Compliance Archives - Business RadioX ®

Employer-Related Compliance Trends in 2023

February 24, 2023 by John Ray

Advisory Insights Podcast

Employer-Related Compliance Trends in 2023

00:00 /

Employer-Related Compliance Trends in 2023 (Advisory Insights Podcast, Episode 32)

On this episode of Advisory Insights, Stuart Oberman of Oberman Law Firm discussed employer-related compliance trends in 2023. Stuart talked about pay transparency laws requiring employers to include salary range information in job postings, employee privacy laws governing how data is used in employment relationships, and more.

Advisory Insights is presented by Oberman Law Firm and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®. The series can be found on all the major podcast apps. You can find the complete show archive here.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:01] Broadcasting from the Studios of Business RadioX, it’s time for Advisory Insights. Brought to you by Oberman Law Firm, serving clients nationwide with tailored service and exceptional results. Now, here’s your host.

Stuart Oberman: [00:00:19] And welcome everyone to Advisory Insights. Stuart Oberman here, your host. All right. Folks, we’re going to talk about employer related compliance trends in 2023. Yes, yes, yes, 2023, off and running. There is a lot of things going on in 2023 that our employers must, must know.

Stuart Oberman: [00:00:42] And there’s not necessarily any order of priority here, but there is a great, great trends regarding pay transparency laws that are going to be even more expansive in the future. So, the laws generally require – this is overly broad here – employers to include salary range information in job postings. Now, this is cropped up in California, of course, Washington, and New York. But I will tell you, there’s a lot of other legislation that is pending or being discussed in multiple states.

Stuart Oberman: [00:01:23] So, I think what has to happen is if you’re an employer and you’ve got employees in those states and you’re posting jobs in those states, you’ve got to understand what the ramifications are of the pay transparency laws. I would suggest that you have a broad policy on this because it is not really a matter of if it comes to your state, it’s when. So, obviously, California, Washington, and New York are more of the liberal states. Again, I’m not getting into politics, but I see a trend here that’s already from west to east. And, again, it’s going to go north and it’s going south, so it’s just a matter of time.

Stuart Oberman: [00:02:05] A next big topic, which, of course, originates in some more of these states, is employee privacy. What we’re seeing is that California is really at the forefront of this. But Illinois even became first on this issue. So, recently, the California Privacy Act – excuse me – California Privacy Rights Act has really brought, in my opinion, employee privacy to the forefront in the U.S. So, the law came in effect on January 1st.

Stuart Oberman: [00:02:43] Now, the interesting part, you’ve got to go back in history a little bit – and I don’t want to bore you guys – this particular law actually follows the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, which was enacted in 2008 in Illinois. Now, you’ve got to understand where all this is coming from.

Stuart Oberman: [00:03:07] So, under the California law – again, here we go. We’re in California, Washington. Now, we’re hitting Midwest. We got New York City going here. Again, this is going to be propping up in multiple states, in my opinion – the California law mandates – not says may or not says, you know, we really want it to. It mandates. It governs – how the aspect of an employment relationship on how data is used in this context.

Stuart Oberman: [00:03:43] Now, what does that mean? So, it actually outlines what employers in artificial intelligence can and cannot utilize that information on, privacy, background checks, those kind of things. So, I think you need to really have a plan as a whole. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in Illinois, California, Washington, I don’t really care. You’ve got to figure out what your policy is and procedures on how to handle this data and whether or not your policies and procedures fit within those four or five states that, you know, is very broad.

Stuart Oberman: [00:04:23] And especially if you have employees in those multiple states and you’re a multinational employer, if your main office is in Charlotte, how do you deal with an employee and you run background checks for employees in Washington or New York? How do you deal with that? You’ve got to have policy in place with that.

