viable alternative that allows 1099ers to continue to provide services to the company, yet it substantially minimizes a company's exposure to liability under the tax, employee benefits and labor laws. This alternative can dramatically reduce a company's risk of liability and substantially diminish the likelihood of a lawsuit or an audit by a governmental agency. Unlike payrolling companies, an employee leasing organization is a third-party employer. Some or all of the company's 1099ers (as well as its long-term temps, project employees, per diems and consultants) can be hired as employees of the leasing organization, which withholds taxes; makes Social Security, Medicare and unemployment payments; pays Workers' Compensation premiums; and may also provide basic medical and dental benefits and offer participation in a 401(k) plan maintained by the leasing organization. |
| 5/5/2008 | StaffMarket | Information Link | Connecticut Advances Legislation for PEOs. | Connecticut house bill 5113 is advanced for PEOs and Professional Employer Organizations. Coemployment relationship" means an ongoing relationship, rather than a temporary or project-specific relationship, in which the rights, duties and obligations of an employer are allocated between a professional employer organization and a client pursuant to a professional employer agreement as provided in sections 2 to 6, inclusive, of this act; |
| 4/16/2008 | Centerdaily.com | Information Link | LMC Resources Acquired by TriNet. | Longtime StaffMarket member PEO LMC Resources has been acquired by TriNet of San Leandro California. LMC has primarity served the Colorado PEO marketplace. The newly combined operation will capitalize on the best of local service joined with TriNet's industry leading employee benefits, technology, and human resource management expertise. Customers will see a seamless transition process as Richard Lang -- the pioneering founder of LMC Resources and a 30-year industry veteran -- and most of his staff are joining the TriNet team as part of a combined group, now positioned as an industry leader in Colorado. |
| 4/10/2008 | Calfornia Chamber of Commerce | Information Link | California Flexible Work Week Defeated Despite Support from California Chamber of Commerce | Party line vote kills employer flexibility in California. Benoit´s bill was sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce and received a wide array of support from California´s business community, with more than 43 local Chambers signing on as co-sponsors of AB 2127. |
| 4/7/2008 | Rockford Illinois Star | Information Link | Valued insurance far from assured with small companies | How small companies are creating health insurance options for their employees through self-funded plans or by joining a Professional Employer Organization. To find the right plan, Muldowney turned the research over to Savant’s business manager, Scott Kaiser, who put together several options to choose from.Many companies, though, don’t have the luxury of one staffer with the time and expertise to find the right plan. That’s when they can turn to Staff Management Inc. of Rockford or Miller Buettner Employee Benefits & Communications of Winnebago.Staff Management, started more than 20 years ago by John and Fran Morrissey, is a human resources outsourcing firm. If you own a small company and would like to concentrate on the core business while leaving such tasks as payroll management, 401(k) management and health care to an outside firm, you would hire Staff Management. In this model, your employees become its employees, with the health-insurance plan it has purchased for the more than 1,000 employees under its coverage. |
| 4/1/2008 | Financial Planning | Information Link | Take Cover | How Raymond James uses a PEO to access benefit programs for their groups of independent contractors. LPL Financial struggled for years to structure a health insurance program that would keep the distinctions clear, says Sal Zambito, senior vice president for business development. The broker-dealer put its legal counsel to work on the problem and last fall unveiled a group healthcare option that is administered and marketed by a third party. Advisors are guaranteed coverage from the carrier Trustmark, and LPL contributes nothing toward their premiums. Zambito says LPL considered a professional employer organization model like MyBackOffice uses, but chose the group plan for its competitive rates and ease of use. LPL's health insurance is a standalone option, unlike RJFS's offering. "The feedback has been exceptional," Zambito says. After the plan was announced last fall, 1,250 of LPL's 11,000 advisors enrolled. Prospective advisors visiting LPL are excited to learn health insurance would be available to them if they join the broker-dealer, he adds. |
| 3/19/2008 | San Francisco Chronical | Information Link | Professional Employer Organizations can help small companies cut costs | Article covers the basics of how small companies benefit from a PEO. Although sometimes aligned with temporary employment agencies and staff leasing firms, the organization provides a much different type of service. Unlike a temp agency, your employees are intended to be permanent and not moved around to a variety of jobs. In terms of staff leasing, you are not just leasing any employee, you're leasing your own employee. Everything is the same, except that your employee receives paychecks and benefits from an outside firm. The employees still work for you, but all their taxes, benefits and insurance are handled by an outside source. |
| 3/10/2008 | Daily News and Analysis | Information Link | Starbucks and Convergys part ways | Outsourcing and Offshoring are often confused. Starbucks ditches offshoring arrangement with Convergys. Cincinnati, Ohio-based Convergys has call centre and back office operations in Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore among other cities in India. The company recently said in an analyst meet that the deal termination would have no effect on its 2008 or 2009 revenue or income targets for this unit. In July last year, Convergys said it will provide HR administration and payroll services for Starbucks’ partners in the US and Canada, along with benefits services for Starbucks’ partners in Canada. |
| 2/27/2008 | Bradenton Herald | Information Link | Gevity goes back to basics | Gevity announces plans to focus on core PEO model. Gevity deviated from its traditional role and found the venture 'disruptive and cash dilutive' |
| 2/15/2008 | StaffMarket | Information Link | St. Pete Times Commentary on Employee Leasing is misguided | Jim Hamilton, president of StaffMarket Services replies to St. Pete Times editor about E-Verify compliance and employee leasing. |
| 2/15/2008 | StaffMarket | Information Link | DOL proposes changes to FMLA rules for PEOs | On February 11, 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed major overhaul of its FMLA regulations, including a specific amendment to the joint employer coverage regulation that will address PEO arrangements and clarifies the differences between staffing arrangements and Professional Employer Organizations. |
| 2/14/2008 | StaffMarket | Information Link | Entrepreneur.com magazine article about PEOs is misguided | StaffMarket president Jim Hamilton replies to Entrepreneur.com business advisor. Most PEOs also offer an ASO product and many ASO offer a PEO product. Whether a PEO or ASO makes more sense for you company depends on your current insurance, HR and administrative service needs. Companies should look at both options depending on their situation. |
| 2/13/2008 | StaffMarket | Information Link | Employee Leasing Companies May Become Singularly Liable for Wages Based Taxes | Bush 2009 budget contains provisions that affect tax liabilities for employer wages Standards for holding employee leasing companies solely liable for such taxes would also be provided for employment tax returns required to be filed for wages paid |
| 2/12/2008 | Workforce Management | Information Link | Gevity Changes Leadership | Article discusses changes in leadership and strategy at Gevity and their return to core PEO services. Based in Bradenton, Florida, Gevity started out as a professional employer organization aimed at small businesses. A PEO serves as a co-employer of the client companies’ employees and takes over a wide range of human resources functions, including payroll, health insurance and workers’ compensation. The company sought to expand into the HR outsourcing business, in which clients could outsource certain services like payroll to Gevity without a co-employment relationship and without having Gevity provide health and workers’ compensation coverage. The HR outsourcing business was seen as a way for Gevity to attract larger businesses that were able to contract for health and workers’ compensation coverage on their own but still sought limited outsourcing of things like payroll as a cost-saving measure. |
| 2/11/2008 | Wisconsin Small Business Times | Information Link | Regulating PEOs makes sense for Wisconsin's small businesses | Legislators in Wisconsin promote Bill that regulates PEOs AB 760 will require PEOs serving business clients in Wisconsin to register each year with the Department of Regulation and Licensing (DORL) and meet certain requirements to operate in our state. It's revenue neutral; the fees paid by PEOs will offset the administrative costs. The bill is supported by the PEOs already operating in our state and by the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO). |
| 2/5/2008 | St. Petersburg Times | Information Link | Regions Hot Job Growth Doubted | Article discusses how the growth of Tampa Bay Employee Leasing companies may be skewing local employment growth statistics.
