It’s that time of year again!

Time to Close out the current year and get ready for next!

To help you complete Year End Close, we have prepared an End-Of-Year Checklist for you to use. Happy Holidays from the entire McCloskey Partners, LLC Team. Have a great holiday season!

Download Printable PDF of Checklist

As we transition into a new year, businesses begin the process of compiling their end of year key business metrics, creating strategies and plans for the upcoming year, and ensuring the organization is compliant with any new legislation and regulations coming into effect. Nothing has more of an impact on each of these things than the company’s Human Resources.

The goal of this checklist is to provide McCloskey Partners clients with a guide for closing out 2018 and preparing for 2019 from a human resources management standpoint. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or need guidance.

It has been proven time and again that specific HR strategies and measures lead to better results in nearly every aspect of the business including financial outcomes. As a result, it is strongly recommended that clients develop plans that include measures that align its people with the organization’s goals.

BENEFITS (Including Affordable Care Act)

Just like payroll, non-compliance to benefits related legislation and regulations could result in hefty fines and other costs. Also, not managing your company’s benefits well or not communicating needed information to employees could lead to low morale and possibly turnover.

  • Have you amended your Retirement plan (inclusive of 403(b) and 401(k)) to be in compliance with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 that goes into effective 1/1/2019? (Unsure what this is???? Give us a call today!)
  • Are you reimbursing employees for their personal medical coverage and travel expenses and charging them the correct taxes?
  • Do you offer vacation/ sick/ paid time off (PTO) and did you remind your staff about any end-of-the-year requirements to use their remaining vacation/PTO time before they lose it come 12/31/2018?
  • How will you handle year end taxable benefits such as accounting for gift cards provided to staff throughout the year and as holiday gifts, use of the company car, and term life insurance greater than $50,000?
  • Are you aware what the deadline is for filing the 2018 Claims for the Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Program offered by your Company?
  • The IRS has increased the maximum retirement contribution from $18,500 to $19,000, and the “catch-up” available to those above 50 to $6,000. Do you have a plan to communicate these changes to your employees? Call us to learn more details regarding changes.
  • Have you distributed the IRS Updates for the contribution limits in 2019 for HSA Contribution?
  • Are you familiar with the Affordable Care Act Tax Provisions and how they affect your business? Are you familiar with how to calculate a full-time employee under ACA?
  • Form 1095C must be in the employee’s hands by 1/31/2019. Not just post-marked by 1/31/2019.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Any plan is going to include education and training for the organization’s leadership and staff.  What your strategy for #MeToo Sensitivity Awareness Training. If you are thinking…. “strategy… what strategy.”  You may want to reach out to McCloskey Partners and schedule time to talk about training.

  • Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities gaps analysis has been completed and gaps have been identified.
  • Specific training to bridge these gaps have been identified.
  • Are you utilizing Training Grants available through your State? If not, you could be missing out potentially on thousands of dollars of “free” money.

FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)

  • Do you manage FMLA on a calendar year or 365 day rolling backwards period? (If you had 50 or more employees within the 2018 calendar year, you need to know the answer to this question.)
  • If your business was large enough in 2018 to be covered by FMLA, have you been tracking the use of FMLA correctly? Are you calculating maximum amounts of time available correctly?
  • Did you know that NEW FORMS were released this year?

FORMS

  • Are the employee personnel files in good order? Do they contain forms that include dates of employment or social security numbers?
  • Have you updated your Employment Application to ensure it’s compliant with any recent changes?
  • Have you asked your staff to update their emergency contact data sheets?
  • Have you distributed the Holiday Schedule for 2018 and 2019 so your staff know when the Company will be closed? (Will there be any Floating Holidays provided to staff?)
  • Have you reviewed job titles and revised job descriptions for employees whose jobs, duties, or roles have changed within this year? Be sure their FLSA exemption statuses are still accurate.

METRICS

Let’s take a look at some basic HR metrics for 2018 to learn how you did this past year.

