Michele Harmon
Goodbye Henry Ford. Considering my hope for a better Permian, we, as employers, need to be flexible with our workforce. Recruiters need help finding new employees. Millennials and Gen Z workers do not want to have to spend every day at work in an office. You know, these employees want more life balance.
Also, the workforce may choose to live and work in another state. Large corporations have dealt with workers in multiple states and countries, but in most cases, smaller employers have yet to tackle this issue. Get ready for the future because it is now.
Many workers in the Permian must show up every day. It will be a while before drones deliver pipe, but it is a short time away when robots load the trucks with the pipe. Modernization is one answer to solving the shortage of labor.
Robots cannot be far away for many more tasks if doctors can perform surgery from another location than the patient. The days of Henry Ford and the assembly lines are slipping away.
The modernizing of your office staff must be faced and the philosophy of managing them will need to change. Remote work is possible for just about every position you have that standardly sits or stands at a desk.
It’s worth noting here that all those federal laws from the 1930s and 1940s to separate home from work are out the window to some degree. As an employer with remote workers, you must follow all the federal, state, and local laws regardless of your work arrangements with remote workers. Now even I am confused.
But here’s the gist of it: If you have remote workers, you have issues to iron out. This is where I recommend you and your HR Lady work with an employment attorney and an excellent CPA. There are multiple laws and rules regarding employees, and they vary across state lines. This stuff is real, folks, because I am living it. I live in Texas and work in Texas and South Carolina and work with remote employees that work in at least six other states.
So what do you need to consider? States continue to enact new laws regarding remote employment.
Minimum wages may differ. Yes, the Permian pays more than most areas of the United States, but employers need to stay legal. Overtime rules, as observed in these parts, may exceed the limits of federal laws, at least in some areas. Overtime may have a different plateau than the standard 40 hours for hourly employees. California almost always utilizes a different standard.
Here is where the rubber hits the road in every state. Employers must keep accurate records for remote workers and prevent them from working unauthorized overtime when the employee is nonexempt. Employers must also have rules for working remotely when the employee is ill, whether the worker is an exempt or nonexempt employee. If the employees are ill, they must document a sick or Paid Time Off (PTO) day.
Employers should have specific timelines for PTO, right down to how much time in a single workday can be taken as PTO. The Employee Handbook should specify that PTO can be taken in two, four, or eight-hour increments. Leave as little to chance as possible.
Some states, such as South Carolina, require the employer to provide the new employee their pay and employment status of exempt or nonexempt in writing. I recommend every employer provide a written offer letter, even though the offer letter is optional in Texas.
Payroll requirements vary by state. Taxes vary, as well as payroll frequencies. You may be surprised to know that the federal government does not require employees to be paid more than once per month. State and local laws may also vary regarding the information that must appear on pay stubs. Also, the laws may dictate whether unused, accrued PTO must be paid out upon termination of employment, and the laws may establish pay rules as they relate to the timing of payment of final wages upon separation of employment. In Texas, if you terminate (fire) an employee, you must pay the exiting employee what is owed by the sixth calendar day. In other states, final pay often is very different.
Do employment laws look the same for U.S. territories and your employees working in other countries? The simple answer is no. What about Independent Contractor laws for those contractors living in India, or what about your office in Mexico?
Employment posters that must be posted are varied according to which jurisdiction you are under, except for the federally required posters. Post your federal, state, and locally required posters and consider emailing them to your remote employees upon hiring. Some states require you to send the posters electronically, along with many other documents, upon hiring, a step not required in Texas.
This next one is tricky. Leave/PTO rules vary across the state. Rules for local entities vary. Be prepared. Employers must be careful to ensure that eligible remote employees can take any required leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and applicable state law. According to the FMLA regulations, an employee’s residence is not a “worksite.” Rather, an employee’s worksite “is the office to which the employee reports and from which assignments are made.” For employees with no fixed worksite, the worksite is the location to which they report and from which they receive their work assignments.
Certain state-mandated training applies to employers who have employees working in that state. Sexual harassment and bullying laws come to mind. Other states add to federal laws; you must train your staff on them. Employers should consider online training to fulfill these requirements. However, when it comes to a group of employees of different ages and stages, a video (a typical online tool) is a bare minimum and not nearly the same as face-to-face training. Consider online, live professional development as a workable middle ground.
Regarding taxes, oh, what a tangled web we weave. Companies may be required to file a business tax return where remote employees work. Employers need knowledgeable multi-state legal counsel and CPA’s.
In Texas, employers may not have to carry worker’s compensation insurance and can be self-insured, but that is not the way it is in many states. Texas does not require employers to complete E-Verify on all new employees, but other states do. Of course, the I9 completion within the legal timelines is required for everyone.
Employers can choose whether (or not) to provide employee retirement plans in Texas, but that is only sometimes the case in other states.
Stay connected to remote employees. Yes, Big Brother needs to be watching. You are not paying remote employees to go shopping. However, you may want to require minimum, specified hours of remote work. For instance, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a one-hour lunch. The additional two hours may be completed at any other time during a 24-hour period. Define the 24-hour period. Monitor computer use and yes, a remote employee can turn on the computer and walk away, but eventually, you will catch them. Choose your battles regarding exempt employees. No one likes a micromanager. Remote employees need to get the job done by when their employer needs it done. Clearly defined deadlines are always required.
Finally, embrace change.
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. George Bernard Shaw
“Your employees are the heart of your organization.” Dr. Michele Harmon is a Human Resource professional, supporting clients in Texas and New Mexico that range in size from five to more than 3,000 employees. Email: micheleharmon1@gmail.com