As late as last year, Tampa-St. Petersburg's higher-than-average job growth earned the area honors as Forbes magazine's seventh hottest jobs market in the United States. But the accuracy of the numbers has been called into question. That's because the Tampa Bay area is unusual in being home base for dozens of professional employer organizations. PEOs are employee leasing firms to which companies outsource services like payroll and health benefits. |
| 1/15/2008 | Sarasota Herald Tribune | Information Link | Oasis Outsourcing Inc. acquires two Tampa Florida PEOs | Professional Employer Plans and Advantage Employer Solutions have been acquired by Oasis Outsourcing of West Palm Beach. Oasis Outsourcing Holdings Inc., a privately held professional employer organization with an office in Sarasota, said Monday that it has acquired Professional Employer Plans Inc., Advantage Employer Solutions Inc. and related companies, which are headquartered in Tampa. |
| 1/9/2008 | American Chronicle | Information Link | Help your Business Thrive in 2008 | Good thoughts on surviving business cycles and outsourcing non-core activities Employee leasing is a fast growing opportunity, growing by over 20% per year. It's a way to outsource not only the employee contingent of the business, but generally the organizational aspect of employees. Most employee leasing groups handle all the Human Resources function for the funds expended. The most important part of any outsourcing arrangement is that the group supporting the business must understand the business core competencies, how the business operates, and what are the end results desired. Moreover, the outsourced group must be able to support the core competencies for which it is working with quality and integrity. |
| 1/3/2008 | Orlando Sentinel | Information Link | CoAdvantage Holdings completes acquisition of Bradenton professional employer organization | NELCO sells to Co-Advantage Holdings of Orlando. Both CoAdvantage and Nelco, which was founded in 1983 and is one of the country's oldest professional employer organizations, have each been major companies in their field, said Milan Yager, spokesman for the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations. |
| 1/1/2008 | Hawaii House of Representatives | Information Link | Hawaii Proposes PEO legislation | Hawaii proposes bill that would require client based workers' compensation policies for PEOs operating in Hawaii. NAPEO is working to amend the bill to more closely follow the NAPEO model act. Every professional employment organization that maintains or will be maintaining workers' compensation coverage for assigned employees shall register with the commissioner. An insurer may not issue a workers' compensation insurance policy to a professional employment organization that is not registered, nor enter into an agreement with an unregistered professional employment organization to issue policies to clients of the professional employment organization. |
| 12/26/2007 | Kansas City Star | Information Link | Workplace Trends for 2008 | Article mentions that employers are gaining HR efficiencies with a PEO. Similarly, expect more small businesses to look for ways to reduce the cost of benefits administration by turning to professional employer organizations. With PEOs, some businesses take advantage of economies of scale and relieve their human-resources staff of some duties. |
| 12/26/2007 | The Spectrum | Information Link | Human Capital Management | Brief on NAPEO assessment of health insurance costs increases. After pay, health insurance is the most important inducement small businesses use to recruit and keep workers. Yet more than half the 365 small businesses in a recent survey said their premiums rose as much as 10 percent this year, and almost one in 10 businesses told the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations they would dump their health coverage next year or are unsure about it. |
| 12/5/2007 | Chicago Tribune | Information Link | Employee use of Internet limits needed | With holiday season in full swing, employees spend lots of time surfing. That can sound scary to a company owner worried about work time lost to the Internet. But if you are tempted to ban personal Internet use outright, other business owners, labor lawyers and human resources professionals will advise against it. "It's something that becomes sort of an HR-employee relations goodwill issue," said Rick Gibbs, a senior human resources specialist with Administaff, a Houston-based company that provides human resources outsourcing. |
| 12/4/2007 | NAPEO | Information Link | Small Business survey on health benefits and government mandates | PEO clients were surveyed for their thoughts on health benefits and the recent government push for coverage mandates. The vast majority (95%) of the NAPEO survey respondents offer healthcare plans and will not raise employees' share of the cost of their health insurance plans in 2007. They will hold the line on employees' contributions toward the plan premiums, even though employer-sponsored health plan premiums rose an average 7.7 percent this year. Holding the line on employees' contributions is not unusual - many companies large and small aren't contemplating raising this amount, either. Where most employers are making employees reach into their own pockets is in actual expenses at the point of service, such as higher deductibles and co-payments for medical care and prescription drugs. |
| 12/2/2007 | OSHA | Information Link | OSHA issues final ruling about employers cost for protective clothing | Employers are now responsible for covering the costs of personal protective equipment (PPE) with a few exceptions for clothing that can be worn off the worksite. Many Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) health, safety, maritime, and construction standards require employers to provide their employees with protective equipment, including personal protective equipment (PPE), when such equipment is necessary to protect employees from job-related injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. |
