Overcoming Coronavirus: Netchex Solutions to Keep Your Company Functioning and Compliant with New COVID-19 Laws

While much of the day-to-day business world has been put on hold for a few weeks, many businesses are still functioning behind-the-scenes in an effort to remain operational. At Netchex, we are committed to keeping our clients informed and able to manage any new requirements stemming from new federal COVID-19 laws.

As new legislation is continually passed, including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), employers are faced with new rules and processes designed to help not only their businesses, but also their employees.

The two major components of the act are the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (EFMLEA) and Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act (EPSLA) require employers with under 500 employees to provide sick leave and paid family medical leave to eligible employees. Both go into effect on April 1, 2020.

Because EFMLEA and EPSLA introduce new types of leave to the workforce, companies immediately need a way to track eligibility and participation. In response, the Netchex team is proud to introduce the COVID-19 Response Portal, an easy way for employers to institute, track, and remain compliant with the new COVID-19 laws (and flow seamlessly into payroll) all within our system. 

Emergency FMLA and Paid Sick Leave Tracking

Track, calculate, and pay emergency leave wages in just a few steps. Admins with access to Payroll who have less than 500 employees can manage all employees from a single place, turn on employees as they qualify, and manage the time off balances for employees.

1. Simply enter the dates of leave for impacted employees and the Netchex system will take care of the rest. We’ll calculate daily hours, regular rates, and the available balance of leave to be taken to ensure all new federal regulations are followed properly and tracked correctly.
2. The payroll process will automatically populate hours and amounts of leave for each employee under the specified earnings code, as well as apply the daily caps as outlined by the new law.
3. Using payment history from earning codes, Netchex is also able to track the tax credits related to the COVID-19 laws for our clients. 

CARES Act Report

Passed Friday, March 27, the CARES Act is a massive $2.2 trillion stimulus package that provides small businesses with almost $350 billion in cash flow assistance through 100 percent federally guaranteed loans. These new paycheck protection loans will help employers continue to cover payroll costs and other expenses during the COVID-19 crisis from February 15, 2020 to June 30, 2020.

To apply for this loan, companies will need to provide your average monthly payroll amount, the loan amount you are requesting, and the number of jobs you pay for. To help accurately gather these amounts in time to process applications, Netchex has created a new custom report for all of our clients to easily access this information.

From our CARES Management page, admins can:

1. Review information on qualifications and restrictions for these credits so clients can make an informed decision.
2. Opt-in or out for the Social Security Deferral credit and the Employee Retention Credit.
3. Upon opting into one or both of these credits, the Netchex system will automatically populate invoice credits against their tax liability.

Additional Netchex Tools and Solutions

Netchex has been working with thousands of business owners and HR professionals every week. From online open enrollment to paycards, these are the Netchex solutions being relied on the most during this time. 

HR Support Center

Understandably, business owners and HR departments have more questions than answers right now. HR Support Center can help you begin to piece this puzzle together. 

1. HR experts and experienced labor lawyers publish blogs, FAQs, forums, alerts, and webinars daily about coronavirus regulations and best practices
2. Ask The Pro enables you to directly ask your questions related to COVID-19 laws
3. Crucial templates for handbooks, forms, and policies to stay in compliance

Employee Self-Service

In today’s virtual, remote world, your employees need access to their critical data via their phones and laptops, without having to ask HR or their managers.

1. Employees can easily update their emergency contact information, home address, phone number, and personal email to ensure communications always reach them.
2. Employees can instantly access their paystubs, W2s, benefits summaries, the company handbook, and other critical information from their profiles.
3. Publish company-wide updates right to employees’ dashboards.
4. Employees can request PTO and managers can approve requests remotely.

NetEnroll

NetEnroll gives employees the ability to complete open enrollment on time, accurately, and completely virtually—with one-on-one help from benefits experts.   

1. Every employee will receive professional education on your company’s benefit plans from a team of licensed Benefits Counselors and complete enrollment—in just one phone call. 
2. These trained professionals walk your individual employees through their open enrollment selections so they can discover the best options and complete enrollment without ever stepping foot in HR’s office.
3. Carrier communication, bill reconciliation, and payment are all automated. 

NetGuide

Now more than ever, you need to be able to communicate with your employees and ensure all departments are informed and working together uniformly. NetGuide’s task management can help.

1. Email or text alerts to employees
2. Send out tasks requiring electronic signatures to all employees or certain departments to stay in compliance.
3. Companies experiencing high turnover or hiring right now can use NetGuide to keep these processes advancing and in compliance with new COVID-19 laws and more. 

Paycards

With record levels of the workforce working from home and unprecedented challenges being faced, employees need access to their funds without barriers.

1. Give your employees—especially those without traditional bank accounts—access to their funds without paper checks. No mailing of checks, no need to pick up checks, and no leaving the house to cash checks.
2. Paycards have all of the benefits of debit cards, including online payment and ATM withdrawals. 
3. Employers can remotely add funds to your employees’ cards to help your teams through this difficult time.

Netchex’s Highly-Rated and Award-Winning Service

At Netchex, our customer service team has always set us apart from our competitors and remains one of our biggest strengths. They can be yours, too.

1. You can still talk to directly a person. We don’t have call centers and we don’t transfer your call to multiple departments. You get a dedicated team who knows you and your unique hardships. 
2. You also get a dedicated, highly-rated implementation team to make this transition easy. Our implementation timeline is transparent, concise, and structured to get you up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible. 
3. Our training and engagement tools—NetCommunity and Netchex University—enable you to become an expert within the Netchex system, as well as engage with fellow users to build the strongest peer-group possible.

Netchex remains fully operational through this unprecedented time. Our staff is hard at work for businesses like yours that are working diligently to remain in operation, adapt their policies, ensure the safety of their employees, and remain compliant with new COVID-19 laws. Netchex is here to help you accomplish all of this and more.