Stuart Oberman: [00:04:42] The next one really is a very, very aggressive legislative change, and we’re seeing more and more of this. And I think it’s just a matter of time before the states have a version of this, which was, employee leave. I think we’re going to see, not necessarily on a federal level, but we’re going to see employers, we’re going to continue to see, I think, some broad movement on paid leave on a state and local level.

Stuart Oberman: [00:05:15] So, again, I want to go back to Illinois because they seem to be the most recent here on what we’re looking at. So, they passed the Paid Leave Act For All Employers – all workers – excuse me – the official name, Paid Leave For All Workers Act on January 10th. Now, once the law takes effect – and there’s a question whether that takes effect. From all indication, it’s going to take effect next year – employers – get this – must annually provide covering employees up to 40 hours of paid leave, which they can use for any purpose.

Stuart Oberman: [00:05:55] Folks, you’ve got to understand the ramifications of that, again, if you’re a multinational employer. Now, what we’re going to see is we’re going to see, I believe, different versions of this trickle down in certain water down states where it may not be as aggressive. Or in some areas, depending on the legislation, you’re going to see more aggressive leave. So, I think you need to start looking now what your policies are and procedures.

Stuart Oberman: [00:06:25] We have had some cases that our employers have actually acquired companies. And deep in their particular H.R. matters, they did not realize that their companies that they acquired had no limitation on leave. Folks, do you understand that? You just purchased a $50 million business, 5 million, 10 million, I don’t really care. And all of a sudden, their policy that you inherited and you’ve got to deal with, it says that their leave of absence is unlimited. How do you deal with that? First of all, how do you miss that? A lot of things go into that scenario.

Stuart Oberman: [00:07:16] Next, we’ve talked about this one on our two previous podcasts, non-competes. So, I don’t want to belabor this. Again, I think it’s a trend. The FTC has issued a proposed ban – which is under a lot of review – for non-competes. So, if that occurs, that will fundamentally change the relationship of current employees and future employees as far as what you can and cannot enforce.

Stuart Oberman: [00:07:48] Folks, that is just about four or so topics that are really the hot topics right now going in 2023. And I’m telling you, I’m sure there’s going to be offshoots, extensions, reductions of these various policies and procedures under state, federal, and even national level. So, keep track of what’s going on. Keep listening to our podcast.

Stuart Oberman: [00:08:13] Folks, thanks for joining us today on Advisory Insights. Stuart Oberman, your host. If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call, 770-886-2400 or stuart@obermanlaw.com. Have a fantastic day.

Outro: [00:08:28] Thank you for joining us on Advisory Insights. This show is brought to you by Oberman Law Firm, a business-centric law firm representing local, regional, and national clients in a wide range of practice areas, including health care, mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions, and regulatory compliance.

About Advisory Insights Podcast

Presented by Oberman Law Firm, Advisory Insights Podcast covers legal, business, HR, and other topics of vital concern to healthcare practices and other business owners. This show series can be found here as well as on all the major podcast apps.

Stuart Oberman, Oberman Law Firm

Stuart Oberman is the founder and President of Oberman Law Firm. Mr. Oberman graduated from Urbana University and received his law degree from John Marshall Law School. Mr. Oberman has been practicing law for over 25 years, and before going into private practice, Mr. Oberman was in-house counsel for a Fortune 500 Company. Mr. Oberman is widely regarded as the go-to attorney in the area of Dental Law, which includes DSO formation, corporate business structures, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance, advertising regulations, HIPAA, Compliance, and employment law regulations that affect dental practices.

In addition, Mr. Oberman’s expertise in the healthcare industry includes advising clients in the complex regulatory landscape as it relates to telehealth and telemedicine, including compliance of corporate structures, third-party reimbursement, contract negotiations, technology, health care fraud, and abuse law (Anti-Kickback Statute and the State Law), professional liability risk management, federal and state regulations.

