TRANSFORMING Teams By Paige McAllister
Implications from having employees work out of state mong the many changes to “business as usual” forced upon companies during the COVID-19 pandemic is the reality of more employees working from home. Whether due to regulatory shutdowns or the requirement to self-quarantine or-isolate due to COVID-19 exposure or symptoms, many businesses have had to create solutions to allow employees to remote work in order to keep the business running. While numerous solutions were quickly implemented to react to the ever-changing pandemic, employees and employers are now realizing the longer-term implications of these remote work options. Employers are having to
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Q. We were required to offer employees paid time off under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) last year. Do I still need to?
A. While it is no longer mandatory for employers with fewer than 500 employees to offer this time off, it is voluntary. The Consolidated Appropriations Act signed by President Trump extended the accessibility and tax credits for the FFCRA through March 31, 2021, but made it voluntary to offer. The recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act extended FFCRA as a voluntary benefit and applicable tax credit offset through September 30, 2021, and it also made some revisions including: • expanding the covered reasons to include vaccine appointments and time off due to complications from receiving the vaccines; • reset the allotment of available time off (two-week/80hour of sick time and 10 weeks of paid family leave per employee) March 31, 2021; • increase the amount of credit available for employees offering paid family leave to $12,000; • increase the number of days self-employed individuals can use to calculate qualifying leave to 60 days; • increase time off for federal workers to 15 weeks; and • require employers to provide FFCRA to all employees without discriminating against a certain group. Again, any FFCRA is voluntary as of January 1, 2021. However, providing employees with this paid time off (as well as related costs such as insurance premiums) is repaid to employers through the offset of payroll taxes. 34
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The Merchant Magazine n
April 2021
review and update normal employment procedures such as performance reviews and paid time off usage due to the new work-from-home reality. However, employers who have employees who are temporarily working in a different state have even more implications to consider. Whether an employee usually commutes across state lines to come into the office or if they have had to temporarily relocate due to COVID-19 or financial considerations, employers need to follow employment laws in those states in addition to the state(s) in which the company is located. According to the American Institute of CPA’s, 47% of remote employees are unaware that laws vary by state and 70% did not know that working remotely may impact their tax filings. In normal circumstances, an employer who hires an employee living and working in a different state has plenty of time to set up state-specific Workers’ Comp and unemployment insurance, file and pay state taxes, and learn the different employment laws. Given the emergency declarations and rapid decisions that had to be made during the pandemic, employers and employees are now realizing they have been subject to different laws this entire time. Some states are making temporary exemptions for employees working remotely due to COVID-19 circumstances while others are requiring proper taxes be paid, Workers’ Comp and unemployment be maintained, and employment laws followed. Depending on where you and your employers are located, you may need to consider the following laws in the state(s) in which your employees are working to stay in compliance: Building-Products.com
