Empeon Release Notes - August 2024

Real-Time PTO Accrual Calculations During Payroll Processing!

We’re excited to announce a major enhancement to our PTO accrual feature. Accrual calculations are now visible in real-time during the payroll process! Previously, PTO accruals were only calculated after payroll was processed. Now, with this update, you can instantly view accrual details as you work through payroll, helping you catch and correct potential errors early, ensuring more accurate PTO information.

For PTO policies that accrue based on hours worked, these calculations are now available directly in the check entry screen, as well as in the employee pay history section.

Additionally, you can preview all accruals by going to the Verification section, selecting the Preview Entire Payroll dropdown, and choosing Preview Accruals.

Two grids will be displayed:

Summary Grid: Displays one line per employee for each accrual policy.
Detail Grid: Breaks down each accrual transaction line by line for detailed visibility.
This enhancement streamlines your workflow, giving you greater confidence in your payroll accuracy!

Customize Geofencing Distance

Empeon's Geofencing feature ensures that employees who clock in/out via the mobile app can only do so from within specific virtual boundaries around designated work locations, improving accuracy and reducing time fraud.

With this update, clients can now customize the geofence distance for each company location.

To manage the geofence distance, go to Company > HR > Job Info > Locations, select the relevant location or add a new one, and go to the Clock Settings tab. Set the desired distance and save.

To assign the geofence to an employee, navigate to the employee’s profile, go to the Attendance section > Punch Location Filters, and add the applicable locations. This will restrict the employee to clocking in only from the selected locations.

Scheduling Module Enhancements

Work Categories for Shift Management including Orientation and Jury Duty

Overview:
We have introduced a new functionality to assign a "Work Category" to an employee's shift. This feature enables users to modify shift attributes, such as earning codes and budget inclusion. It provides flexibility for situations where an employee is not actually working but still needs to be paid. Additionally, it accommodates instances when an employee is working but should be paid using a different earning code and excluded from the budget.

Examples:

An employee is attending Orientation, so their hours should be paid using the Orientation earning code. Additionally, these hours should not count towards the shift budget.
An employee is on Jury Duty and will be marked off from the shift, but still needs to be paid.

Setup:

To set up work categories, navigate to Company > Scheduling > Work Categories.

There are two types of categories that can be configured: "Working" and "Off".

If "Working" is selected, the user can choose whether the hours should be paid using a specific earning code and if the shift should count towards fulfilling the budget.

If "Off" is selected, the user can choose between Paid or Unpaid options. If Paid is selected, the user can assign a different earning code for the shift.

Applying a Shift Category to an Employee's shift:

To apply a shift category to an employee's shift, follow these steps:

Locate the employee's shift in the schedule and click the three-dot menu next to the shift.
Select "Change Work Category" from the dropdown menu.
Choose the desired shift category and save the selection to apply the change.

Scheduling Daily View: Major Updates

In June, we introduced significant updates to our Scheduling module, enhancing both functionality and user experience, particularly in the Scheduling Employee View. With this release, we’ve extended those improvements to the Daily View, ensuring a seamless and streamlined experience across both views.

Key Enhancements:

Open Shifts Mode: A refined, user-friendly experience for posting open shifts to Employee Self-Service (ESS).
Comments and Quick Notes: You can now add comments and quick notes to employee shifts directly in the Daily View. Previously, this feature was only available in the Employee View.
Unified Shift Display: All shifts are now visible on a single screen, regardless of the selected date range, eliminating the need to scroll.
Customizable Screen View: Easily customize your screen by showing or hiding various pieces of information based on your needs.
Unified Filters: We’ve combined all filters into a single popup for a more streamlined experience.
Enhanced Visibility: Improved visibility of employees assigned to a shift and those unavailable due to call-outs or PTO.
Date Range Picker: Redesigned for simplicity and ease of use.

And more...

Job Info Descriptions Added to Scheduling View Column Chooser

Under Actions > Scheduling > Employee View, Job Info descriptions are now available in the column chooser. Previously, only codes were available in the column chooser.

Census by Floor for Schedule Patterns

A new "Budget and Census" card has been added under Company > Scheduling > Scheduling Rules, allowing users to manage census by floor.