  • Employee Turnover Rate (Number of People Separated / Total Number of Employees)
  • Position Vacancy Rate (Number of Empty Positions / Total Number of Positions)
  • Days to Fill (Number of Days Position is Empty)
  • Unscheduled Absence Rate (Total number of scheduled hours missed/Total number of scheduled hours)

If you’ve found that the measures above are too high, don’t panic. With a clear plan, these measures can improve.

MISCELLANEOUS COMPLIANCE

  • Are your Federal, State & Local Labor posters in compliance?
  • The IRS recommended mileage reimbursement rate may increase in 2019. Be sure you are prepared should you need to update your Business Expense Reimbursement policies to reflect any changes.
  • Do your I-9s require re-verification? If so, has this been done?  Are the I-9s filed in the general employee file?    (If so, its recommended that you move them to their own folder!)

PAYROLL

Being non-compliant with the Fair Labor Standards Act and IRS requirements can be very expensive for an organization. The items in the checklist below will help you with being compliant. Please contact us if you have any questions.

  • Could your Overtime practices trigger a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) audit?
  • Have you updated your Time & Attendance system yet? Are you still requiring both salaried and hourly staff to clock all hours worked?  (Not sure why this is a potential issue… Give us a call!)
  • Have you completed an end-of-year payroll audit to prepare for ACA 1095 and W2 reporting?
  • Are you charging employees the correct processing fee if they are receiving a live payroll check? Are you charging the right processing fee for garnishment checks?
  • Have you made a note to remind yourself to obtain the 2019 W4 Form once it’s released by the IRS in January 2019?
  • Have you distributed W9 Forms to all of your consultants who will receive a 1099 for work performed in 2018?

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Job performance evaluations and objectives need to support the overall goals of the company.

  • Appropriate job performance criteria and expected behaviors have been identified and are folded into the performance evaluations.
  • Completion dates have been set and all supervisors held accountable to completing evals by these dates.

STAFFING PLANS

  • Have you done your staffing budget for 2019 and does it support what you’d like to accomplish in 2019? Or are you going to use the old “wing it approach?”

McCloskey Partners will partner with YOU to create and implement plans to align the organization’s overall goals for 2019. Please give us a call!

TRAINING

It’s imperative that each organization understands the training requirements mandated either through federal or state law. Also, many industry specific regulations exist that require employers to provide specific training. Please contact McCloskey Partners to learn what specific training requirements your organization may have.

The following list provides the minimum training each employer should be providing its people.

  • Harassment (Including Diversity & inclusion, Unconscious bias, Sensitivity Awareness)
  • Safety (At a minimum Fire Safety, OSHA may require additional depending on industry)
  • Ethics (Including how to report violations)
  • Sick & Safe Leave Regulations (In Applicable States)
  • Expanded Harassment Training for Employees & Managers (In Applicable States)

WORKERS COMPENSATION AND OSHA

  • Have you kept your OSHA 300 log updated? Are you prepared to complete the OSHA 300A and post it? Do you know if you must submit the 300, 300A, and 301 to OSHA electronically in 2019?
  • Have you distributed the annual Workers Compensation Rights & Responsibilities Notice to your staff? Are you required to post your Workers Compensation Physician Panel?  If so, is it posted?
  • OSHA now only allows post-accident drug screening to occur only when it’s reasonable to believe the injury occurred as a result of drug and/or alcohol use. Do your policies reflect this rule?
  • OSHA’s goal is to complete nearly 31,000 inspections during their October 2018 – September 2019 fiscal year. Are you ready?

POLICIES

  • Did you get out those new policies yet? (Social Media, Parental Leave, Domestic Partnership Benefits, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)) (You do have these, right?)
  • Winter is here! How will you handle company closings with your staff?  Do you have a policy to address inclement weather?
  • Do you have staff classified as Independent Contractors? Have you updated your policies and are your staff classified correctly?

For additional information on how to check off items from your business’s end-of-year checklist, contact McCloskey Partners, LLC. McCloskey Partners, LLC is your Human Resources & Recruiting & Training Provider. Contact us today to discuss this Year End Checklist at:  Phone:  215-716-3035 x 706. To learn more about our services, stop on by our website: www.mccloskeypartners.com or e-mail us at  services@mccloskeypartners.com.