Tag Archives: 2018

The year 2018, which like every other year, brought advancements in the fields of insurance and fields related, as well as events that severely hurt the industry.

OSHA, Risk Management

OSHA Reporting Guide for 2018

REMINDER ; it’s that time of year again. Certain companies by virtue of their size and or their industries are required to post a summary of their injuries at their worksite between February 1st and April 30th. No worries; that’s why we built our OSHA REPORTING GUIDE FOR 2018. The form to be used is OSHA Form 300A Summary of Injuries. Current and former employees have the right to request further injury records via the OSHA 300 Report if they request such from your company. It’s very important that you true up your OSHA 300 reports for the year then complete the OSHA 300A report and post it on site or sites. Failure to do so can trigger fines and or a deeper dive by OSHA if they swing by and ask for evidence of your compliance. Need help? Download our updated OSHA Reporting Guide for 2018 and share it with HR & or Safety Compliance. 

UPDATE ON THE ELECTRONIC REPORTING REQUIREMENT: 

OSHA is really trying hard to get folks to begin to upload their OSHA incidents into their new system called “Injury Tracking System” of ITA. They have moved the implementation date back several times. The “new” date for compliance for some companies will be July 1st, 2018 to submit their  data 300A ; March 2nd 2019 thereafter.  For a complete list of exempted organizations CLICK HERE. Please note all employers, including those partially exempted by reason of company size or industry classification, must report to OSHA any workplace incident that results in a fatality, in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye (see §1904.39).

If you are located in the following states you are currently exempted from the electronic reporting requirements. Please Note that the following OSHA-approved State Plans have not yet adopted the requirement to submit injury and illness reports electronically: CA, MD, MN, SC, UT, WA and WY. Businesses in these states are not currently required to submit their summary data through the ITA. Similarly, state and local government establishments in IL, ME, NJ, and NY are not currently required to submit their data through the ITA. Contact information for each of the State Plans can be found at https://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/states.html.

HR Challenges

2018 Minimum Wage Requirements

With the new year comes new laws, regulations and revisions to existing laws. Staying in front of the new minimum wage requirements is an operational imperative. Here is a concise overview from our Think HR Human resource tool for our existing clients.

Overview :

The current federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 per hour. However, many states have adopted minimum wage rates higher than the federal rate. When the state rate and the federal rate are different, employers must pay their employees the higher rate. The following states have adopted new minimum wage rates for 2018:

·  Alaska ·  Maryland ·  Oregon
·  Arizona ·  Michigan ·  Rhode Island
·  California ·  Minnesota ·  South Dakota
·  Colorado ·  Missouri ·  Vermont
·  Florida ·  Montana ·  Washington
·  Hawaii ·  New Jersey ·  Washington D.C.
·  Maine ·  New York

 

Action Steps

Affected employers should review their employees’ pay rates and update their minimum wage poster notices as necessary to ensure compliance with local wage and hour regulations.

New York – Minimum Wage as of 1/1/2018

Affected Employers New Rate Effective Date
New York City (NYC) large employers: At least one employee in NYC and 11 or more employees among all other worksites at any time during the current or prior calendar year. (This minimum wage rate is payable to any employees that work in NYC.) $13 Dec. 31, 2017
NYC small employers: At least one employee in NYC and 10 or fewer employees among all other worksites at any time during the current or prior calendar year. (This minimum wage rate is payable to any employees that work in NYC.) $12 Dec. 31, 2017
Employers in Long Island and Westchester $11 Dec. 31, 2017
Employers in the remainder of the state of New York $10.40 Dec. 31, 2017

California :

Affected Employers New Rate Effective Date
Employers with 26 or more employees $11 Jan. 1, 2018
Employers with 25 or fewer employees $10.50 Jan. 1, 2018

Other States :

