Human resources (HR) professionals may have noticed some stabilization of the labor market during 2023, but that doesn’t mean the introduction of legislative and regulatory requirements has followed suit. Remote work has brought the issues of fair pay, equity and pay transparency to the top of the priorities list for HR professionals. Add on the layer of multistate compliance for many employers, and the challenge to remain compliant becomes even more complex. Baker Tilly Vantagen senior manager, Deanna Kempinski, authored an insightful article for HR.com around the state of fair pay and how to navigate the regulatory challenges that come with it. Some of the points shared in the article include: The roles of communication and process The cost of denial: fines and penalties Pay equity solutions

Regulatory and legislative requirements remain increasingly complex and remote work brings the issue of fair pay, equity and pay transparency to the forefront.

Multistate payroll and HR compliance management

Baker Tilly Advantage

Human Capital

Payroll, Time Tracking & Leave of Absence 

U.S. labor trends: the state of fair pay, equity and transparency

A little more than three years ago, everything changed about the way we live and work.  One day, we were talking face-to-face with our friends and family. The next day, we were six feet apart. Masks quickly became a staple of our everyday lives. And the idea of going to restaurants, schools and stores suddenly became more of a fantasy than a reality.  Additionally, there was a massive shift in the way we work. The COVID-19 pandemic rattled everything we knew about our jobs – not only the location from which most of us worked, but also the way we communicated with coworkers, the use of technology to do our jobs, and many other aspects, including the way we attract, hire and retain employees.  These changes were presented as short-term realities at the time, although we now realize that many of these adjustments are here to stay – or, at the very least, they are going to stick around for longer than we originally expected.  While the idea of working remotely existed prior to the arrival of COVID-19, the pandemic certainly brought the concept front and center for many employers as it emerged as a national issue. It quickly became obvious that the way we work was changing and that companies were going to have to swiftly adapt to keep up. The HR and payroll perspective  One of the most significant shakeups to the way we work has taken place within the human resources and payroll departments of companies, both large and small, throughout the U.S.  In the spring of 2020, organizations had to quickly figure out how to interview applicants without meeting them in person. As a result, HR was screening a pool of applicants from different states, including locations that in many cases had never been on their hiring radar previously.  Of course, multistate employment has always existed – particularly at larger companies with many locations – but starting three years ago, an even larger number of organizations found themselves discussing the possibility and practicality of remote work in other states. Companies began recruiting outside of their immediate geographic regions for positions that could be performed from an alternate location. Existing employees who could or were required to work from home, began setting up their offices and in some cases, changing their addresses. Needless to say, internal changes needed to be made to support this multi-location workforce. The idea that an organization in Florida can simply hire a remote worker from California isn’t so simple. It’s easy to say, “You’ve got the job.” But it’s not so basic, from an HR benefits and payroll perspective, to quickly add an employee from across the country. There is a lengthy list of complications within those key areas, and until recently, there was no centralized resource for finding information about HR and payroll compliance for all 50 states. What HR and payroll professionals need to know At the start of the pandemic, companies were reactive to the challenges that emerged on almost a daily basis. The shift in how we worked arrived seemingly overnight, and HR and payroll leaders had to figure out multistate compliance issues in a hurry. This overnight shift was more than three years ago and organizations must now take proactive steps to ensure they are prepared to hire employees from multiple states. That means HR and payroll professionals need to have easy access to the employment rules and regulations that apply in every state from coast to coast. They need to be prepared for a potential hire in California, Florida, New York and everywhere in between. Of course, that doesn’t mean that organizations should not hire people from other states; rather, they just need to be prepared for the possibility and the potential impact upon their compliance requirements, because if they don’t the cost for noncompliance can be staggering. Key HR multistate compliance considerations include: General employment requirements Benefits Equal employment opportunity HR administration Leave of absence/time off Wage and hour Unemployment compensation Additionally, from a payroll perspective, there is a need to understand state and local regulations concerning: Tax and withholding Registrations Required tax forms Unemployment insurance Workers’ compensation Digging deeper into a couple of specific examples, HR leaders need to understand each state’s specific regulations around leave (parental leave, personal leave, paid family leave, etc.). And they need to know whether pre-employment testing is permissible for new hires in their organizations.   Payroll departments must understand what is required of employers in terms of filings, payments and rules for employees who work out-of-state. Who needs to be reported and who is exempt? When and how do they need to file? What local or other taxes need to be considered in addition to federal and state taxes? There are typically no uniform rules for all 50 states. Regulations can vary significantly, and there is generally no flexibility when payroll rules are violated or misinterpreted.  Introducing Baker Tilly’s Employer State Compliance Roadmap Given the major changes to the way we work, and the hiring landscape in particular, Baker Tilly is proud to introduce our Employer State Compliance Roadmap. The Roadmap provides access to HR and payroll compliance information through an easily accessible and searchable state-by-state database, bringing everything together in one convenient location. Through quarterly updates, organizations will be kept informed of HR and payroll regulatory changes across all 50 states.  We want organizations to feel confident hiring and onboarding qualified candidates in any state – without struggling to understand confusing regulations or worrying about notices, penalties, interest and audits because of inadvertent mistakes. The Roadmap will save you time, energy and money. It will help your organization adapt to the new way of working and be strategic in your decisions on where to recruit and hire new employees. It will keep you compliant and avoid fines and penalties. For more information about the Roadmap, click here. And to discuss how it can change the way you work, contact us. 