As the long-term care industry evolves, Mr. Oberman has the knowledge and experience to guide clients in the long-term care sector with respect to corporate and regulatory matters, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). In addition, Mr. Oberman’s practice also focuses on health care facility acquisitions and other changes of ownership, as well as related licensure and Medicare/Medicaid certification matters, CCRC registrations, long-term care/skilled nursing facility management, operating agreements, assisted living licensure matters, and health care joint ventures.

In addition to his expertise in the health care industry, Mr. Oberman has a nationwide practice that focuses on all facets of contractual disputes, including corporate governance, fiduciary duty, trade secrets, unfair competition, covenants not to compete, trademark and copyright infringement, fraud, and deceptive trade practices, and other business-related matters. Mr. Oberman also represents clients throughout the United States in a wide range of practice areas, including mergers & acquisitions, partnership agreements, commercial real estate, entity formation, employment law, commercial leasing, intellectual property, and HIPAA/OSHA compliance.

Mr. Oberman is a national lecturer and has published articles in the U.S. and Canada.

Oberman Law Firm

Oberman Law Firm has a long history of civic service, noted national, regional, and local clients, and stands among the Southeast’s eminent and fast-growing full-service law firms. Oberman Law Firm’s areas of practice include Business Planning, Commercial & Technology Transactions, Corporate, Employment & Labor, Estate Planning, Health Care, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Privacy & Data Security, and Real Estate.

By meeting their client’s goals and becoming a trusted partner and advocate for our clients, their attorneys are recognized as legal go-getters who provide value-added service. Their attorneys understand that in a rapidly changing legal market, clients have new expectations, constantly evolving choices, and operate in an environment of heightened reputational and commercial risk.

Oberman Law Firm’s strength is its ability to solve complex legal problems by collaborating across borders and practice areas.

Connect with Oberman Law Firm:

Company website | LinkedIn | Twitter

2023 Compliance Deadlines Every Employer Must Know

January 13, 2023 by John Ray

Advisory Insights Podcast

2023 Compliance Deadlines Every Employer Must Know

00:00 /

2023 Compliance Deadlines Every Employer Must Know (Advisory Insights Podcast, Episode 26)

On this episode of Advisory Insights, Stuart Oberman of Oberman Law Firm discussed the compliance deadlines every employer must be aware of for 2023. Stuart discussed various deadlines and requirements on reportable workforce demographic data and furnishing 1095-C documents to employees. He also covered penalties for incorrect information and employer responsibility under the Affordable Care Act.

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:01] Broadcasting from the studios of Business RadioX, it’s time for Advisory Insights. Brought to you by Oberman Law Firm, serving clients nationwide with tailored service and exceptional results. Now, here’s your host.

Stuart Oberman: [00:00:20] Hello, everyone. Stuart Oberman here, Advisory Insights Podcast. Welcome, welcome, welcome. 2023 off and running, folks. We’re going to have a great topic today. First and foremost, we want to make sure that we get your checklist up to date. So, topic for today, 2023 Compliance Deadlines Every Employer Must Know.

Stuart Oberman: [00:00:44] As we entered December 2022, it gets brutally hectic at the end the year. We all know that. But now, really, start the time to think about what are we doing in ’23? What do I need to talk to my advisors about? What do I need to talk to my CPA about? What do I need to talk about my office manager about? Well, we’re going to go through this list. And I’ll tell you, if we go off track on this list that you’re not in compliance with, you don’t want to get there already in 2023. Let’s get this straight. Let’s go through some dotted I’s here and make sure we got everything.

Stuart Oberman: [00:01:20] First and foremost, H.R. I know I talked about that a lot, a lot last year in 2022. Look, we’ve got benefits. We’ve got payrolls, hiring. We’ve got recruiting. And we’ve got so much more that we need to take a look at on a day-to-day business, but I want to make sure we’re keeping on track. Let me get through some basic, basic things you guys need to know. Let me run through these dates here. Talk with your CPAs again, talk with your advisors, your counselors. Make sure you’re on track.