Users can now set census data for schedule patterns by individual floors/units with required input fields. The system will reference the floor-specific census when assigning a schedule pattern to employees with shifts tied to specific floors. If no floor census is set, the facility-wide census will be used for budget calculations.

Employee Self-Onboarding Improvements

I-9 Document Upload Enhancement

Certain I-9 verification documents require both the back and the front of the document. With this release, during the onboarding process, if the employee selects a document that requires both the front and back, the system will prompt and require the employee to upload both sides.

No More “N/A” Requirement for I-9

In an effort to allow users to download form I-9 more easily on tablets and mobile devices, USCIS removed the requirement to enter “N/A” in certain fields. The system will no longer auto-populate “N/A” for fields left blank.

Onboarding Template Duplication

Users can now duplicate onboarding templates within the same company, making it easier to create variations for different packets without starting from scratch.

Additionally, the system will now display both the template name and description when selecting a template during the onboarding process.

Onboarding: Job Info Column Chooser Added

New column chooser has been added to the Employee Onboarding list, featuring Job Info details such as Location, Position, and more. This update provides hiring administrators with enhanced flexibility and visibility, allowing them to easily view and filter employees currently in the onboarding process.

Navigation in Onboarding

Users can now easily navigate between employees in the Onboarding module using new navigation arrows, streamlining the process of reviewing and onboarding new hires.

Onboarding Cancellation Permissions

Clients now have the ability to control which security roles are permitted to cancel an employee's onboarding. Previously, any user with access to the Onboarding module could cancel an onboarding. With this release, clients can specify which users have this permission.

The permission settings can be found under Organization Master Portal > Roles > People > Onboarding.

For existing security roles which allow access to Onboarding, this permission is toggled on by default, allowing users to cancel an onboarding.

Prevent Rehire of Ineligible Employees

When terminating an employee in Empeon, you can mark them as ineligible for rehire. With this release, if you attempt to add a new employee whose SSN matches an ineligible former employee, the system will display an error. This applies both when manually adding an employee and when using Empeon’s Employee Self-Onboarding feature.

The system performs this check across the entire organization, not just the current company.

Direct Deposit for Employee-Specific Deductions

We’ve rolled out a highly requested feature that allows specific deductions, like HSA contributions, to be deposited directly into individual employee accounts.

How it works:

On the Company Level:

Navigate to Company > Payroll > Agencies (If your organization doesn't have access to manage agencies, contact your support team).
Add or edit the applicable Agency, then go to the Settings tab.
Set the Payment Method to ACH and enter the routing number.
Toggle on the "Set Individual Employee Account Number" option.

In the Employee Profile:

Add the applicable deduction code to the employee's profile.
Select the applicable Payee.
The routing number will be pre-populated from the company payee settings.
Enter the employee's individual account number and save.

Now, all deductions for this deduction code will be deposited directly into the employee's individual account.

Returns: In the event that a deposit is returned; for example, if the wrong account number was entered, then same process as with direct deposit returns will apply. The system will attempt to correct or end the deduction record and send an email notification to the client.

Time File Import Enhancements

To give clients greater control over their time file import settings, we’ve introduced two key updates:

Select Configuration
Import Time Files Into Any Batch

Self-Configuration

Previously, clients needed to contact Empeon to configure time file imports. Now, they can manage these settings directly under Company > Customize > Time File Import, offering greater flexibility and control.

Import Time Files Into Any Batch

Clients can now import any time file configuration into any batch. Previously, only configurations tied to a specific batch could be used.

In the Payroll Batch Time Import step, we've added a new Import Additional Time File button. When clicked, it displays a list of available time import configurations. To avoid duplicate imports, each configuration can only be used once per batch.

Preview Entire Payroll from Within a Batch

Users can now preview the entire payroll, across all batches, directly from within any payroll batch, without needing to navigate away.

Previously, users would need to leave the batch and return to the main payroll screen to preview the entire payroll. With this update, the process is now streamlined, saving time and simplifying payroll review.

As part of this update, we have also rearranged the action buttons on the Payroll Verification screen. The Preprocess PDF option is now located under the Export dropdown.

