Author: Angela McDermott
Managing and supporting employees across multiple states requires examination of individual state employment requirements and regulations. To create a successful multi-state working environment, consider these factors:
1. State employment laws
Analyze how applicable state employment laws will impact your policies and then determine how to apply them to your staff. Currently, if you operate in multiple states, you can choose to enforce the most generous and beneficial laws for your employees. For example, Connecticut's Family and Medical Leave Act allows 16 weeks of leave, while most other states offer 12 weeks. So, if you have employees performing work in Connecticut, you can apply its leave policy to your entire staff, regardless of where they work.
Because each state operates under unique laws, communicate individual employee rights with employees, specific to the state where they work. Display federal and state law posters not only around your office but also share them digitally with offsite staff. Provide a detailed digital employee handbook with addendums specific to certain state laws, which helps ensure consistency and clarity.
Remaining compliant across states can become complex. However, ignoring state-specific regulations can lead to legal issues or financial penalties.
2. Remote work policies
Consider what guidelines you'll provide employees working from a home office to address data privacy and proper information storage. Also, consider work-related health and safety concerns. For example, do employees work from a couch, coffee table or a dedicated office? Further, determine whether to establish core work hours across time zones to help teams collaborate and decide what equipment you will provide to remote employees.
3. Culture and employee engagement
Consider how to adjust employee engagement initiatives to include your remote workforce. How connected do your employees feel with your organization, managers and their teams? How often will remote employees travel to the headquarters?
How policies, regulations and laws differ across states
Depending on the states where your employees work, you may face many different requirements impacting your HR strategy. These may include:
- Job posting requirements. If you post a remote position, be aware of pay transparency laws that may apply. Some states require disclosure of compensation ranges in job advertisements for applicants.
- Leave policies. States may specify differing requirements for employees to take job-protected leave under various state family medical leave acts. Sick leave accruals and other policy details can also vary widely by state. Ensure your leave policy complies with differing accrual rates, carryover or usage requirements.
- Paid family leave or other state-specific payroll tax requirements. Many states roll out paid family leave programs requiring payroll tax contributions by the employee and/or the employer. Other states, such as Washington, implement programs such as the WA Cares Fund. This initiative requires payroll tax contributions for long-term care insurance if an employee exemption isn't in place.
- Expense reimbursement. States such as California require you to reimburse employees for necessary expenses incurred at your direction while working remotely. Know the requirements in the states where your employees work.
Best practices for managing multi-state employees
- Properly register your business in each state where your employees work. Overlooking state or local tax implications in payroll processing can trigger tax compliance issues for your organization and your employees.
- Support your culture and employee engagement. Remember to include remote employees in company activities and decision-making processes that affect their work. Foster belonging and engagement through virtual team-building activities and involvement in company initiatives. Try implementing virtual "water cooler" forums or employee interest groups using technology platforms like Slack or Teams to allow staff to connect informally.
- Consider building additional time into at least one weekly internal meeting. This time allows for informal discussions with cameras on. For example, schedule an hour but cover agenda items in 45 minutes to create time for casual connection among employees.
- Scheduling across time zone differences. To coordinate across multiple time zones, establish core hours for the entire company. This ensures employees work common hours for at least part of the day.
- Create a central communications hub. Too many communication platforms create confusion and complicate information sharing. Use an intranet or team collaboration software to share important information, updates and announcements. Develop targeted messages for specific audiences when necessary. For example, don't send an all-employee email to announce snacks in the breakroom if the distribution includes remote employees who can't participate.
- Train managers to manage remote employees and avoid remote work bias. Some employees crave in-office interaction, while others don't. Educate your managers to cultivate, manage and lead remote team members. Also, create a career succession path for them. Remote employees deserve the same opportunities as employees you see in the office regularly.
Gallagher can help
Managing employees across multiple states complicates your HR strategy. Staying current on changing laws and regulations in every state and ensuring all employees feel connected can be difficult as an HR leader.
We can help you stay compliant and keep your staff engaged and connected. Gallagher's HR and Organizational Effectiveness team can assess your policies for legal compliance with various state requirements. Further, we can help administer and track employee leaves to support multi-state payroll administration and tax compliance, as well as tailor your HR strategies and employee engagement initiatives to your organization's unique culture.
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