| 11/7/2007 | USCIS | Information Link | US Citizenship and Immigration Services releases revised I9 - Employment Eligibility Verification form. | New I9 Form is in place. The instructions for Section 1 regarding Social Security numbers were also revised. The instructions now state that an employee is not obligated to provide the Social Security Number in Section 1 of the I-9 form, unless the employer participates in the USCIS Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). Employers must begin using the 2007 edition of the I-9 form now because all previous versions of the form are no longer valid. Employers are only required to complete the new I-9 form for new hires, and do not need to complete new forms for existing employees. However, employers must use the 2007 I-9 form when their employees require re-verification. |
| 10/31/2007 | Insurance Newsnet | Information Link | Cedar Hill - PEO Workers Comp administrator is sold | Cedar Hill a large insurance administator specializing in workers' compensation programs for the PEO industry has been purchased by Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Cedar Hill Insurance Agency, Inc. is a retail property/casualty insurance program administrator and business process outsourcing firm. They specialize in workers compensation insurance programs for professional employer organizations and temporary service industries throughout the U.S. |
| 10/31/2007 | CNN Money | Information Link | SOI - Strategic Outsourcing Inc. plans public offering. | SOI plans public offering through Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse for $86.2M. The Charlotte, N.C.-based professional employer organization said it plans to use the proceeds from the offering to repay a portion of a term loan. |
| 10/1/2007 | Smart Business | Information Link | Frank Crum - Extreme Makeover | FranCrum reengineers - branding and software for future growth While rebranding the company and getting everyone working together was a major part of the process, gaining efficiencies from the newly united companies was the other part. And those efficiencies were only going to happen if people were using the same software systems, and that meant a major conversion project. |
| 10/1/2007 | IN Business Las Vegas | Information Link | HR Liaisons Help Small Companies Compete | Article about Las Vegas businesses turning to PEOs. With employee-leasing companies, small businesses can consolidate their workforces to better compete with corporations for employees seeking a lucrative benefits package. Leasing companies also take over the painstaking chores of payroll, hiring and firing, and dealing with risk management issues, such as workers' compensation. The biggest draw to employee leasing companies is the benefit packages — such as health, dental and 401(k) — they offer. |
| 9/24/2007 | Financial Week | Information Link | Cost of Health Care System Bugs Employers | USA employers paid over two thirds of the $694B (with a B!) total premiums for employee health insurance. Maybe they should have a say in how the system is reformed. It’s ironic: the main reason people do not have coverage is because they can’t afford it,” she explained. “We must put in protections that control costs too. And this isn’t for the sake of large employers, who already spend an average $9,000 a year per employee on health care—which will go up some with universal coverage, but not much. Politicians say, ‘we’ll get the coverage in first, and we’ll worry about the costs later,’ but you’ll never be able to do the cost part later.” |
| 9/20/2007 | West Virginia Record | Information Link | West Virginia Considers PEOs and Work Comp Transition | As West Virginia moves from a monopolistic to a market driven workers' compensation insurance program, legislation needs to consider hybrid employment structures like Professional Employer Organizations. Article discusses actions by NAPEO and others to ensure PEO workers comp plans are effective solutions for West Virginia employers. He said legislators did not act on PEO proposals last year because they felt they needed more information and time. "We made some progress but they wanted to make sure we got it right," Tucker said. "We make workers comp a good line for insurers to write. It is imperative that we have a good understanding of what risk and exposure each client has. "Clark praised PEOs as having "exceptionally good" risk managers. "A PEO can assist in ensuring that worksite employees are provided with a worksite that is safe, conducive to productivity and operated in compliance with employment laws and regulations," the website states. |
| 9/7/2007 | The Journal Record | Information Link | Many Employers Think Applicants Lie on Resumes | Survey shows that staffing problems start in the hiring process and explores ways problems can be prevented. For that matter, don’t trust the average worker, either, results from a recent survey by the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) suggest. The group, which represents companies that do human resource chores for small businesses, found that the majority of the businesses surveyed believe employment applicants are lying to them on their resumes. |
| 9/1/2007 | AICPA | Information Link | Using PEOs to Handle Human Resources and Assist in Employment Law Compliance | Brief discussion about PEOs from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Rudimentary discussion about how to research a PEO. "We have a PEO because we are competitive, and because of the PEO we stay competitive" says John Maddox CPA. |
| 8/30/2007 | The Business Ledger | Information Link | PEOs Stake Claim to Marketplace | Chicago based PEOs and HR experts discuss the lack of awareness about Professional Employer Organizations in their area and the advantages for medium sized businesses.
