Are you aware that there are significant changes required in your HR department when your company surpasses 50 staff members? Here's what you need to know.
Once your business begins to take off, you may feel as though you have overcome most of the "growing pains" that are associated with a new idea. You've probably nailed your hiring processes, and have a proactive human resources team that is able to manage compliance -- or have outsourced these functions to a trusted partner. However, there are additional requirements once your company reaches the magic number of 50 employees that might take your team by surprise, and expose your company to greater risks than you realize. Employers with 50 or more full-time staff members fall under different requirements in the realm of reporting, healthcare, family and medical leave plus state and local laws. Understanding these obligations as you approach the 50 employee limit will allow you to plan ahead and ensure that you're actively managing the risk to your organization.
Ilan Sredni, owner of Palindrome Consulting, a managed IT services provider outside Miami shares insights into crossing the magical 50 employee number and what employers need to be aware of.
Understanding the Changes to Your Growing Company
As your company approaches 45 employees and you anticipate further growth, it's time to investigate and begin implementing the changes that will be required when you finally cross that magical 50-employee mark. While many of these obligations may be considered intrusive, they are meant to help companies make the transition from small business to mid-size business on a step-by-step basis. The good news is that you might discover that you're already supporting many of the requirements long before they were technically "required", such as providing sick leave for the illness of family members and not just staff member illness. A few of the business areas that will be affected include:
Health and Wellness. The Affordable Care Act contains requirements that companies with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent personnel on payroll be treated as "Applicable Large Employers". This triggers the need for a company to provide compliant healthcare coverage and provide additional reports to the IRS on the coverages that are being offered to staff members.
Family Leave. The federal government has created standards around the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which includes the requirement that employers provide up to 12 weeks of leave for anyone covered under these guidelines.
Applicable State Laws. Once your company reaches the 50-employee threshold, you might discover that there are specific laws that now apply. This could be anything from sexual harassment training to drug awareness training or occupational health requirements at the job site.
Demographic Reporting. Protecting employees and candidates from discrimination is an important aspect of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's standards, and the reporting requirements change when your company rises above the 50 employee mark. Awareness of these requirements can also help provide needed diversity for your workforce.
If you are wondering what is considered a full-time employee, the government terms anyone who is scheduled to work more than 30 hours per week as a full-time staff member. Plus, individuals who work less than 30 hours per week may also count fractionally towards the number of full-time equivalent staff that you employ. There is no single date when these various requirements are triggered, so anytime throughout the year that your company rises above 50 full-time or full-time equivalent staff members can trigger these additional requirements.
Maintaining compliance throughout the lifecycle of your business requires a constant retooling of your employee and customer strategies, ensuring that you are compliant with the latest data capture and storage compliance requirements and more. It is too easy to make assumptions that current procedures are effective and sufficient, but a regular review of current legislation and compliance standards is the only way to reduce the risk of significant fines being levied against your organization. Fortunately, your local IT services provider stays up-to-date on many of these technology-related requirements and can help your leadership team determine the steps required to shift strategies to support any new regulations.
