2021 Employer Checklist

In this checklist, we’ve compiled what we think are the most essential items employers need to plan to address for 2021. For more information, answers to questions, or to receive a free downloadable version of this checklist, contact us today!

☐ 2021 Minimum Wage Adjustments Completed

☐ Hourly Minimum Wages increases to $12.50 per hour. (Tipped employees to $8.35 per hour)

Note: if you are a “fast food” qualifying employee this rate should be $14.50 per hour

Tipped to minimum credit adjusted to $4.15 per hour

Tip credit removed from non-hospitality employees pay calculation (Note, this should have been reduced by 50% in July, and is completely being eliminated per NYS law for 2021

☐ Salary Adjustments made for the increase in Exempt Minimum Wage for any salaried employees

$48,750 for Administrative and Executive exempt employees.

(Pro-Tip: this amount should have been $46,020 in 2020)

All Professional exemption qualifying employees must be at $35,568 annually as of 1/1/2020.

Note, if you are unsure whether your employees are exempt or non-exempt, which exemption category your salaried employees may safely fall into, or are concerned about past or future compliance with any of the above, we highly encourage you to reach out to us for a wage & hour consultation, as this is a highly litigated area of employment law in NYS and Federally and we are prepared to help you address any issues before they become a problem.

☐ COVID Leave (FFCRA or “Cares Act”) Housekeeping is complete

For Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and/or Emergency FMLA Leave (EFMLA)

☐ Ensure that employees’ use of this time has been recorded accurately in your payroll system, and therefore you are receiving the “Federal Tax Credit” reimbursement for this time.

Remember, employees using EPSL for their own COVID illness, quarantining, or testing needs, should have received up to 2 weeks’ worth of pay for time missed.

For employees using the EFMLA, they should have received potentially 2 weeks of full pay for childcare or similar family member care needs during COVID, and then an additional 10 weeks of 2/3 pay.

Note: these leaves interact and overlap in a somewhat complicated manner, so if you are unsure about whether you correctly administered these leaves, we encourage you to reach out for guidance.

☐ Ensure that you have affirmation documents from each employee for any COVID leave used in case of an audit later (signed verification by the employee indicating the need and reason for the leave).

☐ Make sure you’ve tracked the use of this time for each employee (number of days or hours) for yourself.

Pro-Tip: EPSL and EFMLA usage almost always counts towards an employee’s FMLA eligibility for the year, and for this reason and also in the case that these leaves are extended beyond 12/31, you want to ensure that you understand how much time employees have left so you are not overpaying these benefits.

☐ NYS Paid Family Leave (PFL) benefit and policy has been updated to reflect the 2021 change.

PFL is going to 12 weeks of leave (from 10) and 67% pay weekly pay (from 60%)

Pro-tip: this now directly overlaps with FMLA and you may want to consider a policy adjustment to require overlap of usage where applicable.

☐ You’ve implemented a plan for New York Paid Sick Leave (required paid time off for sick days)

This is a significant change for all employers in NYS for 2021, which has many layers. We recommend checking out our recorded webinar (it’s free) on this subject and then reaching out with any questions!

☐ You’ve taken other actions to plan for ongoing COVID matters going into 2021

☐ Have you implemented a remote work policy in case employees need to stay working at home? (recommended)

☐ Have you planned for alternative work schedules, granting additional leaves, etc. as needs may arise again?

☐ Have you considered alternatives to layoffs in case of another slow down? (NYS Shared Work Program)

☐ Do you have a required safety plan yet? (daily employee questionnaire, mask policy, etc.)

☐ Finally, have you considered other employment law and HR trends in your planning for 2021?

☐ Addressing the increased focus by employees but also legally on policies and actions around equity, inclusion, and diversity. Are your policies/practices likely to cause you employee satisfaction or legal issues here?

☐ Do you know what you will do with your benefits if the ACA is repealed?

☐ Are you addressing employees’ increased need/desire for wellness benefits? (EAP program, flexible work environment, etc.)

☐ As new laws continue to increase the administrative burden on employers to manage compliance (Paid Sick Leave!), are you leveraging existing or easily available technology to handle this?

Overwhelmed, have questions, want to do better? Contact us and we’d be happy to help.