"Do your homework and do a cost benefit analysis," said Mary Lynn Fayoumi, president and CEO of the Management Association of Illinois in Downers Grove. "Get multiple quotes from PEOs and make sure that you are getting a plan that is designed for your company and not a vanilla form. Kick the tires and make sure you are happy with what you are paying for." |
| 8/28/2007 | Daytona Beach Business | Information Link | Workers' Comp falls for fifth time | Work comp rates may be dropping once again for Florida employers. NCCI is proposing a 16.5 percent rate reduction. The latest decrease, the fifth in five years, will trim rates to just half the level in 2002, before the Legislature enacted stricter rules for paying benefits to injured workers, according to Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty. Costs of claims rose 2.2 percent over the past year, but fewer claims were filed, making a rate reduction possible, he said. |
| 8/27/2007 | StaffMarket | Information Link | StaffMarket Sponsors 2007 NAPEO Conference | StaffMarket again sponsors annual NAPEO conference. This year's annual conference being held October 21-24 in Chicago, Illinois in the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. Hosted by NAPEO – the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations. StaffMarket will be sponsoring the musical entertainment for the Tuesday evening event “Celebrate Sinatra”. |
| 8/20/2007 | DHS | Information Link | DHS Issues SSN - Final Mismatch Rule | The Department of Homeland Security issues the Final Mismatch Rule effective 9/14/2007. The Social Security Administration (SSA) delayed the issuance of SSN mismatch letters from 2006 W-2 returns, that now will be released in to employers across the nation. The DHS has indicated that the fines for known violations will be going up by up to 25 percent, and by the end of the 2007, it expects to mandate that federal contractors participate in the E-Verify Program. DHS Rules for IRS - SSN Non Match letters. |
| 8/9/2007 | Las Vegas Business Press | Information Link | Labor laws force businesses to outsource HR | Las Vegas based business has $1.14M fine levied by the Labor Department Wage and Hour division for improperly recording employee work hours. PEO owner discusses how outsourcing HR tasks with a PEO can prevent these problems. A PEO eliminates many of the employer responsibilities and liabilities, as well as eliminates non-productive administration functions. It also allows a small business to re-focus on its bottom-line activities, create predictable operating costs, reduce vulnerability to key employee turnover and enhance the perceived value of benefits. |
| 8/7/2007 | StaffMarket | Information Link | PEOs assist employers with EEV - Basic Pilot Program | Brief article on what Professional Employer Organizations are doing to assist business owners with the Employment Eligibility Verification Program offerd by USCIS. Since compliance with employment law is one of the core services of a PEO, many PEOs are reviewing the rules being established by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service and various state bodies for compliance. |
| 8/7/2007 | StaffMarket | Information Link | PEOSelect.com | Malicious website experience Further research show that address listed as the office for peoselect.com is also the address for many business that appear to be using the address as a business front. A Google search of their address shows 10 pages of business all using the same address and often the same suite number 1. Business owners seeking a PEO are advised to use caution with this "company". Additional research shows that the domain owner is hidden and no records are available for the existance of a legitimate company or it's ownership. |
| 7/16/2007 | Hawaii Reporter | Information Link | PEOs get a boost in Hawaii | Hawaii resolves general excise tax problems for PEOs. This year after more than seven years of being debated in the legislature, a measure has passed and been signed into law that recognizes that the amount of reimbursement for wages, salaries, benefits and insurance premiums is really not gross income to the PEO and should not be subject to the general excise tax. HB 317 became Act 225 of the 2007 session. |
| 7/9/2007 | Physicians Practice | Information Link | The Bigger Picture: No more HR headaches? | Many medical practices are considering hiring a PEO. Some of the concerns over costs in the article are a bit overstated. Ronald L. Evans loved the PEO he used as a manager at a nine-physician cardiology practice. “The transition to the PEO went rather smoothly for us,” he recalls. “The practice saved a considerable amount of money on group health insurance expenses, and the PEO afforded our physicians and staff a much wider menu of benefits.” Evans is now executive director of finance and administration of the internal medicine department at The University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston. The staff there is also under a PEO beloved for its benefits. |
| 6/25/2007 | StaffMarket | Information Link | The state of Indiana clarifies PEO status. | Regulatory rules for PEOs in Indiana. With the adoption of this regulation, Indiana joins the the growing list of states in the nation with legal and operational certainty afforded to PEOs by comprehensive statutes. |
| 6/25/2007 | Kansas City Star | Information Link | Professional Organizations give 'peace of mind' | Article talks about the value of PEOs for small and medium sized businesses. Also, because a PEO aggregates its clients’ total employee numbers, it can get a better deal on health-insurance costs, for example, and can offer more employee benefits than a small business could on its own. |
| 6/14/2007 | NAPEO | Information Link | Florida - PEO client based Workers' compensation policies. | Florida reviews client based WC policies. The national advocacy group for the PEO industry - NAPEO has indicated it is urging the Florida Board of Employee Leasing Companies (BELC) to challenge the legislature's Joint Administrative Procedures Committee's (JAPC) interpretation that current Florida statute does not permit PEO clients to have individual workers' compensation policies. NAPEO is meeting with key legislative leaders and agency staff to defend the PEO industry's position regarding the permissibility of PEO client-based policies. |
| 5/30/2007 | TwinCities.com | Information Link | Ceridian to be sold for $5.3B | HR Outsourcing supplier is being sold to private hedge fund Thomas H. Lee partners. Ceridian traces its corporate lineage back to Control Data Corp. and now is among the largest human-resources outsourcing companies. Despite steady growth, the company ran into difficulties with its largest investor earlier this year. |
| 5/5/2007 | Hawaii Business | Information Link | The Human Resource Network | Business owners in Hawaii discover the advantages of HR outsourcing and using a PEO. The biggest obstacle that the PEO industry has to overcome is the misconception that PEOs handle temporary staffing or employee recruiting. Contributing to the misconception is that PEOs - "professional employer organization" - that handled administrative functions for clients were often called employee leasing companies. Misleading as the term is, "employee leasing" is still sometimes used in the PEO industry. |
| 5/4/2007 | Chicago Daily Herald | Information Link | Hewitt Has Growing Pains | Article covers the financial underperformance of HR Outsourcing company Hewitt Associates. Hewitt, founded in 1940, has enjoyed the status of an HR leader for many years. Until 2000 the company typically grew by acquiring relatively small consultancies. Then, following the industry trend toward consolidation of human resources services, Hewitt acquired Exult, a company widely recognized as a “full-spectrum” pioneer and the clear leader in outsourcing, actually operating a client’s HR department rather than merely providing advice. |
| 5/1/2007 | Business Tennessee | Information Link | Small Business ins and outs of HR Outsourcing | How to evaluate outsourcing effectiveness for your company. As businesses grow, Cornwall says business owners tend to hand off human resources functions. While he says it’s cost-effective to outsource payroll and other time-consuming HR functions, it may not be necessary to outsource all HR responsibilities. HR outsourcing firms allow businesses to outsource components of HR functions or even services by the project. Generally, however, outsourcing is key to business growth. Small businesses don’t have the time, money or manpower to do it all, and, in fact, trying to do it all won’t be cost-effective in the long run. |
