With the use of facemasks now more prevalent in the workplace as a means to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) wants to ensure employers and employees are using face coverings properly. Many have turned to cloth face coverings as a form of protection, while others use respirators. Surgical…
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Businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic now have another funding option through the Small Business Administration. The organization is accepting applications for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) advance of up to $10,000. The SBA describes it as a grant, which doesn’t have to be repaid. That money, the SBA says, provides “emergency economic relief”…
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A U.S. Supreme Court ruling adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of discrimination protections under Title Vll of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The June 15 ruling means employers no longer will be able to terminate employees strictly on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Supreme Court Justices voted…
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Big changes are coming to the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. The U.S. Senate approved the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 on June 3 following the May 28 approval in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill was signed into law on June 5. The new law amends the signature lending program…
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Hoping to have your Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiven? There’s now an application for that. The Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have released the application and provided instructions to assist borrowers with that process. The PPP Loan Forgiveness Application is available here. Borrowers will need to provide information including their…
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A large contingent of Paycheck Protection Program borrowers no longer need to justify their loan. The U.S. Treasury Department has eliminated the need for borrowers with loans of less than $2 million to prove they need PPP funding to offset economic uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, those borrowers are now afforded a safe harbor…
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Cuy Mauck knows how hard aspects of the service industry have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. He wants to help and is encouraging others to do the same. So Mauck, who is the president and CEO of Chisholm Trail State Bank, is challenging business leaders and others who are able to leave a 50-percent…
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The end of COVID-19 shutdowns may be near. While stay-at-home orders still are in effect, businesses can begin planning now for when those restrictions are lifted. For some businesses, that might mean furloughed workers are called back or rehiring people who have been laid off. Others may need to prepare for a gradual return to…
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Note: This story was updated April 24 to reflect further Congressional approval. More assistance to help small businesses overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is on the way after the U.S. Congress approved another round of stimulus funding. The U.S. Senate on April 21 approved a bill to earmark another $484 billion for the…
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A lending program designed to help provide small businesses temporary relief from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is out of money. The Small Business Administration announced on its website April 16 that the organization is unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, a $349 billion component of the $2 trillion…
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Small businesses hit hard by economic turmoil amid the COVID-19 pandemic may gain some relief through a new $349 billion lending program. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) through the Small Business Administration launched April 3. It’s a key component of a $2 trillion economic stimulus package dubbed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act…
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The federal government is committing $2 trillion to help stimulate the U.S. economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. An economic stimulus package, called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, cleared the U.S. Senate in the late hours of March 25 and was approved in the House on March 27. The president signed the bill…
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Syndeo Outsourcing, a leading human resources outsourcing company, has won a Best of HR Services Award through ClearlyRated for providing superior client service. ClearlyRated says Best-of winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients. ClearlyRated is a client satisfaction research company. “Now more than ever,…
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is making temporary changes to Form I-9 review processes. Amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the department is relaxing the requirement for employers to review I-9 documents for new employees in person. “Employers with employees taking physical proximity precautions due to COVID-19 will not be required to review the employee’s…
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A new relief package for those affected by COVID-19 also includes provisions that will impact employers. President Donald Trump signed Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law March 18 following passage in the U.S. House and Senate. The law takes effect April 1. Syndeo, an outsourced human resources provider, is providing a summary of the major…
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Heightened concerns about the spread of Coronavirus are affecting the work place. Some businesses are temporally closing in the interim, while others are limiting hours of operation. More people are working remotely as a means of “social distancing” for fear of contracting the virus or as a measure to stop its spread. Gatherings of 10…
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Syndeo is in the running for another award. This time, we were nominated to compete for a Small Business Award through the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce. We are one of three finalists in Tier 3 (21 to 100 employees) of the awards competition along with other Wichita companies Decker Electric Inc. and Commerce Construction…
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The stadium operations pieces are starting to fall into place as the inaugural season for the Wichita Wind Surge baseball team approaches. A two-day job fair Feb. 13 and 15 helped the team secure nearly 350 workers who will help ensure game days run smoothly and fans have an enjoyable experience at the stadium. Team…
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is rolling out a new version of the Form I-9 that employers use to verify the identity and employment authorization of their workers. The new document includes minor changes to the form itself as well as the instructions for completing it including: Revising Country of Issuance and Issuing Authority fields….
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The Wichita Wind Surge needs to hire hundreds of workers ahead of its inaugural season. Syndeo is playing a role in getting those positions filled. We are partnering with the team and the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas on two job fairs to fill an assortment of seasonal positions for the upcoming season, which…
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Updated safety and training standards for operating aerial lifts in the workplace are now in place. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) made changes to the guidelines for that type of equipment to create more of a global standard of operation. As a result, lifts are now required to have separate load-limit and slope-level sensors….
