SUTA INCREASE.
It hasn’t received much publicity yet, but all employers in Florida will receive a very substantial increase in their SUTA rates for 2010. This will elevate the SUTA cost to being on par with FICA for some employers, a very substantial increase. Call our office at 561-471-8285 to discuss some employment tactics that might mitigate this cost for your company.
Here are some points directly from MyFlorida.com, which we believe to be current and authoritative. Please note carefully that the State is planning increases in SUTA that can be as high as 1000% increase!
Express maintains a full-time SUTA management staff that helps us proactively manage all claims, reducing our rates. We also have a management tool that most conventional employers don’t have: when one assignment ends, we have a potential to assign that employee to another assignment with another employer, reducing our claims liability. We like to think we are on the cutting edge on managing this liability, and we expect an increase. Conventional employers can expect bigger increases than we anticipate.
For complete info, see
http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/taxes/pdf/UnemploymentFactSheet.pdf
EEOC AND GENETIC NONDISCRIMINATION
Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act became effective November 21, 2009. Just in case your policies and procedures are not fully up to date regarding this new Federal Law, you can find more information below. The information published below is exceprted verbatim from the EEOC’s website www.eeo.gov. You may wish to visit that site for additional information on this new law. If you wish to do a quick update on your labor law poster, you can print http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/eeoc_self_print_poster.pdf The EEOC’s website also allows you to order the poster from EEOC, but the website is careful to advise you that the poster is currently on backorder. If you would like a completely updated “6 in 1″ labor law poster, including the Genetic NonDiscrimination information, please e-mail me at lee.fossett@expresspros.com We have a limited supply, but they are free of charge while they last, and we deliver with a smile!
This information (below) is direct from the EEOC website. For additional information on this topic, please consult http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/genetic.cfm
Genetic Information Discrimination
Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, which prohibits genetic information discrimination in employment, takes effect on November 21, 2009.
Under Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), it is illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information. Title II of GINA prohibits the use of genetic information in making employment decisions, restricts acquisition of genetic information by employers and other entities covered by Title II, and strictly limits the disclosure of genetic information.
The EEOC enforces Title II of GINA (dealing with genetic discrimination in employment). The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury have responsibility for issuing regulations for Title I of GINA, which addresses the use of genetic information in health insurance.
Definition of “Genetic Information”
Genetic information includes information about an individual’s genetic tests and the genetic tests of an individual’s family members, as well as information about any disease, disorder, or condition of an individual’s family members (i.e. an individual’s family medical history). Family medical history is included in the definition of genetic information because it is often used to determine whether someone has an increased risk of getting a disease, disorder, or condition in the future.
Discrimination Because of Genetic Information
The law forbids discrimination on the basis of genetic information when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, fringe benefits, or any other term or condition of employment. An employer may never use genetic information to make an employment decision because genetic information doesn’t tell the employer anything about someone’s current ability to work.
Harassment Because of Genetic Information
Under GINA, it is also illegal to harass a person because of his or her genetic information. Harassment can include, for example, making offensive or derogatory remarks about an applicant or employee’s genetic information, or about the genetic information of a relative of the applicant or employee. Although the law doesn’t prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so severe or pervasive that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted). The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee, such as a client or customer.
Retaliation Because of Genetic Information Discrimination
Under GINA, it is illegal to fire, demote, harass, or otherwise “retaliate” against an applicant or employee for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding (such as a discrimination investigation or lawsuit), or otherwise opposing discrimination.
Rules Against Acquiring Genetic Information
It will usually be unlawful for an employer to get genetic information. There are six narrow exceptions to this prohibition:
- Inadvertent acquisitions of genetic information do not violate GINA, such as in situations where a manager or supervisor overhears someone talking about a family member’s illness.
- Genetic information (such as family medical history) may be obtained as part of health or genetic services, including wellness programs, offered by the employer on a voluntary basis, if certain specific requirements are met.
- Genetic information may be acquired as part of the certification process for FMLA leave (or leave under similar state or local laws), where an employee is asking for leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition.
- Acquisition through commercially and publicly available documents like newspapers is permitted, as long as the employer is not searching those sources with the intent of finding genetic information.
- Acquisition through a genetic monitoring program that monitors the biological effects of toxic substances in the workplace is permitted where the monitoring is required by law or, under carefully defined conditions, where the program is voluntary.
- Acquisition of genetic information of employees by employers who engage in DNA testing for law enforcement purposes as a forensic lab or for purposes of human remains identification is permitted, but the genetic information may only be used for analysis of DNA markers for quality control to detect sample contamination.
Confidentiality of Genetic Information
It is also unlawful for an employer to disclose genetic information about applicants or employees. Employers must keep genetic information confidential and in a separate medical file. (Genetic information may be kept in the same file as other medical information in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.) There are limited exceptions to this non-disclosure rule.
2010 Unemployment Compensation Tax Rates Fact Sheet (courtesy of MyFlorida.com)
Current economic conditions have increased the level of unemployment in Florida, and consequently, the amount of unemployment benefits that the state is paying to unemployed citizens. Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September was 11%. The last time it was this high was October 1975. th quarter of 2008, the UC Trust Fund balance was over $1.3 billion, As of June 30, 2009, the balance was just under $450 million. . Statutory changes enacted in 2009 increased an employee’s taxable wages from $7,000 to $8,500 for the 2010 rates.
Current rates (based on annual salary up to $7,000 per employee): Minimum rate: 0.0012 or $8.40 per employee Maximum rate: 0.0540 or $378 per employee
New rates effective January 1, 2010 (based on annual salary up to $8,500 per employee): Minimum rate: 0.0118 or $100.30 per employee Maximum rate: 0.0540 or $459 per employee
Notices of business’s individual rates will be distributed in November or December 2009 and are effective for wages paid on or after January 1, 2010.
Florida pays benefits from the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund which is funded by the unemployment compensation tax paid by Florida employers. At the end of the 4
On August 24, 2009, the balance in the trust fund fell to zero and Florida began borrowing from the federal government to pay unemployment compensation benefits. Currently, Florida is borrowing approximately $300 million per month.
When the trust fund falls below a certain threshold, Florida law annually adjusts the unemployment tax rates on businesses to rebuild the balance in the trust fund. This “automatic trigger” is contained in Section 443.131(3)(e)1.c., Florida Statutes, and the trigger occurs if the balance in the fund falls below 4% of the total taxable payroll in the most recent state fiscal year.
The trust fund balance as of June 30, 2009 was $449,475,280.80 which is .8992% of the fiscal year 2008-2009 taxable payroll of $49,983,873,885.15.
Since the balance was lower than 4% of the taxable payroll on June 30, 2009, the automatic trigger will significantly increase the 2010 unemployment tax rates. Rates are generally calculated using a formula that considers each employer’s employment experience, i.e. amount of benefits paid to ex-employees and charged to that employer’s account, in relation to the amount of payroll on which tax has been paid
Notices of business’s individual rates will be distributed in November or December 2009 and are effective for wages paid on or after January 1, 2010.
WAGE SURVEY DATA
How much do other companies in my area pay for THIS position? The reasons for asking this question are MANY. The best survey I’ve seen for wages is HERE . You can drill this data right down into Palm Beach County, without having to try to extrapolate from “South Florida” or apply your best guess to “Florida wages” data. You can compare sequential years to see trends.
Published by the State of Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. Research courtesy of my friends at Business Development Board of Palm Beach County. If your business needs some assistance to help it grow, or access to training for your employees, I urge you to start with Business Development Board. See their link in “our friends” page on this site.