Stuart Oberman: [00:01:48] First and foremost, as we know, W-2s have got to be out by January 31st. I hate to tell you this, but I’ve got employers that we work with who are sending out W-2s in September. That’s just not going to work, folks. And, also, a copy that W-2 has to go to Social Security Administration. That is basic stuff. But, yet, what happens is, if employees don’t get their W-2s, they’re disgruntled. And disgruntled employees even get more disgruntled. So, keep with this deadline.

Stuart Oberman: [00:02:18] The Affordable Care Act, ACA. Employers must furnish Form 1095-C to applicable employees by March 2, 2023. Question is, has your CPA told you that? Does Your CPA know the deadlines on that? Because also the filing deadlines for the Form 2094-C and 2095-C is February 28, 2023, or March 31, 2023 if you file electronically. I would encourage everyone to file electronically.

Stuart Oberman: [00:02:59] Here’s what sort of bugs me a little bit about the next form. There’s so much pressure on our employers for this. So, the EEO Reporting, certain employers must report demographic workforce data. Listen to this, data by race, ethnicity, sex, job categories. If you have those defined, great. If not, your question is what do you do? How do you file it? So, the annual collection of that data is scheduled to open on April 2023 per the EEOC. Now, I need everyone to make sure they understand that.

Stuart Oberman: [00:03:47] Next information, employee verification. Please make sure that your employees provide you with the correct address, correct address. Incorrect information will delay W-2s, and you will have to pay the penalties for that. And, again, your employees will not be happy. I want you to double check your W-2s.

Stuart Oberman: [00:04:15] Here’s what I want to make sure of. One, you’ve got all the Social Security numbers that are correct. Two, your EIN numbers correct. EIN number, Federal Employer Number. So, the IRS, believe it or not, charges you $50 for each return that is mailed out incorrectly. Why would you want to pay the IRS additional amounts than you already owe? Included in the W2s – again, I don’t want to get too far into tax in those kind of things, but I do want to just make sure you know the deadlines – taxable cash. Cash. Yes, folks, cash. You have to declare that. Your employees have to declare that.

Stuart Oberman: [00:04:56] Non-cash benefits include a company car. I can’t even begin to tell you how our employers don’t understand how to calculate a car usage on a W-2. Please, that is an audit waiting to happen.

Stuart Oberman: [00:05:15] Now, we want to take a look at the CARES Act, Employee Retention Credit. I will tell you, I get so many emails regarding this particular matter. I would urge you to be very, very careful what you answer, who you let take care of this. I would send this straight to your CPA. Let them handle it. I would not get entrenched in any third party solicitation and vendors. Go straight to your CPA. Double check with your attorney. Make sure that anything you do on an outside vendor is valid.

Stuart Oberman: [00:05:48] So, we have to understand that the three year lookback period on these wages after March 12, 2023 to determine eligibility. That’s as far as I’m going to get deep into that, because that’s a road we just don’t want to travel on this quick podcast. But, again, I would urge you, urge you to take a look at what forms are available from your CPA.

Stuart Oberman: [00:06:11] Again, the Affordable CARES Act requirements. There has to be distributed to the employees according to your 1095 forms. Again, especially with independent contractor payments – here we go – anything regarding independent contractors that is paid more than $600 must be reported. Folks, $600. That is nothing. You’ve got to do it. Your CPAs have got to do it. Again, that’s an audit waiting to happen.

Stuart Oberman: [00:06:48] I also want to take a look at one thing we got to be careful of, which is the ACA, Affordable CARES Act. So, I want you to talk to your financial advisors about this. Take a look at the employer shared responsibility, the ESR. Do you fall under the requirements? Do you average 50 employees under the IRS 2022 Employer Health Plan Affordability Threshold Challenge? Do you know what that means? Again, take a look at getting that information to your CPA.

