Earlier this year, the US DOL issued new regulations, effectively doubling (from $455 per week to $913 per week) the wage threshold at which an employee might be considered exempt from the Overtime rules of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Last week, a Federal judge in Texas issued an injunction,… Read More

Do you currently utilize “an HCM solution” that is actually made up of several separate systems that you or your predecessors have somehow cobbled together to try to make them function as one?  That is what we lovingly like to refer to as a Frankenstein HCM system.  It probably comes… Read More

Sooner or later, every small business manager must face the task of terminating an employee. This is a task that can be unpleasant at a minimum and dangerously expensive if not handled carefully. You must remember that there are laws that provide employees with rights that you must not violate. Read More

For millions of Americans, Friday is often synonymous with payday.  But whether payday falls at the end of the week, the beginning or somewhere in between, payday is a day we all look forward to and rely upon.  Very few of us work for free and the majority of us count… Read More

by Jennifer Kretovic, SHRM-CP, PHR Like most, I read industry articles related to the work I do. In my case, I read about trends in HR, particularly those directly related to the technology projects I am constructing for clients here at Checkmate Workforce Solutions. Last… Read More

As we head into the last month of summer and stores commence with their Back-to-School bargains, many of us try to squeeze in those last bits of family vacation time with our loved ones while we still can…or, at least, we used to try.  The US Travel Association through its… Read More

This time last year, we started our adventure, looking for the ideal office space for a growing company.   At the time, Checkmate was operating out of a 4,000+ square foot, Victorian style building, which was once the home of a number of small businesses, and even further back, one assumes,… Read More

1)  ACA Penalties Only Assessed in Certain Scenarios ACA Penalties will only be assessed if one of your “full-time” employees (30 or more hours worked, on average, per week) obtains coverage through the exchange, AND also receives a premium tax credit. For employers with 100+ employees, the ACA employer shared… Read More

txking / Shutterstock.com The State of SHOP Plans (and Where they’re Headed) The Affordable Care Act (ACA) Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) got off to a slow start. Many factors behind the sluggish launch, however, theoretically won’t weigh it down in 2015. So now might be a… Read More

The Obama Administration’s most recent change to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may have given some employers the wrong impression. With this modification, employers with 50 to 99 employees now have until 2016 to comply with the “Shared Responsibility” provisions of the law. Some employers — especially those who are… Read More