Confidently manage your organization's HR and payroll compliance needs.

Employer State Compliance Roadmap

State & Local Tax

Managing multistate HR and payroll compliance for today’s remote workforce

Today's global economy and workforce require organizations to stay current on ever changing payroll, time and absence management requirements, while maintaining the ability to pay and monitor employee time with the highest level of precision. 

In many instances, companies find themselves going to great lengths to ensure accurate payroll, time and leave tracking. This effort is compounded by global regulations and geographical differences.

Baker Tilly's Human Capital consulting team can help you develop a consistent and efficient strategy for deploying payroll, time tracking and absence management policies, as well as rules and processes to administer the critical functions to pay employees, track absenteeism and monitor their time.

Coming out of the last recession, companies were asking lots of questions. With those questions now answered, organizations want to execute against these strategies for growth.

Why should organizations care about their human capital today?

Baker Tilly Human Capital consultants develop consistent and efficient strategies for deploying payroll, time tracking and absence management policies.

Ann Blakely is the managing partner of the Baker Tilly Digital practice, a management consulting group focused on modernizing legacy business models with simple, elegant and intelligent digital solutions that are easy to understand and deliver game-changing efficiencies and better customer experiences.

As managing partner of Baker Tilly Vantagen, Kim has created the overall vision, which is focused on bringing human resource strategies in a customized fashion to our clients.

Baker Tilly’s human capital consulting teams help organizations leverage the most updated approaches and latest technologies to reshape the employer/employee relationship, driving success and business returns. 

Baker Tilly’s human capital consulting teams help organizations leverage the latest technologies to reshape the employer/employee relationship.

Every day, companies are aware of the pressure and need to attract, retain and motivate top talent, but struggle to understand how to develop effective strategies and launch initiatives that will engage their workforce. 

Baker Tilly’s experienced benefits and compensation consultants develop holistic benefits and compensation strategies that can be executed globally.

It is important for any organization, large or small, to continue to fine-tune its human resources capabilities by way of training and compliance education.

Baker Tilly offers many compliance training programs that are designed to communicate laws and guidelines in an effective and concise manner.

With the increasing pace of business and economic change, companies are challenged to remain nimble in managing the workforce required to achieve an evolving strategy.

Baker Tilly Human Capital consulting can help establish a foundational infrastructure to alleviate administrative burdens from legacy HR process and systems.

Baker Tilly’s human resources information systems (HRIS) consultants leverage the power of HCM Cloud technology and drive value from your technology investment.

HR departments are expected to provide efficient and effective human capital management services to their employees. What’s the best model for delivering HR services in your organization?

HR  departments are expected to provide efficient and effective human capital   management services to their employees. What’s the best model for delivering HR services in your organization?

Through collaboration, the expatriate tax specialists of Baker Tilly and the employee benefits and human resources specialists at Baker Tilly provide a full-service offering to international businesses.

Baker Tilly assists organizations looking to expand to international markets by offering turn-key growth strategies that typically have them operating abroad within 12 months.

Baker Tilly’s human capital consultants design and build tailored sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding solutions to reduce new hire time to productivity.

Having a culture of high performance, development opportunities and a full view of your talent plays a significant role in achieving both organizational and employee goals.

Aligning the business strategy to individual performance, while anticipating your organization’s future talent needs is fundamental to talent management.

Payroll, Time Tracking & Leave of Absence

U.S. labor trends: the state of fair pay, equity and transparency

Managing multistate HR and payroll compliance for today’s remote workforce

Human Capital

Benefits & Compensation

Compliance

Employee Management

Human Resources Information Systems

Human Resources Shared Services

International Human Resources

Talent Acquisition

Talent Management

Ann E. Blakely

Kim Wylam

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Why should organizations care about their human capital today?

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