Stuart Oberman: [00:07:28] You know, folks, look, that is some basic, basic information that I really want you to take a look at. But what I really want you to look at is a growing trend. And we’ve talked about this before on our podcasts, and we’re going to talk about it forever because this is not going away, folks. I mean, this is just not going to go away.

Stuart Oberman: [00:07:48] I want to make sure that in 2023, you put down on your calendar employee training. You think, “Well, my employees are trained enough. We have monthly meetings. We go to lunch once a week.” No, no, no. We’re not going to go there. I want to make sure your managers and employees understand sexual harassment prevention. I want to make sure your employees and your managers understand hiring practices. Questions, what to ask, what not to ask. Workplace safety, do they understand? Are you training your people effective? Is your management effective?

Stuart Oberman: [00:08:32] So, the deadlines are the deadlines. But I’ll tell you, if you go astray on any of these training items for your managers or employees – the old days back in the ’60s and ’70s, those days are dead and gone. You can’t do those things anymore. So, again, sexual harassment, hiring practices, workplace safety, effective management control.

Stuart Oberman: [00:09:00] Folks, again, I want to keep you out of trouble. Short, sweet podcasts. I want you to look at those little things. That’s going to be it for today, folks. Again, short, sweet to the point, deadlines, what you do and what you have to look at.

Stuart Oberman: [00:09:14] Again, Advisory Insights Podcast. Stuart Oberman, your host here. If you need anything, let us know. Please feel free to give us a call, 770-886-2400, or email us, stuart@obermanlawfirm.com. Thank you very much. Let’s start 2023 off to a fantastic year. We look forward to speaking with you soon. Have a great day.

Outro: [00:09:40] Thank you for joining us on Advisory Insights. This show is brought to you by Oberman Law Firm, a business-centric law firm representing local, regional, and national clients in a wide range of practice areas, including healthcare, mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions and regulatory compliance.

About Advisory Insights Podcast

Stuart Oberman, Oberman Law Firm

Mr. Oberman is a national lecturer and has published articles in the U.S. and Canada.

Oberman Law Firm

Oberman Law Firm’s strength is its ability to solve complex legal problems by collaborating across borders and practice areas.

Connect with Oberman Law Firm:

Company website | LinkedIn | Twitter

B2B Compliance Marketing and Trends E1

October 19, 2022 by Karen

eCommerce Insights

B2B Compliance Marketing and Trends E1

00:00 /

B2B Compliance Marketing and Trends E1

In this episode atmosol talked with Maria Tringali, Sr. Solutions Consultant at Avalara; Scott Dailey, Vice President, Sales & Marketing at Carl Stahl Sava Industries; and John Ciceri, Digital Marketing Coordinator at Carl Stahl Sava Industries about B2B compliance, marketing, and trends.

If you’re working in the B2B industry or want to learn more, this episode is something you don’t want to miss. Listen and join the learning, sharing, and laughing about the challenges of personalization in B2B marketing, how to meet the customer’s needs, helping your sales team, document compliance, keeping abreast of the latest and greatest in tax compliance, and more.

Carl Stahl Sava Industries produces miniature and ultrafine mechanical cable and cable assemblies for endoscopic instruments and surgical robots, as well as a wide array of industrial, aerospace and military applications.

Using monofilaments smaller than 1/3 the diameter of a single human hair, Sava’s cables help the world surgical robots and instrumentation achieve motion.

Operating from its 100,000 sq ft headquarters in Riverdale, New Jersey, many of the world’s next innovations in surgical robotics and endoscopes pass through Sava.

Scott Dailey has nearly 25 years of digital marketing experience and has spearheaded multi-million dollar campaigns with companies like Bausch & Lomb, The Home Depot, Furniture Brands International (Thomasville), Godiva Chocolate and many others.

Today, Scott is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the global ultrafine mechanical cable manufacturer, Carl Stahl Sava Industries, located in Northern New Jersey.