| 4/29/2007 | NCBR | Information Link | Employer Solutions Group has new owner | Indianapolis based Fortune Industries acquires Loveland Colorado's Employer Solutions Group for $11.2M. Fortune Industries provides technology solutions to businesses in five main segments: wireless infrastructure, business solutions, transportation infrastructure, ultraviolet technologies and electronics integration. This is the second professional employer organization, or PEO, bought by Fortune Industries in the past 90 days, and the second acquisition for the Loveland site in less than two years. In September 2005, Employer Solutions acquired Employer Source of Loveland. |
| 4/17/2007 | Birmingham News | Information Link | Better Business Solutions and Ohio based Sequent merge | Article reviews merger of Better Business Solutions based in Birmingham, Alabama and Sequent Inc. based in Columbus, Ohio. The new company will operate under the name of Better Business Solutions. The combined firm will handle 7,000 outside employees in 40 states. Such "professional employment firms" take over many personnel and payroll functions for small- and mid-sized companies. They also serve as the legal employer of record, allowing them to negotiate pooled retirement and insurance plans on behalf of the employees they represent. The large pool of workers usually means more options and better rates than small employers can negotiate individually. |
| 4/16/2007 | Yahoo! Finance | Information Link | ClearPoint and HRE file letter of intent | Publicly traded ClearPoint Business Resources (CPBR) is seeking to acuire some of the assets (clients?) of The Human Resources Corporation (HRE) which includes National Med-Staff, AEM and Paradyme Inc. This article relays that the Work Comp carrier - SUNZ insurance intents to continue the workers' compensation insurance coverage. The closing of the acquisition is contingent upon ClearPoint satisfactorily completing, in its sole discretion, its financial, legal, operational and customer due diligence. HRE has agreed to negotiate solely with ClearPoint and its affiliates for a 45 day exclusivity period. |
| 4/4/2007 | CNN | Information Link | Cure Your HR Ills | Article discusses the business advantages of engaging a PEO. For the business owner PEOs take on the headache of payroll taxes, regulatory compliance, and a gamut of HR issues, from hiring to drafting an employee handbook to mediating conflicts. Although PEOs have been around since the early 1980s, the industry has been growing at 15 to 20 percent annually over the past several years, according to the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, an industry trade group. |
| 3/26/2007 | State of Washington | Information Link | State of Washington draft legislation affecting PEOs | Proposed legislation may alter the landscape for PEOs in Washington state. |
| 3/15/2007 | NCOIL | Information Link | National Association of Insurance Commissioners Model Rule for PEO Workers’ Compensation. | NCOIL proposes a national model for regulators and PEO. All PEOs need to be aware of this draft (model rule) and the way it affects PEO workers' compensation policies. The purpose of this Act is to require the registration of professional employer organizations (PEOs) and to regulate the use of experience ratings in PEO relationships. [Drafting Note: This model is specifically designed to address the registration and use of experience ratings by PEOs in workers’ compensation insurance. Some states may wish to address additional PEO rights and responsibilities, or require PEOs to be licensed.] |
| 3/14/2007 | NAPEO | Information Link | The February 2007 Survey of Businesses Served by Professional Employer Organizations | NAPEO survey results on how the workplace will be affected by the aging of the baby boom generation. During three weeks in February and March, almost 400 PEO clients—most of them with less than 50 employees—responded to the survey. What they said offers a timely and unusual glimpse of how small business owners are coping with the aging of their work forces; indicates where these employers can make changes; and shows where they're already taking advantage of older workers' expertise. |
| 3/13/2007 | StaffMarket | Information Link | Employee Benefits and Retention Study for PEOs | MetLife releases a study the shows that employee retention is a major reason companies want to keep a strong benefits package in place for their employees. The challenge for employers is clear: how best to use benefits as a retention tool that meets the needs of an increasingly diverse workforce, while keeping rising costs at a reasonable level. |
| 3/12/2007 | Arizona Star | Information Link | Arizona considers Work Comp discount for drug testing. | Drug testing for Arizona workers may allow insurance companies to offer discounts to employers with drug testing programs. Workers' compensation in Arizona is a no-fault system. Employees injured on the job are entitled to have their medical bills paid and a percentage of their salary, regardless of who caused the mishap. In exchange for guaranteed compensation, the workers give up the right to sue the employer for negligence. Most companies buy insurance coverage, though some larger firms are self-insured. A 1999 state law says that if a company has a drug-testing policy, an injured worker can be denied benefits for failing a drug test or refusing to take one. But two years ago the state Supreme Court ruled that law unconstitutional. The justices said the workers' compensation system — and the no-fault provision — is part of the state constitution and lawmakers are powerless to alter that. |
| 3/9/2007 | TheState.com (SC) | Information Link | Workers' compensation insurance reforms in SC | South Carolina experiences a 70% increase in four years. Experts say the work comp system in SC is broken and must be fixed for SC business to be competitive. Between 2001 and 2005, employer premiums increased by more than $275 million — a 70 percent increase in only four years. Costs are skyrocketing because the system, which mandates all employers with four or more employees must carry workers’ compensation insurance, lacks competition among insurance providers. Why? Despite recent premium increases, insurers are still losing an average of about 25 cents on every premium dollar, giving them a rational incentive to leave South Carolina. |
| 3/3/2007 | Business Week | Information Link | ADP CEO identifies growth goals | ADP CEO Gary Butler discusses outsourcing of administrative functions and HR self service as their biggest growth opportunities. CEO discusses the challenges and rewards for offering co-employment and bundled worker's compensation insurance, recruiting and legal advice - services offered by many PEOs. Our biggest challenge there is not the leads, but doing the proper underwriting. If I'm your co-employer and you're a bad worker's compensation risk and you've got people falling off roofs and running over people with lawnmowers, I don't want you on my worker's comp policy. If you have a tainted health care history, my suppliers of health care are not going to be interested in underwriting you on our health care policy. |
| 3/2/2007 | InfoWorld | Information Link | IBM gets HR outsourcing deal with American | IBM and Mercer HR Services take over HR outsourcing functions for American Airlines. Researchers at Gartner estimated that the market for HR-related business process outsourcing reached $24.6 billion in 2006, a roughly 5 percent gain over 2005. However, the research firm has also predicted that some services providers might struggle with profitability during 2007, impeding growth of the U.S. sector of the market specifically. HR remains the largest segment of the worldwide business outsourcing market at 18.7 percent, Gartner reported, with payroll and benefits administration ranking as the most popular tasks that are being farmed out to service providers. |
| 2/24/2007 | St. Petersburg Times | Information Link | A quiet Florida giant begins to make noise | Growth at FrankCrum (formerly known as Crum Staffing) is taking off. Summary article about the company and its president and CEO, Frank Crum Jr.