State 2018 Rate New Rate Effective Date Tip Rate/Notes

(Employees must qualify for tip rate before the rate applies)
Alabama $7.25 N/A No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.
Alaska $9.84 Jan. 1, 2018 Tips do not count toward the minimum wage.
Arizona $10.50 Jan. 1, 2018 $3 below minimum wage rate for tipped employees.
Arkansas $8.50 N/A $2.63 rate for tipped employees.
Colorado $10.20 Jan. 1, 2018 $7.18 rate for tipped employees.
Connecticut $10.10 N/A 36.8 percent gratuity allowance for waitpersons and 18.5 percent for bartenders.
Delaware $8.25 N/A $2.23 rate for tipped employees.
D.C. $13.25 July 1, 2018 $3.89 rate for tipped employees.
Florida $8.25 Jan. 1, 2018 Rate for tipped employees follows federal guidelines (currently $2.13 per hour).
Georgia $5.15 N/A The $7.25 federal rate applies to employers covered by the FLSA.
New Mexico $7.50 N/A $2.13 for tipped employees.
North Carolina $7.25 N/A $2.13 for tipped employees.
North Dakota $7.25 N/A $4.86 for tipped employees.
Ohio $8.30/$7.25 N/A $4.15 for tipped employees. The $7.25 rate is for employers grossing $299,000 or less.
Oklahoma $7.25/$2.00 N/A The $7.25 rate applies to employers with 10 or more full-time employees at any one location and employers with annual gross sales over $100,000; all others are subject to state minimum wage of $2.00.
Oregon $10.75 July 1, 2018 No tip credit allowed. The minimum wage rate for the Portland metro area will increase to $12 per hour and to $10.50 in nonurban counties.
Pennsylvania $7.25 N/A $2.83 for tipped employees.
Rhode Island $10.10 Jan. 1, 2018 $3.89 for tipped employees.
South Carolina None N/A
South Dakota $8.85 Jan. 1, 2018 $4.425 for tipped employees.
Tennessee None N/A
Texas $7.25 N/A $2.13 for tipped employees.
Utah $7.25 N/A $2.13 for tipped employees.
Vermont $10.50 Jan. 1, 2018 $5.25 for tipped employees.
Virginia $7.25 N/A $2.13 for tipped employees.
Washington $11.50 Jan. 1, 2018 No tip credit allowed.
West Virginia $8.75 N/A Employers can take a tip credit of up to 70 percent of the state rate.
Wisconsin $7.25 N/A $2.33 for tipped employees
Wyoming $5.15 N/A $2.13 for tipped employees. The $7.25 federal rate applies to employers covered by the FLSA.
Georgia $5.15 N/A The $7.25 federal rate applies to employers covered by the FLSA.
Hawaii $10.10 Jan. 1, 2018 $9.35 for tipped employees.
Idaho $7.25 N/A $3.35 per hour for tipped employees.
Illinois $8.25 N/A Credit for tips may not exceed 40 percent of the applicable minimum wage.
Indiana $7.25 N/A $2.13 for tipped employees.
Iowa $7.25 N/A $4.35 for tipped employees.
Kansas $7.25 N/A $2.13 for tipped employees.
Kentucky $7.25 N/A $2.13 for tipped employees.
Louisiana $7.25 N/A No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.
Maine $10 Jan. 1, 2018 Tip credit cannot exceed 50 percent of the minimum wage rate.
Maryland $10.10 July 1, 2018 $3.63 for tipped employees
Massachusetts $11.00 N/A The service rate is $3.75.
Michigan $9.25 Jan. 1, 2018 $3.52 for tipped employees.
Minnesota $9.65/$7.87 Jan. 1, 2018 No tip credit allowed. Higher rate applies to large employers. Lower rate applies to small employers.
Mississippi $7.25 N/A No state minimum wage rate. The federal rate applies.
Missouri $7.85 Jan. 1, 2018 $3.85 (half the current minimum rate) for tipped employees.
Montana $8.30/$4 Jan. 1, 2018 No tip credit, meal credit or training wage is allowed. The lower rate applies to business with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less.
Nebraska $9.00 N/A $2.13 for tipped employees.
Nevada $8.25/$7.25 N/A The $8.25 rate applies to employees without health benefits. The $7.25 rate applies to employees with health benefits. No tip credit allowed.
New Hampshire $7.25 N/A Tipped employees must receive 45 percent of the applicable rate.
New Jersey $8.60 Jan. 1, 2018 $2.13 for tipped employees.

 

For more information on minimum wage requirements in your state, contact Metropolitan Risk today!