PEO Administrative Relief - The Four Major Areas

Payroll Administration

Payroll administration is a basic function of a PEO and the one most commonly associated with an employee leasing company. This function includes the following:

• Prepare and distribute payroll checks
• Direct deposit of wages to bank accounts
• Year end W2s and W3s
• Payroll data maintenance
• Federal, state and local withholding and tax deposits
• Payroll related record keeping, audits, inquiries and verifications.
• Response to I-9 inquiries
• Reporting and job costing
• Time clock management
• Vacation and sick leave tracking
• Payroll software management and accounting (GL) entries
• Tax changes administration
• Support for hourly, salary, commissioned tipped and piece-work payment based employees
• A variety of payment methods, including payroll check, direct deposit and, in some cases, a debit card arrangement
• Payroll input methods via phone, fax and the Internet
• Filing local, state and federal government paperwork (W2s, W4s, FICA, etc)
• Tax Reporting and Compliance
• Certified Payroll, Job Costing and Departmental Billing

Workers’ Compensation Administration

One of the least promoted yet extremely valuable services to the client business is the risk management provided by the PEO in the areas of workers' compensation insurance and unemployment. PEOs aggressively manage claims in both areas. Why? Because a work comp or unemployment claim goes against the PEO's experience and could affect its ability to compete. This is one of the greatest benefits of the co-employer relationship. Imagine a construction company with 10 employees that incurs a $200,000 work comp claim. The owner does not have the resources to manage this claim and it goes against the company's experience. This, in turn, raises the work comp rates to a point that could literally drive that company out of business. A PEO, on the other hand, has a department that will manage this claim, working to find a quick resolution. These efforts will inevitably result in a much lower claim cost. Get more information about Workers Compensation Resources in your state.

• Claims review and administration
• Safety plan creation, administration and training
• Report and document accidents
• Work Comp billing reconciliation
• Safety audits and reviews
• OSHA Compliance
• Annual policy cost reviews
• Dividend plan reviews and audits
• NCCI mod rate reviews

Benefits Administration

Shopping for health insurance is a time-consuming and frustrating task. Every PEO spends a great deal of resources in finding cost-effective, comprehensive medical and dental plans. The plans offered are typically PPO (Preferred Provider Organization), HMO (Health Maintenance Organization), POS (Point-of-Service) or a combination of the three. By pooling its employees in one group, the PEO is able to spread its medical claims over a larger premium base. This means much lower annual rate increases, compared to those suffered by small businesses.

Health insurance is only one of many benefits the typical PEO offers. Most of these benefits are available as an option to your company. StaffMarket will ensure that the employee benefits important to your company are included in your quotes. Other supplemental benefits available include:

• Plan communications to employees
• Benefits handbook creation and distribution
• Annual enrollments and adds/drops
• Eligibility tracking
• COBRA compliance and administration
• Plan discrimination testing
• Flexible spending accounts (FSA) administration
• Carrier payments and account audits
• Annual plan cost reviews
• 401K administration, company matching and plan testing (highly compensated)
• Section 125 (pretax) premium audits
• Life Insurance (if offered) plan administration
• Employee assistance plans (EAP) administration
• Short term disability plan administration
• Long term disability plan administration
• Long Term Disability
• Short Term Disability
• Accidental Death & Dismemberment
• Life Insurance
• Flexible Spending Accounts and HSAs
• Cancer Insurance
• Pre-Paid Legal
• Vision Plan
• 401(k) and IRAs
• Employee Assistance Programs

Human Resources Administration

In today's business environment, keeping up with the pitfalls of employee-related laws requires a dedicated department. Most small businesses do not have the manpower to do so and can find themselves involved in an expensive lawsuit that, with access to an HR department, could have been avoided. The PEO acts as your off-site HR department, offering consultation in the areas of sexual harassment, discrimination, FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act), hiring and firing practices and a number of other areas. Other services included in the human resources area may include:

• Legal assistance establishment and retainers
• Review, draft and communicate employment policies
• Create and publish legally valid employee handbooks
• Manage insurance for Employment Practices Liability (EPLI)
• Employment posters and notices
• Unemployment claims administration
• Background checks
• Audit compliance with Wage and Hour (FLSA)
• Audit compliance with ADA – Disability Act
• Audit compliance with EEOC
• Audit compliance with OSHA
• Attendance audits
• Employment applications
• Applicant interviewer training practices
• I9 compliance
• Background Checks
• Pre-Employment Testing
• Recruiting
• Advertising
• Resume Screening
• Interviewing
• Customized Employee Handbooks
• Performance Appraisals
• Rewards and Recognition Programs
• Position Descriptions
• Drug-Free Workplace
• Training (Employee and Managerial)