Human Resources

HR Roundup: Employers Warned About Hiring Agreements

• OMA Connections Partner Frantz Ward advises employers to carefully consider any hiring agreements — formal or informal — they might enter with competitors following recent antitrust actions by the Biden administration.
• The NLRB has taken the first step towards scrapping Trump-era rules that made it easier for workers to undo union representation, according to this insight from OMA Connections Partner Fisher Phillips.
• Fisher Phillips has also published four tips for updating social media policies as more employees are posting videos from the workplace.
• Activists seeking to raise Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 will start collecting signatures after they cleared the second hurdle to place the issue on the ballot.
• IndustryWeek has spotlighted a Pennsylvania manufacturer that has tapped new talent by hiring refugees.

Meanwhile, HR executives in the U.S. are concerned a recession is looming and a majority have already implemented at least one strategy to reduce or adjust the size of their workforce, according to PwC’s latest survey. 11/10/2022

Manufacturing Wages, Salaries Grow at Record Pace

Wages and salaries for U.S. private-sector workers continued to soar in Q3, growing 5.2% year over year through September, according to the latest federal data. Benefit costs increased 5% over the period.

Manufacturing wages and salaries also rose 5.2% over the 12-month period, up from 4.9% in the second quarter. It was the fastest pace of growth in the history of the data series, dating to 2001, according to Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers. 10/31/2022

HR Roundup: $15 Minimum Wage Clears First Hurdle

• Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has approved a petition to raise Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2028, although the initiative is still in the early phases of getting on the next general election ballot.
• This summary of a manufacturers event hosted by OMA Connections Partner Gilmore Jasion Mahler includes insight for executives who are examining the role compensation packages play in recruiting and retention.
• The federal government’s September report recorded 806,000 manufacturing job openings nationwide.
• A study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds 60% of U.S. employees are concerned about their financial well-being. Fewer than half say they’re offered a financial wellness program at work.
• Ohio’s labor force participation rate continues to linger at lower rates not seen since the late 1970s, according to federal data.
• U.S. manufacturing labor productivity decreased 1.3% in Q3, a new federal report says.
• A new era of hiring startups has arrived as several online jobs platforms are focused on skilled blue-collar hiring.
• OMA Connections Partner Fisher Phillips has published this guidance, which provides six antitrust compliance steps that employers should consider after the first-ever federal criminal prosecution in a wage-fixing case.
• Fisher Phillips has also published its 2023 Workplace Law Forecast, which includes the firm’s predictions in areas related to HR and manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Ohio was among the states reporting the fewest total job separations in August, at 3.8%. This graphic shows several states were still reporting job separation rates between 5.5% and 7%. 11/3/2022

Report: 100M Americans Weren’t Working Last Month

Roughly 100 million Americans were not working as of early October, according to the Census Bureau. While nearly half of the respondents were retired, another 12% were either sick from an illness unrelated to COVID-19 or disabled; 6% were caring for a child or elderly person; and another 6.8 million did not want to be employed, according to Bloomberg.

Lack of transportation kept around 1.2 million workers on the sidelines. 11/1/2022

EEOC Publishes New Anti-Discrimination Poster

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released the “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster, replacing the “EEO is the Law” poster. OMA Connections Partner Dinsmore says the new poster must generally be displayed by employers with more than 15 employees.

OMA Connections Partner Frantz Ward has also reported on this development. 10/24/2022

HR Roundup: 401(k) Contribution Limits Raised for 2023

• Due to inflation, employees will be allowed to contribute up to $22,500 in 401(k) plans in 2023, up from $20,500 this year. (Those 50 and older may contribute up to $30,000.) Here’s more information from OMA Connections Partner Roetzel.
• While Ohio’s statewide unemployment rate was 4% last month, this map shows the jobless rate varied from as high as 5.5% in Monroe County to as low as 2.5% in Holmes County.
• OMA Connections Partner Fisher Phillips has published this list of questions for employers to use (and avoid) when interviewing job applicants.
• To boost recruitment, several U.S. companies have launched free (or almost-free) college programs for frontline workers, according to reports.
• Political divisions will prevent Congress from taking up immigration reform in the lame-duck period after the election, according to Politico.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor has extended the comment period for its proposed rule on classifying independent contractors, moving the deadline from Nov. 28 to Dec. 13. 10/27/2022

HR Roundup: Yost Rejects $15 Minimum Wage Language

• Attorney General Dave Yost has rejected language submitted for a proposed constitutional amendment to raise Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. (The state’s minimum wage of $9.30 is already set to increase to $10.10 in 2023.)
• According to the latest state figures, new jobless claims filed by Ohioans continue to fall while Ohio’s labor force participation rate still lags the U.S. average at just 61.8%.
• Ohio is one of the 10 states in which employers are struggling the least to find new talent based on WalletHub’s latest comparison.
• Eighty percent of U.S. employees are concerned about inflation, according to a new survey by Bank of America.
• OMA Connections Partner Fisher Phillips has published this guidance to help employers guard against lawsuits challenging 401(k) plan sponsors for allegedly breaching their fiduciary duty.
• OMA Connections Partner MCM has made available this on-demand webinar examining how HR leaders can boost employee engagement and improve workplace culture.

Meanwhile, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reports that job seekers have begun registering for the OhioMeansJobs.com regional virtual job fairs, set for Nov. 2. Employers may participate by emailing the agency or contacting an ODJFS workforce specialist. 10/20/2022

Notice of Proposed Rule: Employee or Independent Contractor Classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act

This week the U.S. Department of Labor published a proposed rule to revise its guidance on how to determine who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Department wrote that its proposed rule would reduce the risk that employees are misclassified as independent contractors, while providing added certainty for businesses. Parties can submit comments by Nov. 28.

Meanwhile, OMA Connections Partner Fisher Phillips said any business that retains independent contractors as part of their workforce may have a harder time maintaining their business model. 10/11/2022

Four Winter Risks for Employers

This insight from OMA Connections Partner Fisher Phillips focuses on four risks that winter may bring: how to properly compensate your workers during weather-related absences; the dangers of this year’s flu season (with just a hint of COVID-19 discussion); how to limit risks associated with cold-weather exposure; and how to limit the chances of your company holiday party turning into a lawsuit. 10/12/2022

Webinar: The Hidden Costs of “Cost-Saving” Programs

A no-charge webinar on October 20, 2-3 p.m., titled “Health Benefits: The Hidden Costs of “Cost-Saving” Programs,” will address recent developments in benefit utilization programs, such as copay accumulator programs. The webinar will address how these programs can affect employees and offer recommendations for employers that are considering implementing these types of “cost-saving” measures.

Continuing education credits for HR professionals are available. 10/5/2022