The company, FrankCrum, is a PEO, or professional employer organization, which means it does human resources work for other companies. Crum, 57, also owns Crum Staffing, a temporary staffing firm; and Frank Winston Crum Insurance, a workers' compensation insurance carrier. Up next: FrankCrum is rolling out a service called Frank Advice. Crum hopes that his 3,000 client companies will use the information, available online and by hotline, to make sure they're following the law when hiring, firing, paying and educating employees. |
| 2/23/2007 | SHRM | Information Link | Senate and House bills contain different PEO provisions | The US Senate and House each are proposing minimum wage increases and the senate bill contains a provision for PEO bonding -this provision is being supported By NAPEO. The House bill, unlike the Senate version, does not include a provision that would establish a certificate program for professional employer organizations (PEOs). The Senate proposal would change the federal tax code to allow any PEO that posts a bond, files audited financial statements and has its top executives pass background checks to collect and pay federal taxes for their small-business clients. Grassley, who is the ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee, pushed to include the PEO provision in the Senate bill. His support for the proposal could make it a key part of the conference committee’s negotiation to forge a final minimum wage bill, according to sources familiar with the issue. |
| 2/19/2007 | NJBIZ | Information Link | Small Business Growth Boosts Professional Employer Organizations | New Jersey PEOs comment on the growth they are experiencing with NJ based businesses. According to a January report by IDC, a Massachusetts-based market intelligence and data company, small businesses are increasingly turning to human resources outsourcing companies that handle payroll, tax filings and other work-related administrative functions. IDC says 5 percent of small businesses with 50 or fewer employees use PEOs. |
| 2/19/2007 | Tampa Bay Business Journal | Information Link | Gevity expands technology through acquisition | Gevity pays $10M for 75 ASO clients and Ultimate Solutions HR platform. While the client portfolio of HRAmerica fits the profile of those businesses who could benefit from Gevity's broader comprehensive offering, the key reason for the transaction is to acquire the processes and technology to support our growth," said Erik Vonk, chairman and chief executive officer, in the release. |
| 1/31/2007 | Orlando Sentinel | Information Link | PEOs provide human-resource, payroll services | Business columnist Harry Wessel answers a question from an employee whos' company recently hired a PEO. Question: The company where I've worked for several years recently signed an agreement with another company to take over all labor-relations activities. An "employee leasing" statement we were given to sign expressly acknowledges this new company, which I've never heard of, as a co-employer. It appears to make me an employee of the new company. The statement even says there will be a 90-day evaluation period, during which I could be dismissed for any reason, and that I could be reassigned to another job at the company's discretion. In addition to having to revert to rookie status, I'm worried that, if I sign, it will affect the benefits I've accrued, as well as unemployment benefits should I need them. Can the company legally do this? |
| 1/28/2007 | New Your Journal News | Information Link | Labor and business seek common ground on workers' comp | New York moves to revise workers' compensation benefits in order to reduce premium costs. New York state has some of the hightest workers' compensation insurance costs in the nation and yet also has some of the lowest benefits for injured workers. The workers' compensation program cost New York businesses $5 billion in 2004, or nearly as much as all the state's business taxes combined, Robert Ward, director of research at the business council, said in a study released last week. That staggering cost comes despite the low benefit payments and even though New Yorkers get hurt on the job 17 percent less often than the national average, he said. The maximum benefit is less than half as much as it is in some states, Ward wrote. "There's obviously a problem when employers are paying Cadillac prices and workers are getting Volkswagen benefits," said Matthew Maguire, a spokesman for the business council. |
| 1/26/2007 | Charleston SC - Channel 2 News | Information Link | Workers' Comp in Crisis | Article descrbes how the lack of prosecution for fraudulent workers' compensation claims has caused South Carolina workers' compensation insurance premiums to increase. This story illistrates another reason business managers need to partner with a PEO who can assist with safety programs and contest questionable claims that drive experience factors and wc expenses high enough to stop business growth. Her business has had only four workers' comp claims in more than 20 years. "Out of those four cases, three were fraudulent. Three of those three cases which were fraudulent were given awards, either by the Workers' Comp Commission or by the insurance companies," she says. In one of those cases, the commission awarded a worker $25,000, even though three doctors testified the worker's condition was normal. The state also has no award standards for cases, which the NFIB says are needed to control costs. June Lennon, a partner at Martin & Lennon CPAs in Greenville, says she works with small business owners all the time who are being hurt by high workers' comp rates and high health insurance rates. |
| 1/25/2007 | Kansas.com | Information Link | Payroll, benefits, accounting among the outsourced tasks | More accolades from business owners who have partnered with a PEO. The past two decades have seen the emergence of businesses providing one or more back-office services, called business process outsourcing. The types of businesses providing such services can range from accounting and financial services firms to human resource consultants and professional employer organizations, or PEOs. A couple of groups said various parts of back-office outsourcing are growing. Research firm the Yankee Group projects that human resources outsourcing will be a $42 billion market by 2008. And data from the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations indicates that their 400 member firms across the country are growing by double digits. Spokesman Mike Flagg said NAPEO's average member saw 16 percent growth in gross revenue in 2005, the most recent data it has available. He said the PEO industry overall totaled $51 billion in gross revenue in 2005. |
| 1/25/2007 | SHRM | Information Link | Tracking Paid Time Off | PTO Banks are being used that lump all time off into one bucket. Time off includes sick time, personal days, short-term disability and unscheduled days off. In addition, most employers do not design their programs to attract and retain employees effectively, it said. Only 11 percent of 421 companies surveyed provide the same time-off programs across all employee groups. This makes them difficult to administer, track and manage, according to Hewitt, a provider of HR outsourcing and consulting services. |
| 1/22/2007 | Business Insurance | Information Link | Best practices back PEO industry certification | Information about ESAC and the value for Professional Employer Organizations who participate. The $51 billion U.S. professional employer organization industry has worked hard to develop independent performance certification and accreditation programs to provide greater assurance to the marketplace, including insurance companies, business clients and regulators. With leadership from the National Assn. of Professional Employer Organizations, the industry developed the PEO Workers Compensation Risk Management Certification Program (IF, March 2005) based on best performance practices determined by insurance carriers. |