Scott is a national sales and marketing business speaker that has traveled the country debunking myths about what it takes to make your digital footprint a revenue-acquiring powerhouse.

Whether you’re a giant, or just starting out, Dailey teaches organizations how to produce the kind of digital sales activity that gives your business a sustainable advantage within an overcrowded and noisy digital, democratized economy.

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn.

John Ciceri is a Sales Development Representative at Carl Stahl Sava Industries. He is qualified to find and screen potential customers who can benefit from our products and services.

As the first line of communication with prospects, he has an understanding of the sales process, excelling at researching leads, starting new relationships, and setting our customer up for success.

John has strong communication skills, and the ability to showcase offerings in a compelling way.

Connect with John on LinkedIn.

Avalara helps businesses of all sizes achieve compliance with transactional taxes, including VAT, sales and use, excise, communications, and other tax types. Our comprehensive, automated, cloud-based solutions are fast, accurate, and easy to use.

Our Compliance Cloud™ platform helps customers manage complicated and burdensome tax compliance tasks imposed by state, local, and other taxing authorities throughout the world. Avalara offers more than 500 pre-built connectors into leading accounting, ERP, ecommerce and other business applications.

Each year, we process billions of indirect tax transactions, file hundreds of thousands of tax compliance documents and tax returns, and manage millions of exemption certificates and other compliance related documents.

Maria Tringali has been with Avalara since 2014, helping B2B and other highly exempt businesses better understand their tax compliance responsibilities.

Currently she provides training, education and support for sales reps, partners and prospective Avalara customers on the importance of getting tax compliance right, even if you charge very little retail sales tax.

Follow Avalara on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

About eCommerce Insights

eCommerce Insights is about bringing people together to discuss the vast landscape of eCommerce covering topics like technology, conversion optimization, branding, and marketing. The show focuses on how to build, manage and grow your online business using scientific and predictable methods thereby reducing uncertainty and risk. Our guests include vendors, merchants, experts, and technology partners shaping the world of eCommerce.

About Our Hosts

Ram Mohan is CEO and partner at atmosol, an ecommerce and technology company. He has spent over two decades in technology and eCommerce consulting helping companies ranging from small to fortune 100 achieve their business goals using technology.

As CEO, Ram leads atmosol’s eCommerce and SaaS services business working with our clients. In addition, he leads a team that runs an eCommerce portal in the meetings and events sector focusing on the EMEA market. He is also responsible for several SaaS products that are envisioned, built, and marketed by atmosol in different verticals and geographies.

Ram enjoys keeping up with and gaining a deep understanding of the latest trends in technology and eCommerce so he can help atmosol and our clients avoid hype and adopt trends that offer a tangible impact on our businesses.

Honey Olesen is the Director of Operations with atmosol and has substantial experience in leadership, management, operations, project management, digital marketing, human resources and data analysis. She deeply understands how businesses work and can take complex concepts and make them easy to understand for both employees and customers. She has worked at atmosol for over 11 years and has had the opportunity to work with some great brands and people in ecommerce, marketing and business.

Before entering the world of technology, Honey worked with some fantastic business owners in the building industry – soaking up knowledge of business day-to-day operations and growing her professional development.

She believes that in order for businesses to be successful, they need to have a clear mission and purpose, make sure the business goals are aligned with the values and stay focused on what’s important. She believes this is the same for individual success: find a place where your mission, purpose, goals, and values align with the company.

About Our Sponsor

Atmosol is a technology company working at the intersection of eCommerce and SaaS software. Our deep expertise in web development in addition to our long partnership with eCommerce platforms enables our clients to break through eCommerce platform barriers and build experiences that amaze their customers. Being in the eCommerce business ourselves running a meeting and events sales portal in the EMEA, we know the trials and tribulations our customers face firsthand.

In addition to eCommerce, we also build highly scalable SaaS products for our clients. We’ve also built and marketed our own successful SaaS products in different verticals.

Follow atmosol on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.