April 2023 TogetHR Times

Important Tax Deadlines and Dates

“I quit”, “no, never mind, I don’t quit”

Have you ever had an employee quit and then decide not really?  So what are the ramifications for allowing employees to rescind their resignation? Employers may accept or deny a request to rescind the resignation. Before allowing an employee to rescind their resignation, find out a few things.  Why do they want to stay? Would you be postponing a resignation anyway? Are they are poor performer? In those cases, you may want to deny them rescinding the resignation.

HR Best Practices suggestion that it is helpful to have a resignation policy. In that policy address the need for a written notice, how much notice is requested, what happens if an employees gives more notice than is needed, payment in lieu of working the notice period, what happens if an employee tries to rescind their written notice, etc. How does this policy affect rehire status?

For a toolbox on resignations, see SHRM:  Resignations

How Long Should Discipline Notices Stay in an Employee File?

Employers are required under federal nondiscrimination laws (Title VII, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)) to maintain records pertaining to employment actions for at least one year from the date of action. Employers with federal contracts are required to maintain records relating to employment actions for a period of at least two years from the date of creation of the personnel record or the personnel action, and state laws may have even longer retention periods. Employment actions include hires, separations, rehires, promotions, demotions, transfers, layoffs, recalls, training opportunities and employment test results. Although the law is not specific to retention requirements for corrective action documents such as written warnings and counseling statements, these forms may be supporting documentation for some of these employment actions.

Corrective action documents, much like performance reviews, can become a permanent record in an employee’s personnel file. Some employers find it beneficial to keep these documents on file indefinitely for active employees as these records provide employers with a good history and overall view of the employee’s job performance. Other employers argue that corrective action records (when they do not result in an employment action) should be removed from the personnel file after a period of time (e.g., after six or 12 months without any further incidents). If the organization decides to remove documents from the personnel file, it should have an established and consistently implemented policy and procedure that reflects this practice.

Generally, if an employee maintains an acceptable level of behavior for 12 months or more, many employers agree that older disciplinary warnings normally no longer influence future employment decisions. At this point, employers may not want to use the prior disciplinary warning document to guide future corrective actions, although there may be some exceptions. Employers may need to consider warnings looking back much further when faced with employees who have patterns of inappropriate behavior or more egregious behavior, such as harassment, violence or safety and security violations. See examples below:

• Scenario one: An employee has a written warning on file for attendance issues from three years ago. The employee’s attendance has been outstanding since that time, but just recently the employee has begun to miss time due to personal reasons. The employer may decide to provide only a verbal counseling because three years have passed since the employee had attendance issues.
• Scenario two: An employee had a written warning on file for making inappropriate comments and gestures to another employee two years ago. A similar incident occurs again. If the written warning from two years ago is on file, the employer would have supporting documentation to administer a stronger disciplinary action such as a final warning or even termination of employment.

Having corrective action documents on file may help employers determine the next course of action for any future performance issues or violations of policy. These warnings may help document patterns or repeat offenders and may be critical in the event the employee initiates legal action against the employer. Therefore, prior to implementing a practice of removing warnings from active employee files, consult legal counsel.

See the full article:  File Requirements

Surprised by medical bills? No more…

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 established several new requirements to protect consumers from surprise medical bills. These requirements are collectively referred to as “No Surprises” rules. These requirements generally apply to items and services provided to consumers enrolled in group health plans, group or individual health insurance coverage, and Federal Employees Health Benefits plans. This document contains information on frequently asked questions from providers and facilities regarding No Surprises rules, independent dispute resolution, and exceptions to the new rules and requirements: No Surprises

Generally, the No Surprises protections apply to individuals enrolled in a health care plan, through an employer (whether self-funded or insured, including coverage offered by federal, state, or local governments, or a multiemployer plan), or through the federal Marketplaces, state-based Marketplaces, or directly through an individual market health insurance issuer.

The rules don’t apply to people with coverage through programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Indian Health Services, Veterans Affairs Health Care, or TRICARE. Each of these programs already have other protections against surprise medical bills. The protections also don’t apply to individuals enrolled in short-term limited duration insurance, excepted benefits (such as stand-alone dental or vision-only coverage), or retiree-only plans.

Uninsured and self-pay individuals are also entitled to a good faith estimate, upon request or scheduling of an item or service, through the No Surprises billing protections.

 on Resumes, how to catch them, then what?

Do you know how to spot lies on resumes? Do you have time to spot lies on resumes? How many resumes do you review daily, weekly, annually? ResumeLab found that 36% of applicants admit to lying on their resumes. The best way to spot a lie on a resume is to perform your due diligence and fact check all parts of the resume.

Here are the best ways to spot discrepancies on resumes: 

• Your gut… if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t right. Your gut impression or your first impression can speak volumes.
• The net… do a search, check LinkedIn, do they match what the resume states?
• Dates… do the dates listed make sense? do they overlap? do they not exist?
• Promotions…. do the job titles and promotions makes sense? or have they made VP of something but have never worked in that arena?
• Degrees…. does the degree make sense?

What to do if you do spot a lie:

• Set the resume aside, have someone else review it,  get clarification from the applicant. Perhaps the discrepancy was not intentional, ask the question.
• Interview the candidate, an interview will enable you to suss out discrepancies. Ask for clarification. Did you know that morning interviews are best for having applicants be more truthful? According to Sleepio.com, people are 20-50 percent more likely to lie in the afternoon.
• Skills testing is available on a number of platforms. Test the applicant to determine their skill level.

Not all applicants intentionally lie on their resume. Just ensure that you are reviewing the resume completely before you set aside time to interview.

Read the full article on SHRM: Resume Lies