| 1/16/2007 | Seeking Alpha | Information Link | Barrett Business Services | Nice investment related article about StaffMarket member PEO: Barrett Business Services in California. All this while the company has said they've still been able to pick and choose among prospective clients to keep their risk low (as essentially a co-employer with their PEO clients, BBSI is the one that takes out the workers comp insurance. So, for example, they wouldn't typically want to contract for PEO services with a roofing company). After my first run through on the company's materials and reports, this looks like a promising company with very steady and growing sales. PEO contracts generally run on annual cycles, and BBSI has a very high (90%) renewal rate. The hassle of changing companies in this business is pretty substantial, and the hassle of taking the work back yourself is worse still. This part of the business has been growing faster than the traditional staffing business for Barrett, and now makes up close to half of revenues. |
| 1/7/2007 | Business Wire | Information Link | Employee Leasing Solutions moves to Guard for Work Comp | ELS in Bradenton Florida obtains workers' compensation coverage from Guard of Pennsylvania. Susan Shoval, President of GUARD Insurance Group, announced today its intention to expand into the Florida workers’ compensation market through the development of a strategic relationship with Employee Leasing Solutions (ELS), a Bradenton based PEO. |
| 1/1/2007 | Rockford Register Star | Information Link | Many small firms hand off nonessential work | Companies find alternatives for handling HR paperwork. But now many small businesses, which make up the overwhelming majority of U.S. employers, are offloading their nonessential tasks to experts to shave costs and concentrate on their profit-making efforts. And the complexity of workplace regulations makes it desirable for many to contract their human-resources duties. For instance, employers with more than 50 workers must provide unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, and compliance require large amounts of record-keeping. |
| 12/6/2006 | StaffMarket | Information Link | Minimum Wage increases effective January 1, 2007 | Review states increasing the minimum wage in 2007. The following states will have a new minimum wage effective January 1, 2007. Your Professional Employer Organization should automatically increase the wages of any employee that falls below the new minimum wage. |
| 12/4/2006 | Yahoo Finance | Information Link | Kelly Services sells PEO-Staff Leasing business unit to Oasis Outsourcing | Oasis pays $6.5M for PEO clients of Kelly Staff Leasing business unit. Carl T. Camden, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "The sale of the Staff Leasing business unit is an important part of our strategy of reviewing our existing operations, selectively divesting non-core assets and reinvesting the proceeds in strategic growth initiatives. Although our staff leasing business is successful and profitable, we will concentrate our resources on growth opportunities more consistent with our large global customer strategy. We're pleased that this transaction provides our staff leasing customers with access to a wide range of professional employer organization services through Oasis Outsourcing, a recognized leader in that industry." |
| 11/29/2006 | Contra Costa Times | Information Link | Workers' comp costs likely to fall | California Work Comp reforms are lowering costs for many business owners. Small businesses are especially heavily affected by the fund's moves. An overwhelming majority of its clients, about 150,000 out of 220,000, are small businesses, Tudor said. Those are the most vulnerable businesses, for whom the workers' compensation payments are a huge burden. |
| 11/28/2006 | San Jose Business Journal | Information Link | State Fund files for 9% workers' comp premium decrease | California State fund lowers work comp rates. The State Compensation Insurance Fund has filed for an average 9 percent decrease in 2007 workers' compensation insurance rates, officials at the state's largest workers' comp carrier said Monday. |
| 11/28/2006 | Pitney Bowes | Information Link | Juggle No More | Real life stories about companies who have partnered with a PEO. PEOs’ best-known services include payroll, health insurance (the organizations typically represent thousands of employees, so they can negotiate good rates), worker’s compensation, 401(k)s, and other benefit plans. In fact, however, those offerings only scratch the surface. PEOs also can help with management training, policy development, employee handbooks, OSHA compliance, workshops on issues such as sexual harassment and workplace safety, leadership development seminars, headhunting services, guidance for compensation plans and employee evaluations… the list goes on and on. “Most small-businesspeople probably aren’t aware of all the HR consulting services that PEOs offer,” says Monette Galello, vice president of Burlington, Massachusetts PEO Genesis Consolidated Services. “Those services can boost productivity, protect small businesses and their employees from various risks, and help small firms compete with big corporations for employees.” |
| 11/13/2006 | Financial Week | Information Link | ID Theft Services Offered | Article discusses that some HR Outsourcing providers have added ID theft protection services to their array of employer related services. He said the company has 30,000 subscribers, and many of them have joined the program through employers. Debix, a LifeLock competitor, charges $24 a year, and Julie Fergerson, vice president of emerging technologies at the company, said Debix’s products are also being used as an employee benefit by such companies as staffing firm Administaff and human resources provider LifeCare. |
| 11/10/2006 | Long Island Business News | Information Link | Small Business under financial pressure from health insurance and wage demands. | New York’s small businesses are paying more to attract and retain talent, according to two new surveys. Lou Basso, president of professional employer organization The Alcott Group in Farmingdale, said his 300 small business clients are not increasing salaries because of Sarbanes-Oxley demands. But they face other challenges, according to Basso, who chairs the leadership council of the National Federation of Independent Business in New York. |
| 11/6/2006 | Akron Beacon Journal | Information Link | PEOs cover ABC of human resources | Companies take care of hiring, payroll and benefits. Most small businesses are new to the ``human resources'' or ``HR'' field. One advantage of using a professional employer organization is that they already have experienced HR pros who can handle benefits, payroll, Occupational Safety and Health Administration compliance and just about everything else you will need. By bringing employees into a larger overall group, a PEO can offer your workers benefits, such as health insurance and retirement plans, that you would be hard-pressed to deliver on your own. |
| 11/2/2006 | Gulf Breeze News | Information Link | Name change for AmStaff | AmStaff changes company name to Landrum Professional. About Landrum: Landrum Professional operates as a Professional Employer Organization (PEO). It provides comprehensive outsourced HR services at a fraction of the cost of a fully staffed human resource department. These services include: regulatory compliance, workers' comp and claims, "Fortune 500" benefits, background checks, drug testing, unemployment claims and payroll administration. |
| 10/27/2006 | TheStreet.com | Information Link | Is It Time to Outsource Your HR? | Good overview of HR Outsourcing with a Professional Employer Organization. Generally, a PEO will legally hire a company's current employees, thereby making the PEO the "employer of record" for taxation and insurance purposes. Having the employees of multiple businesses "on staff" allows PEOs to enjoy lower benefits' costs because more employees mean better rates. The employees are then leased back to the original employer (now a PEO client) under a shared-employment contractual relationship, which sets out the powers, responsibilities and liabilities of the parties. This practice is also known as "employee leasing" or "staff leasing." |
