HR

Whether your business is like Facebook – and considering instituting a permanent work from home program for all staff – or you’re faced with on-going requests for temporary work from home assignments to accommodate real life issues employees have balancing work, health and families, instituting a formal Work From Home Program will help assure accountability and impartiality when implementing your program. A strong Work From Home Program should include policies for employee participation but will…

While there is a lot being said about the rapid increase of automation to replace the human workforce in the face of a global lockdown, not all businesses practices are better accomplished with software rather than the thoughtful personal service of a human being. At MarathonHR, this has been a long-held tenant of our business as we routinely face and fend off “the big guys” when providing payroll and HR services to clients of all…

Under normal circumstances MarathonHR would have received notification of your new unemployment insurance (UI) tax rate before January 1. As 2020 was anything but normal, it should come as little surprise to employers to learn that the Georgia Department of Labor is running behind and now estimates that UI tax rates will be available to employers via the DOL Employer Portal in February. How does this impact you?  Employer Quarterly Tax and Wage reports will…

Last year we shared best practices from the CDC about how to minimize risk associated with persons who had been exposed. As we continue to receive calls from concerned business owners almost daily, we wanted revisit the current and always evolving recommendations. In addition to this simple to understand graphic above, we’re encouraging clients to go right to the source and download the current Georgia Department of Public Health Quarantine Guidance: https://dph.georgia.gov/document/document/quarantine-guidance-what-do-if-you-were-exposed-someone-novel-coronavirus-covid/download

According to preliminary research reported back in September, approximately 90% of the US population remains susceptible to the novel coronavirus. CDC Director Robert Redfield also said that to reach herd immunity (when enough of the population is immune to prevent outbreaks), immunity rates must reach 60-80%. For more information from this Senate hearing, check out this link. While this information isn't surprising, businesses are trying to figure out their place in the vaccine flood expected…

Biometric time clocks that use fingerprints, iris scanners or hand readers are wildly popular with organizations intent on ensuring accurate timekeeping of on-site employees. Since the advent of the pandemic, many businesses are changing the way they manage employee time and attendance including how their employees punch in and out for work. With enhanced protocols for hygiene in the workplace, employers are looking for touchless, contact-free solutions to help protect the health and safety of…

Now that the banks (with guidance from the SBA and the U.S. Treasury) are finally opening their doors to PPP Loan forgiveness, dutiful borrowers and their accounting staff are anxious to get their forgiveness applications rolling and the loans off their books. As the initial spirit or “intent” of the loan was to provide coverage for payroll, rent and utilities for a period of 8 weeks, it’s logical that most businesses are starting their application…

To provide financial and administrative relief to America’s smallest businesses, the U.S. Small Business Administration, in consultation with the Treasury Department, finally released a simpler loan forgiveness application exclusively for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans of $50,000 or less. Approval of PPP forgiveness applications and remittance of payments to PPP lenders for PPP borrowers began on October 2, 2020. Visit: https://www.sba.gov/article/2020/oct/08/sba-treasury-announce-simpler-ppp-forgiveness-loans-50000-or-less for more details, instructions and to download the forgiveness application.

As entrepreneurialism is trending, it’s an exciting time for small to medium sized businesses (SMBs). Due to the present economic climate, many professionals are leaving large companies to start their own. Whether it’s a new client opening their first business or an existing client opening their second or third, we’re seeing a resurgence of startups in just the last few months. But with the thrill of opening one’s own doors also comes a whole host…