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The new year means changes to the form your employees use to determine how much income tax is withheld from their paychecks. Changes in tax law prompted the IRS to overhaul the Form W-4 and rename it the “Employee’s Withholding Certificate.” Though the form is slightly altered most years, the intent of the redesign is…
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Our human resources department is receiving some well-deserved attention thanks to a couple of individual awards. Tonja Sowder, our senior human resources consultant, was featured in the Dec. 20 edition of the Wichita Business Journal and online as part of that publication’s Women Who Lead series, which recognizes female business leaders in the region from…
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Syndeo’s company and individual recognitions are adding up. Connor Cross, our Director of Human Resources, has been selected for the Wichita Business Journal’s 2020 HR Professionals Awards. “Connor has been a driving force in delivering HR services to our clients, culminating in her promotion to Director of HR in July (2019),” says Bill Maness, Syndeo’s…
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Not hearing our name called right away was worth the wait. One by one, the businesses participating in the Wichita Business Journal’s Best Places to Work competition were called during a December 5 luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. Companies were announced in descending order based on their scores. Numbers 17, 16 and 15 were…
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We live in a technology-centric world. So much so that it’s easy to become dependent. People are always connected. Instant feedback is expected. Financial transactions are easily processed and tracked online. But what happens when that ability is lost? Syndeo and thousands of other businesses across the country that process payroll for their clients’ employees…
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This year makes three. Syndeo was selected as a finalist in the Wichita Business Journal’s Best Places to Work Competition for the third-consecutive year. We are one of 17 finalists in the medium-sized companies category, which includes businesses with 25 to 99 employees. The WBJ also is honoring businesses with 10 to 24 employees and…
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Add one more to a growing list of honors for our company. The Wichita Business Journal selected Syndeo as an honoree for the Innovation Awards, which honor individuals, teams and companies that have developed innovative approaches and solutions in the workplace. Our application focused on how we have found ways to better serve our clients and…
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An estimated 1.3 million more American workers soon will be eligible for overtime compensation with an expansion of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The U.S. Department of Labor on Sept. 24 issued its final overtime rule, increasing the threshold at which non-exempt employees can receive overtime pay to $35,568, or $684 per week. The higher…
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The Wichita staffing division of Syndeo Outsourcing is operating as a stand-alone location for the first time. Syndeo Staffing is moving to a small leased space at 400 S. Commerce, Suite 200. That’s next to RSM Marketing and across from Intrust Bank Arena in downtown Wichita. This is a change that is months in the…
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Thousands more “no-match” letters are expected to be issued throughout the remainder of 2019 as the U.S. Social Security Administration launches the next phase of an initiative to combat discrepancies between social security numbers and government records. Businesses across the U.S. already have received more than 577,000 notices so far this year, according to Social…
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The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has sharpened its safety enforcement on businesses whose operations rely heavily on forklift operation to transport products from one place to another. That means manufacturing companies in particular and other businesses with warehouse facilities need to be vigilant. One component of the initiative centers on making sure forklifts…
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Two more Syndeo employees are now certified through the Society for Human Resource Management. HR Business Partners Courtney Vitamvas and Thuy Tran passed their exams in June about two weeks apart and after months of studying. A SHRM certification is an industry-recognized credential for individuals who are considered an expert in the field of human…
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Employers are facing an increasing number of discrimination or retaliation accusations from former employees who say they were wrongfully terminated. Businesses can protect themselves from those types of allegations but don’t always win if matters are taken to court. Take for example a case involving a former Kansas City, Mo. television reporter who was awarded…
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Michael Gellerman will have to wait longer to add another golf tournament championship to his list of accomplishments. Gellerman did not make the cut to advance to weekend play of the Wichita Open by shooting two over par with a score of 72 in the second round of the tournament. He shot even par in…
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Michael Gellerman has a fondness for the Wichita Open. The city’s premier golf tournament is where Gellerman, who calls Sterling, Kan. home, made his first start as a professional golfer in 2015 after graduating from the University of Oklahoma. “It’s great,” Gellerman says of the Wichita Open. “They do an incredible job. All the player…
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Compliance audits are on the rise, meaning employers need to be aware of pitfalls that could result in penalties and fines. Increasingly, state and federal audits are being conducted to ensure companies large and small are complying with employment laws. Syndeo helps companies get in and stay in compliance. In Kansas, wage and hour audits…
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Kevin Steckley is setting a high bar for fundraising. Steckley, who is part of Syndeo’s sales team, raised $91,775 through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man & Woman of the Year campaign. As such, Steckley won the distinction of 2019 Man of the Year. The results of the 10-week fundraising campaign were announced June 1…
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Contribution amounts for health savings accounts are set to increase in 2020. The IRS announced May 28 the limit for an individual will increase to $3,550, a $50 increase over the 2019 amount. The contribution limit for a family plan will jump to $7,100, a $100 increase. Those changes are effective Jan. 1, 2020. Catch-up contributions…
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Changes may be in store for the Family and Medical Leave Act. The U.S. Department of Labor announced this week it will seek input on how to improve the FMLA, which requires certain employers to provide their employees with at least 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualified family and medical reasons. The labor…
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