Wage Scale
We are excited to introduce the new Wage Scale feature. This feature allows you to set maximum hourly rates for positions within your organization to ensure that wages remain within predefined limits.
Please note! This feature is available as part of the HR Premium subscription.
You can configure wage scales in two ways:
- Flat Rate: Set a fixed maximum hourly rate for specific positions.
- Experience-Based Rate: Set maximum hourly rates that adjust based on an employee's months of experience in their position. The months of experience is determined by the original issue date of the employee’s applicable license on file.
Clients have the flexibility to configure their user security roles to handle rates which exceed the wage scale in one of two ways:
- Error: Disallow users with the specified security role from entering rates above the wage scale, triggering an error if attempted.
- Warning: Allow users with the specified security role to enter rates above the wage scale, accompanied by a warning notification. (Note: Company admins and higher roles will always be allowed to enter rates above the wage scale, accompanied by a warning).
Wage Scale settings:
Wage Scale settings can be found under Company > Payroll > Wage Scales. When setting up a wage scale, the user defines the following:
- The applicable positions to which this wage scale will apply.
- Whether wage scale validations should apply only when entering a new hire or also when changing an employee's existing rate.
- Flat vs. Months of Experience:
Months of Experience: Used for positions where the maximum rate threshold is based on the employee's months of experience, determined by their license or certificate (e.g., CNAs, RNs, etc.).
Note: The system calculates the employee's months of experience by referencing the original issue date of the relevant license in the employee's profile. Before setting up a Months of Experience wage scale, you must first link the company position code to a license code. To do this, go to Company > HR > Job Info > Position, select the applicable position, and under the license/certificate dropdown, choose the appropriate code.
User permissions:
Clients have the flexibility to configure their user security roles to handle rates above wage scale as follows:
- Navigate to the Organization Master Portal > Roles.
- Under the selected role, go to People > Payroll.
- Set the option for "Allow Default Rate Outside of Wage Scale":
- If enabled, users with this role will receive a warning when attempting to assign a rate above the wage scale.
- If disabled, users with this role will receive an error when trying to assign a rate above the wage scale.
Wage Scale Behavior
Once a position is tied to a wage scale, the system will enforce wage scale validations in the following scenarios:
- When manually adding a new hire
- When hiring an employee through the Onboarding module
- When changing an employee's rate (if this option was selected in the wage scale settings)
- When approving a rate change request
Depending on the user’s permissions:
- If the user is permitted to enter rates above the wage scale, they will receive a warning.
- If the user is not permitted to enter rates above the wage scale, they will receive an error.
- Additionally, if a user is changing an employee's rate and the new rate exceeds the wage scale, but the company has the Rate Request feature enabled and the user is allowed to request rate changes, then they will be given the option to submit as a request.
Note: If a company has at least one active wage scale, users will be required to enter a position when hiring a new employee so that the system can determine the appropriate wage scale. Additionally, if the wage scale for the selected position is based on Months of Experience, users will also be required to enter the applicable license so the system can accurately calculate the employee’s months of experience.
Wage Scale Alert
Clients can also set up an email alert to notify them whenever a rate above the wage scale is entered. To add this alert, navigate to Company > Rules & Alerts > Alerts > Alert Me and select the Rate Outside of Wage Scale alert. Once configured, the designated recipients will receive an email notification each time a rate exceeding the wage scale is entered.
Empeon Partners with Equifax to Offer Automated Employment Verification
Empeon is excited to announce a partnership integration with Equifax to provide our clients with The Work Number from Equifax.
The Work Number allows for secure, automated employment verification for your employees at no cost to you.
To sign up for this service please complete this form.
Personalize Employee Email Notifications with Custom Branding
We are pleased to introduce new enhancements to our email notification system, giving clients more control over the branding of the emails sent to their employees.
Key Features:
- Sender Name Options: Previously, all system-generated emails, such as onboarding invites or open shift notifications, were sent with "Empeon" as the sender. With this update, clients can now choose between using "Empeon" as the sender name or their own company name. If you choose your own company name to be used as the sender, and a DBA (Doing Business As) is on file, the DBA will be used as the sender name; otherwise, the company name will be used.
- Company Logo in Emails: Clients can now upload their own company logo to be displayed at the top of all email notifications. This replaces the default Empeon logo, ensuring that all communications reflect the client’s brand.