Review Approved Payroll Audits for Processed Payrolls

Users can now review approved payroll audits from past payrolls that have already been processed.

Rate Change Reason

When updating an employee's rate, you can now select a "Reason" and add a "Note" for better context. This customizable feature allows you to track the reasons behind rate changes, improving transparency and helping you make informed decisions.

To set up your rate change reasons, simply navigate to Company > Payroll > Earnings & Rates > Rate Reason Codes.

Retro Rate Adjustments Calculations Enhancement

In the June 2024 release we have introduced the Retro Rate Adjustments feature. This feature is designed to recalculate pay history when a retroactive raise is applied. For example, if you give an employee a raise with an effective date of a month ago, you can recalculate all the applicable pay history and generate a check for the owed amount.

With this release we have enhanced the system's logic to account for rate overrides. With this update, if there was a manual rate override in the payroll history, the system will now recognize and respect that override, ensuring more accurate recalculations. In cases where manual overrides exist, the system will exclude these from the recalculation and apply the correct rates where applicable.

Mandatory Tax Code Enforcement Based on Filing Form

With this update, for W2 employees, the system will prevent the deletion or ending of mandatory tax codes. For 1099 employees, the system will prohibit the assignment of tax codes.

This ensures compliance and accuracy by enforcing tax code rules based on employee type.

Employees Working in Multiple Facilities

The Challenge and the Solution

The Challenge:
As an SNF (Skilled Nursing Facility) operator managing multiple facilities within the same region, you may have employees working across various facilities. You need a system that enables:

Employees to clock in at multiple facilities.
Accurate allocation of time and payroll records to the specific facility for cost and General Ledger purposes.
Proper reporting for PBJ (Payroll-Based Journal) compliance.

The Solution:
With this update, employees can now be assigned to work at multiple facilities while residing in a single company shell. Here's how it works:

Associate a Company Location to a Facility: You can now associate a company location to other facilities, allowing seamless management across multiple sites.
Approved to Work in Other Facilities: Mark employees as approved to work at additional facilities. Once approved to work, employees will automatically be enrolled in the clock of the facility where they are approved to work.
Accurate Time Allocation: When an employee clocks in at a facility outside their home company, the system automatically allocates the worked hours to the appropriate facility on their time card.
PBJ Reporting: The system ensures accurate PBJ reports by including or excluding hours based on the employee’s work location.

Please Note! This solution is only available for organizations using clock numbers as the clock ID's.

How to Setup:

Let's say your organization has two facilities, "Best Nursing & Rehab" and "Serenity Nursing & Rehab". John Doe primarily works at Best Nursing & Rehab but occasionally covers shifts at Serenity. Follow these steps to set it up:

In Best Nursing & Rehab company add a Work Location for Serenity:
- Navigate to: Company > HR > Job Info > Locations.
- Add Serenity as a location.
- In the "Associated Company" field, select the Serenity company and save.
Approve John to Work at Serenity:
- Navigate to John Doe’s Profile > HR > Approved to Work.
- Click the edit pencil, and under Locations, select Serenity.

John will now be able to clock in at Serenity. When he does, his hours will automatically be allocated to Serenity on his time card.

PBJ Reporting:

With this update, when a location is associated with another company, the PBJ reporting will be handled accordingly. In our example, the hours that John Doe worked in Best Nursing will be included in Best Nursing's PBJ report, and the hours worked at Serenity will be reported under Serenity even though John’s profile resides in Best Nursing.

PBJ ID Enhancement

To prevent duplication in PBJ reporting, the system will now assign the unique Empeon employee ID, prefixed with "EMP" (e.g., EMP1001), as the default PBJ ID. To prevent incorrect turnover reporting, employees existing in the system will retain their existing PBJ ID, while new employees will be assigned the updated format.

Allow Managers to Request PTO Beyond Available Balance

As part of Empeon’s Attendance module, managers have the ability to request PTO on behalf of employees. Previously, managers were limited to requesting PTO within the available balance. With this release, organizations can now enable managers to request PTO beyond the available balance.

This setting can be found under Organization Master Portal > Roles > People > Attendance, where we've added the toggle "Allow Negative Time Off Request".