| 10/24/2006 | WorkForce Management | Information Link | Cell Phone Use: Employer Liability? | Article discusses the 'vicarious liability' that employers may have for auto accidents caused by employees use of cell phones while driving. So what should employers do to limit their exposure to vicarious liability from employee cell phone use? It's easy: Clearly limit job scope so that it prohibits cell phone use that is unreasonably dangerous. That can be done through written rules—in employee contracts, handbooks or personnel policies—that either prohibit cell phone use while driving altogether or allow cell phone use only if it complies with state and/or local rules. This would include any applicable rules requiring hands-free devices. |
| 10/23/2006 | Newsday | Information Link | Outsourcing: boon for small companies | Article discusses the advantages for small businesses when outsourcing non-essential tasks. Although it's certainly not for everyone, outsourcing is a tool used by many small businesses to help lighten the load, cut costs, improve efficiencies and meet regulatory standards, experts say. "Outsourcing becomes a convenient way for small businesses to offload burdensome tasks and allows them to focus on the strategic aspects of growing the company," says Robert H. Brown, a research director at Stamford-based Gartner Inc., who specializes in business process outsourcing. |
| 10/19/2006 | Tampa Bay Business Journal | Information Link | Staffing Company Hires New CIO | FrankCrum hires Cynthia McGathey as CIO. Cynthia McGathey was appointed chief information officer for FrankCrum, a professional employer organization and staffing company. Prior to joining FrankCrum, McGathey served as vice president of information technology with Certegy; held various information management positions at Abra Software, Inc.; and held information services and finance positions with Ascom Timeplex. |
| 10/12/2006 | Small Business Times | Information Link | Insurance commissioner made the right call | Wisconsin's regulators recognize the value of PEOs for small businesses. With passage of a PEO registration bill, Wisconsin can join a majority of states that have successfully adopted such bills, from industrialized states such as New York to more rural states such as Oklahoma and southern states like Florida and Arizona. That makes sense for Wisconsin and the growing PEO industry, the small businesses they serve and the workers they employ. |
| 9/27/2006 | HeraldToday.com | Information Link | Gevity's profit down in third quarter | Third quarter results for Gevity (GVHR). In August, the company reported an almost 20 percent drop in its second-quarter net income, the result of a $4.7 million charge needed to cover losses from the liquidation of Hatteras Reinsurance Ltd., a reinsurer that once handled Gevity's workers' compensation claims. |
| 9/25/2006 | South Florida Business Journal | Information Link | Florida Workers' Comp Rates May Decline | Could be good news for Florida based companies. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is planning a public hearing on a 13.3 percent proposed workers' compensation insurance rate filed by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. McCarty pointed out in two of the last three NCCI filings, his office ultimately approved rate cuts greater than those advocated by NCCI. |
| 9/22/2006 | Yahoo News | Information Link | Dalrada Financial Appoints Industry Veteran as Vice President of Operations | California based PEO expands state coverage. Costello comes to Dalrada from All Staffing, Inc., which was acquired by Dalrada earlier this month. She has 11 years experience in the professional employer organization (PEO) industry, overseeing all departments, including human resources, sales, worker's compensation, safety, benefits, payroll, and accounting. |
| 9/22/2006 | Business First | Information Link | Health-care Premium Hikes Returning | Health insurance price increase averages 8.6% nationally. But employers won't be able to sustain double-digit rate increases for much longer, Waterhouse said. That has them looking for more ways to shift part of the costs to workers and encourage them to improve their health through wellness and disease management programs. |
| 9/20/2006 | Mass.gov | Information Link | Massachusetts Fairshare Contribution | Massachusetts clarifies client level reporting for PEOs under employer fairshare contributions. Employee Leasing Company. A sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation or other form of business entity whose business consists largely of leasing employees to one or more Client Companies under contractual arrangements that retain for such employee leasing companies a substantial portion of personnel management functions, such as payroll, direction and control of workers, and the right to hire and fire workers provided by the employee leasing company; provided, however, that the leasing arrangement is long term and not an arrangement to provide the client company temporary help services during seasonal or unusual conditions. |
| 9/20/2006 | CCH | Information Link | Colorado amends its UI law | Colorado clarifies rules on Unemployment Insurance as it relates to PEOs and employee leasing arrangements. A transfer of experience will not occur when a work-site employer's account is made inactive as a result of entering into a contract with an employee leasing company, or when a contract between a work-site employer and an employee leasing company is terminated. |
| 9/18/2006 | Tampa Bay Business Journal | Information Link | Gevity Revises Earnings Forecast | Gevity revises earnings forecast for 2006. Summary of new office openings and stock repurchase plans. Based on the ranges of updated guidance below, Gevity expects full year 2006 earnings of at least $1.31 a share, on 27 million shares outstanding, representing at least a 9 percent increase compared to earnings of $1.20 a share, on 28.5 million shares outstanding in 2005. Previous guidance for earnings guidance was $1.43 to $1.47 a share on 27.2 million shares outstanding. |
| 9/15/2006 | Insurance Journal | Information Link | Calif. Workers' Comp Rating Bureau Proposes Rate Decrease | California's Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Board has proposed a 6.3 percent reduction in the pure premium rate. On Sept. 14, 2006, the WCIRB amended its Aug. 16, 2006 filing to include a proposed 6.3 percent reduction in pure premium rates with respect to new and renewal policies with an anniversary rating date on or after Jan. 1, 2007. In addition to proposing a decrease in pure premium rates, the WCIRB also proposed a decrease in the experience rating eligibility threshold from $16,971 to $16,600. |
| 9/15/2006 | Yahoo News | Information Link | Administaff Renews Workers' Compensation Program | Administaff renews AIG work comp plan. Under the arrangement, Administaff makes monthly payments to AIG comprised of premium costs and funds to be set aside for payment of future claims. Administaff bears the economic burden for the first $1 million layer of claims per occurrence, while AIG bears the economic burden for all claims in excess of the first $1 million layer. Administaff employs a third-party actuary to assist in the estimation of incurred claim costs. |
| 9/11/2006 | StaffMarket | Information Link | NAPEO Conference - StaffMarket sponsors PEO industry annual conference | StaffMarket announces sponsorship at NAPEO conference. The principals at StaffMarket are looking forward to the opportunity to visit with our many business partner PEO company representatives throughout the country. |
| 8/1/2006 | New York CPA Journal | Information Link | PEO Industry |