While Massachusetts has had a pay equity law since 1945, the state recently strengthened the Equal Pay Act to close the gender gap with new worker protections that will go into effect July 1:

• The amended law includes a broader definition of comparable work that is more favorable for employees bringing a pay-discrimination claim
• Employers can no longer ask candidates about their previous salaries or contact a former employer to confirm their wages until after an offer is made, although nothing prohibits a prospective employee from voluntarily providing the information
• Under the updated Act, companies can’t prevent employees from discussing wages
• Businesses can’t retaliate against employees who exercise their rights under the law

Defining Comparable Work

Under the amended law, companies can’t discriminate, based on gender, in the payment of wages for comparable work. The law defines comparable work as that which requires substantially similar skill, effort and responsibility and is performed under similar working conditions. To determine comparable work, employers must not just rely on job titles or descriptions.

The law permits certain wage variations, however, such as those based on a legitimate merit or seniority system, geographic location, education, and travel requirements.

Steep Penalties for Violations

The Act makes it easier for workers to bring a claim, and the penalties can be steep: employers who violate the equal pay provision of the law are liable for twice the amount of the unpaid wages owed to the affected employee plus attorney’s fees, and those who violate one of the other provisions may be required to pay any damages actually incurred by the employee or applicant.

What the Updated Law Means for HR

To comply with the law, companies need to make sure their pay practices are fair. One way to do this is to complete a self-evaluation to identify any disparities, which also affords companies a defense to claims if they can demonstrate that they completed a review and made reasonable progress towards eliminating pay differences based on gender.

In addition, since the law presents new challenges to those screening and interviewing job candidates and negotiating offers, companies should train hiring managers and other potential interviewers about the new law’s restrictions on salary history questions and what’s still permissible, such as asking about compensation expectations.

More guidance is available from the Office of the Attorney General. Or contact the experts at Complete Payroll Solutions by clicking the image below.

While any company can benefit from HR consulting—from those with just a few employees to large, multi-site companies—there are three key signs that your organization’s in need of some outsourced assistance.

Leadership is Tasked with Handling HR

For many smaller businesses without a dedicated HR professional or team, the role is managed by either one or a variety of other strategic individuals in the organization, such as the CFO or head of finance. Adding HR functions onto leadership’s already demanding responsibilities can have detrimental consequences: either HR doesn’t get the time it needs or the executive spends too much time on HR, which detracts from their other duties.

HR consultants allow leadership to reinvest their efforts into the business by taking over all aspects of HR, from recruitment and hiring to benefits and compliance.

Your Employee Issues Require Specialized Expertise

No matter your size, employee issues can arise. And while some can be straightforward and managed by internal HR staff, more complex issues, like dealing with a problem employee or their termination, require specialized expertise to handle the situation effectively and ensure that the employee’s rights are preserved—and the company is protected against the risk of a lawsuit.

Outsourcing HR can give you access to more experience and specialized knowledge, for an immediate employee need or the long term, and for a lot less than hiring an internal expert.

Compliance is Becoming Overwhelming

Harassment and discrimination, pay equity, leave, and the Affordable Care Act are just some of the top compliance issues businesses face today. And staying abreast of the myriad of laws and regulations affecting the workplace is increasingly difficult—yet critical to avoiding liability and costly fines.

If internal HR staff doesn’t have the time or expertise to dedicate to compliance, an HR consultancy can help by ensuring appropriate and up-to-date policies and procedures are in place, communicated and followed to reduce your exposure so you can protect and grow your business.

How HR Consulting Can Help

If you lack the time and expertise to respond to the top HR challenges today, teaming with a dedicated HR professional at Complete Payroll Solutions can help. Our flexible, customized solutions enable us to deliver as much—or as little—assistance as you need for effective and efficient HR management that will keep you up with today’s challenges and position you for tomorrow’s opportunities.

On April 1, the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act takes effect. Under the law, Massachusetts employers cannot deny pregnant women and new mothers reasonable accommodation for their pregnancies, even if a woman’s pregnancy or related condition doesn’t constitute a disability under existing state or federal discrimination laws.