These features are designed to help clients maintain their brand identity in all employee communications. To enable these features navigate to Actions > ESS Admin > Branding.
Schedule Shift Patterns: Unlimited Week Patterns & Redesigned Shift Assignment
We’re happy to announce a major redesign of the shift pattern assignment process!
Key Points:
- Unlimited Week Patterns: you can now create unlimited week patterns, giving you the flexibility to design schedules that go beyond the previous two-week pattern limit.
- Drag-and-Drop Interface: Enjoy a more intuitive and user-friendly experience with the new drag-and-drop functionality for assigning shift patterns.
Payroll Tax Blocking Feature
We are excited to introduce a new Payroll Tax Blocking feature designed to enhance flexibility in handling specific tax situations for employees. This update allows users to block mandatory taxes like FITW, FICA, and SUI for applicable employees. Previously, clients needed to contact support to block these taxes from the back-end.
When a tax is marked as blocked, no taxable wages will be calculated for the specified tax code.
Important: This feature is off by default because, in most cases, taxes should not be blocked. We want to ensure that users carefully consider and apply this option only in appropriate situations. If your organization has employees with special tax circumstances requiring tax blocking, please contact your support team to enable this feature.
Path Cloning
Users can now clone Paths within the same company. Paths, which are a series of tasks built by the admin, can be duplicated to streamline the setup of similar processes. This eliminates the need to manually create similar Paths, making the process more efficient. To clone a Path, go to Company > Paths, find the Path you want to clone, and select "Clone" from the three-dot menu.
Employment Type Field Added to "New Agency Employee" Form
We have added the Employment Type field to the "New Agency Employee" form. This enhancement allows users to specify the employment type (e.g., full-time, part-time, contract) when adding new agency employee.
Enhanced ESS Security with 2FA and Direct Deposit Warning
In our ongoing effort to ensure the security of your data, we've introduced several new security enhancements for Employee Self-Service (ESS):
- 2FA for ESS Login: Employees are now required to use two-factor authentication (2FA) when logging into ESS, providing an extra layer of protection for their accounts.
- 2FA for ESS Direct Deposit Changes: When an employee in ESS changes their direct deposit information, they will be prompted to complete 2FA to confirm the change.
- Direct Deposit Approval Warning: When an admin approves an employee's direct deposit change request, if the routing number is detected as a paycard, the system will display the warning below:
Years of Experience Now Displayed for Licensed Positions
For positions linked to a license, the system now displays the employee's Years of Experience in the Job Info card. This is calculated based on the original issue date of the relevant license or certificate in the employee's profile.
To link a license to a position, go to Company > HR > Job Info > Position, select the applicable position, and under the license/certificate dropdown, choose the appropriate license code.
Expanded Company Setting Copy Functionality
In an effort to enhance the user experience for those managing multiple companies, we have expanded the existing company setting copy functionality to include the following item:
- Company > Attendance > Schedule Patterns: You can now copy Schedule Patterns from one company to another.
Auto-Populated Union Fields in Document Builder
With this release, we have added new fields to the auto-populated fields library in the Document Builder. Clients can now include the Union Code and Union Date Joined fields in their documents. When these fields are added to a document, the system will automatically fill in the relevant information.
PBJ Processing Access
Previously, only company admins could access PBJ Processing. With this release, we've added a permission setting to roles, allowing access to PBJ Processing to be granted to specific roles.
Bug Fixes:
Fixed: The system previously allowed document digitization without a designated folder, but saving would fail. Now, the system prevents digitization until a folder is selected, prompting users to choose a folder before proceeding.
Fixed: Resolved an issue where, in rare scenarios, calculating a Net to Gross check would result in an error. This has now been corrected.
Fixed: Users without access to ATS Recruitment were encountering an error when adding a new hire for companies with ATS service. This issue has now been resolved.
Fixed: Resolved an issue where, in rare scenarios, the union code automation was not being applied. This has now been corrected.
Fixed: In an onboarding submission, the "Status" box under Admin Input within Employment Status will now display only the Active Type options.
Fixed: Under Actions > Scheduling > Employee view and Daily view, a scroll bar has been added to the top bar to prevent position groups from being cut off when a company has too many showing.