When enabled, any user with this security role can submit PTO requests that result in a negative balance. If a request leads to a negative PTO balance, the request window will display a warning.

Live Chat in ESS Moved to Dedicated Page

Live Chat in ESS now has its own dedicated page with a shortcut from the home page for easier access and a streamlined user experience.

Mobile Paystub Download Enhancement

We’ve enhanced the Employee Self-Service (ESS) portal to simplify accessing paystubs on mobile devices. Now, when employees download a paystub on mobile, it will automatically open in their device’s native PDF viewer, providing quicker and more seamless access to their documents.

Report Enhancements

Employee Total Hours Report Added

We’ve introduced a new Attendance Employee Total Hours report under Reports > Live Reports > Attendance. This report displays attendance hours in a clear column-based layout for easier tracking and analysis.

New Compact View Option for All Live Reports

We've added a Compact View option to all Live Reports. When enabled, the report layout becomes more condensed, allowing more data to fit on the screen for improved visibility.

New Punch Source Column in Employee Punch Report

In Reports > Live Report > Employee Punch, we've added a new Punch Source column. This allows users to easily see in the report how each punch was originated.

Gross to Net Live Report Enhancements When Running for Multiple Companies

Previously, when running the Gross to Net Live reports for multiple companies, only pay history columns from the current company were included by default, requiring users to manually add additional earnings and deduction columns. With this update, the report will now automatically include by default all applicable pay history columns from all selected companies.

Monthly Schedule Report Enhancement

We’ve added a new date range option to the Monthly Schedule Report. Users can now select "Next Month" when generating reports, making it easier to plan and review upcoming schedules in advance.

Inactive Settings for Company Job Info Codes

Users can now mark company job info codes, such as department codes, position codes, etc., as inactive. Once marked inactive at the company level, these codes will no longer be available for use at the employee level.

This feature helps streamline data management by preventing the use of outdated or irrelevant job info codes.

Manage Your 2FA Login Details

Users can update their login name, email, and phone number for two-factor authentication (2FA) in their account settings. For example, if a user wants to change their phone number for receiving verification codes, they can easily do so through the management interface.

In Empeon Workforce the setting are found under "My Account".

In ESS the settings are found under "Profile".

Semi-Monthly Frequency for Accrual Policies

We have added "Semi-Monthly" as a new frequency option when building accrual policies for frequency-based accruals. This provides greater flexibility for clients in customizing their accrual settings.

Company Reference Name

We have introduced the "Company Reference Name" feature, enabling clients to assign internal nicknames to their companies for easier reference.

To add a Reference Name, navigate to the Organization Master Portal, find the relevant company, and click the pencil icon. Once the Reference Name is set, it will become the primary company name displayed throughout the system.

Bug Fixes

Fixed: Document upload modal was not scrollable on smaller screens which prevented the user from uploading documents on small screens. This is now fixed.
Fixed: In some scenarios the Employee Anniversary alert was triggering for employees with a future hire date, even if their anniversary had not yet occurred. This has now been corrected.
Fixed: The "Employee Absence" emailed Alert was including employees who are on PTO or called out. This is now fixed.
Fixed: Users encountered an error when dragging the company code columns in the Attendance Clock Enrollment report. This has now been corrected.
Fixed: In some scenarios when copying an employee from one company to another, cost centers did not copy. This is now fixed.
Fixed: When an employee selects "Exempt" from federal taxes during onboarding or when requesting a change, the system will automatically indicate "exempt" on the W-4 form. If they later decide to remove the exemption before completing onboarding, the system previously did not update the form. This issue has now been corrected.
Fixed: In certain situations, the duplicate SSN flag did not trigger during the onboarding of a new hire. This issue has now been corrected.
Fixed: in the Open Enrollment dashboard, admins experienced an error when using the "Preview as Employee" feature to download documents. This issue has now been corrected.
Fixed: In scenarios where an onboarding template includes multiple approvals, reopening an employee's package previously only reset the last approver. This issue has now been fixed, and all approvers will now be reset accordingly.
Fixed: Some users were experiencing issues with accessing the HR support center. This has now been fixed.