What Constitutes Reasonable Accommodation?

The Act says that the employee (or prospective employee) and employer shall engage in an interactive process to determine an effective, reasonable accommodation. Reasonable accommodation can include:

• More frequent or longer paid or unpaid breaks
• Time off to attend to a pregnancy complication or recover from childbirth with or without pay
• Modified equipment or seating
• A temporary transfer to a less strenuous position
• Job restructuring
• Light duty
• A private non-bathroom space for breastfeeding
• A modified work schedule

Employers, however, can deny a request for accommodation if it would impose an undue hardship.

Discrimination Prohibitions

The Act also increases the protections against pregnancy-related discrimination by amending the state’s antidiscrimination law and prohibiting employers from:

• Denying a reasonable accommodation
• Taking adverse action against an employee who requests or uses a reasonable accommodation
• Denying employment opportunities based on the need to make a reasonable accommodation to the employee
• Requiring an employee to accept an accommodation they don’t want to accept if it’s not necessary in order for them to perform the essential job functions
• Requiring an employee to take a leave of absence if another reasonable accommodation could be provided
• Refusing to hire a pregnant woman because of the pregnancy or related condition 

Notice Required

Under the Act, employers must distribute a written notice to employees of their right to be free of discrimination due to pregnancy or a related condition, including the right to reasonable accommodation. The notice should be provided in a handbook, pamphlet or by other means to all employees, including new employees and employees who notify the employer of a pregnancy or related condition within 10 days of the notification.

If you need help creating a new employee handbook or updating your current one, our HR experts can assist with that. We can also assess your handbook annually to ensure compliance, and handle a host of other complex compliance issues. For more information, call 866.658.8800 or click below.

While human resources is an essential component of any business, it’s not easy to manage—and manage well—on top of your other responsibilities. In the worst-case scenario, HR best practices become an afterthought, which can be detrimental to both the wellbeing of your employees and the efficacy of your business.

That’s why outsourcing HR is one of the top business trends today. By outsourcing this integral function to an external entity, you’ll realize many benefits—not the least of which is preventing important policies and processes from being left unattended.

We know you’re busy, so we’re going to break down why so many companies are outsourcing HR and whether it might make sense for your company.

Why Companies Outsource HR

Today, an estimated 50 percent of companies outsource all or part of their HR needs, and this number is growing rapidly. Whether your company is large or small, there are different ways that you could benefit from outsourcing HR to an expert. To name a few:

• Free up time and energy—23 percent of companies outsource to focus on strategy
• Start saving money—26 percent of companies outsource to control their costs
• Improve your compliance—22 percent of companies outsource to protect themselves from compliance issues
• Gain access to best practices and advanced technology—18 percent of companies outsource to take advantage of technology and experience

If your company is small, outsourcing your HR can help you gain access to advanced human resource practices, cutting-edge technology, and skilled personnel without having to hire, manage, and pay an in-house HR team. For bigger companies with a lot going on at once, outsourcing HR or part of HR, can be the simplest solution to keeping up-to-date with compliance and legal matters so that you have one less thing to worry about.

When Outsourcing HR Makes Sense

If you’ve found yourself wishing that your organization was more adaptive and efficient in your HR efforts, you should consider outsourcing your HR.

Working with a partner like Complete Payroll Solutions signals you’re taking a proactive approach to human resources to transform your workplace, save company time, focus on higher priorities, and stay ahead of rules and regulations. If this sounds like the kind of upgrade you’ve been searching for, we’re thrilled to be able to help.

By outsourcing your HR to Complete Payroll Solutions, you’ll have access to benefits like:

• Onsite HR assessments
• Management and employee training
• Dedicated, local HR Professional
• Compliance Support
• Custom employee handbooks
• HR consulting

So, stop getting bogged down in paperwork and putting off important HR matters. Start making HR a priority by outsourcing to Complete Payroll Solutions. We’ll do our job so that you can get back to yours.