New Form W-4, Required NYS Handbook Update, and More

IRS Releases Final Version of 2020 Form W-4

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the final version of the new W-4 Form for 2020. This form, which has been re-titled “Employee’s Withholding Certificate”, must be used for all new hires as of January 1, 2020 and for any employees making withholding changes.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) says that while employers can ask employees hired in 2019 and earlier to complete the new form, those employees are not required to do so. However, employees should be advised that withholding calculations using the old W-4 may not be as accurate as the 2020 version.

The IRS also cautions that businesses that do not collect new W-4s for all employees must “program their payroll system to accommodate the existing withholding calculation as well as the new method”.

For more information about this new form, please click here.

OperationsInc Wishes You and Yours a Happy and Healthy 2020

New York State Employee Handbooks Require Updates by January 7, 2020 Due to Newly Passed Reproductive Health Law

The State of New York has recently passed a new statute prohibiting workplace discrimination and / or retaliation based on an individual’s reproductive health decisions.

JD Supra explains that any state employer with an employee handbook in place must update their manual no later than January 7, 2020 to “include reproductive health decisions as a protected category, to state affirmatively that discrimination and retaliation based on reproductive health decisions are prohibited, and to confirm that medical records will remain confidential”.

For more information about this requirement, please click here.

Experts Caution Not to Forget About Retained Employees During a Layoff

While the job market may remain tight, several high profile layoffs this year (General Motors, Toys R Us, WeWork) have experts warning employers not to forget about the needs of those workers who survive the cuts.

Human Resources Executive advises businesses to ensure there is a focus on retained workers to hedge against morale and productivity decline. Broad-based communication plans are recommended as a means to help employees regain corporate trust and understand their roles and the goals of the company going forward.

To read the full article, please click here.

Workplace Stress and Burnout Costs U.S. Businesses $190B Each Year

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced they are considering a rule “aimed at reining in corporations from pushing employees to sign non-compete agreements that prevent them from working at rival companies”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially recognized workplace burnout as an epidemic, and is urging businesses to find solutions.

A recent Stanford University study found that workplace burnout costs U.S. businesses a whopping $190 billion per year, and contributed to a devastating 120,000 deaths.

The top causes of workplace burnout have been identified as:

• Unfair treatment
• Unmanageable workload
• Lack of role clarity
• Lack of communication and managerial support
• Unrealistic time constraints

To read the full article, please click here.

Demand for Recruiters Has Increased Significantly, Employers Expect a Strategic Partner

A recent LinkedIn report shows that demand for recruiters has increased by 63 percent since 2016, which coincides with the job market tightening around that same time.

HR Dive further reports that expectations have shifted, as recruiters are now more often seen as strategic advisers who need to alter their tactics and approach to attract the talent needed by their organization in what remains a candidate’s market.

For more information and to view the full report, please click here.