HR Workforce Solutions
By Nonprofits, For Nonprofits
A UST partner since 2000, the Ohio Council of Behavioral Health & Family Services Providers is a statewide trade and advocacy association that represents 150 private organizations that provide alcohol and other drug addiction, mental health, and family services.
Established in 1979, the Ohio Council is funded through member dues as well as various products and services and membership training events. Committed to improving the health of Ohio’s communities and the well-being of its families, the Ohio Council offers four core sets of services that include:
The Ohio Council also has an active committee structure to ensure every aspect of their service offerings are receiving the full attention they need and include committees such as Alcohol & Drug Addiction Services Policy, Employment Services Policy, Housing Policy, Human Resources/Membership Services, Mental Health Policy, Nominating, and Youth & Family Services. Members also receive benefit programs such as legal consultation, organizational insurance, online learning and drug screening—just to name a few.
For nearly 40 years, the Ohio Council of Behavioral Health & Family Services Providers has been the go-to resource for improving the health of Ohio’s communities by promoting effective, efficient, and sufficient behavioral health and family services through member excellence and family advocacy. To learn more about the Ohio Behavioral Council visit https://www.theohiocouncil.org/.
Question: We’ve seen an uptick in complaints from employees. Is this cause for concern?
Answer: The mere fact that you’re getting more complaints than normal isn’t necessarily something to worry about. The increase in complaints could be a sign that there are now more issues that require your attention, or it could be a sign that your employees are—for some reason—feeling safer speaking to you about their concerns.
In and of themselves, complaints can be a good thing because they inform you about matters that may have escaped your notice and they indicate that your employees trust you to resolve those matters. The last thing you want is for employees to keep their concerns to themselves or vent about them to their colleagues (or the entire internet). You can’t solve problems you don’t know about, and unaddressed problems can quickly turn into bigger issues. Knowing what’s troubling your employees is essential for effective risk management.
Listen to what your employees have to say, thank them for bringing the matters to your attention, keep the lines of communication open, and do what you can to resolve the issues. If several complaints relate to a single issue (or person), you may want to give that issue more attention or urgency. And, of course, any complaint that suggests there may be harassment or discrimination should be dealt with promptly and thoroughly.
While dealing with the additional complaints, keep in mind that if you can solve or improve the problems that are being brought to your attention, you’ll have happier—and likely more productive—employees.
Q&A provided by ThinkHR, powering the UST HR Workplace for nonprofit HR teams. Have HR questions? Sign your nonprofit up for a free 30-day trial here.
In an Effort to Provide More Robust and Readily Accessible HR and Unemployment Resources to the Nonprofit Sector, UST Launches a New Website that Acts as a One-Stop-Shop for Workforce Solutions.
Santa Barbara, CA (May 4, 2018) – The Unemployment Services Trust (UST), a program dedicated to helping nonprofits ensure compliance and protect assets, today announces the launch of their NEW website: www.chooseust.org.
For 35 years, UST has helped nonprofit employers to better manage their unemployment funding, maintain HR compliance and maximize employee bandwidth. WIth UST’s recent revamp of the UST Support program, as well as the latest addition of UST’s new insurance program, UST Secure, UST decided to give their webiste a fresh look and feel to mimic their evolving nonprofit services.
“We hope this enhanced website can serve as a one-stop-shop for nonprofit organizations nationwide—helping them to streamline day-to-day operations and stay on top of the latest best practices,” says Donna Groh, Executive Director of UST.
This new website will provide nonprofits the ability to readily navigate the many UST resources and tools that can help them reduce overhead costs, manage their claims and access HR & outplacement tools.
To determine which UST programs will best suit your needs, please submit a free Cost Analysis form today. (Use Priority Code “2018PR-LAUNCH” to expedite your request).
Leaders in the nonprofit sector can share in the same sentiment when it comes to concerns surrounding the day-to-day operations of a nonprofit organization—especially with marketing. While marketing can affect many aspects of your organization, the most vulnerable could be your reputation and financial well-being. In the light of such concerns, some nonprofits have managed to achieve marketing success by using the services of a third-party marketing firm. While this option is not feasible for all nonprofits, having some type of marketing strategy in place is crucial for your organization. Creating a well-organized and strategic marketing plan that remains true to your mission and keeps your organization within budget, will bring your nonprofit to new heights.
While there are many effective marketing strategies, discovering which one is beneficial for your organization is key to ensuring you receive the most from your efforts. Learning how to use analytics, and accessing different testing methods can help point you in the right direction of what your organization may need to get started on its marketing journey. Also, integrating the latest tools into your website and social channels will help your organization stay relevant and current.
A good marketing plan is interlined from top to bottom. For each goal, there are objectives, every objective has strategies, and each strategy has tactics. Without good tactics, a strategy will not successfully complete an objective, rendering the success of a goal. A true marketing plan should employ the right mix of experience with critical thinking.
If your nonprofit has allocated a portion of their budget towards marketing, they’ll typically put it towards “outbound” marketing, i.e., email marketing, newspaper advertising, and press releases. Where “inbound” marketing, i.e., social media marketing, can be beneficial for nonprofits to generate leads, it can be difficult to turn these leads into donors. With marketing being such an essential part of the nonprofit framework, it requires participation from all aspects of the organization in order to see any return from such efforts.
Nonprofit marketing is an ongoing commitment that requires the development of new ways to keep your following engaged and willing to donate. Nonprofits are well-positioned to tell stories that have the ability to make an impact. By creating a comprehensive content marketing strategy, realigning your marketing dollars, and ensuring your goals, objectives and tactics are in place, your great stories will go further – attracting and motivating your audiences to do even more.
Question: Which employers are required to maintain records of illnesses and injuries under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) recordkeeping and reporting regulations?
Answer: Employers that had more than ten employees at any time during the last calendar year are generally required to prepare and maintain records of serious occupational injuries and illnesses using the OSHA 300 Log. OSHA provides a partial exemption from the recordkeeping requirements for employers who had ten or fewer employees at all times during the previous calendar year and employers in certain low-hazard industries.
To determine if your company is required to prepare and maintain OSHA records, you will need to find your industry’s North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code number using one of these methods:
Once you have identified your industry’s NAICS code, you can use the Partially Exempt Industries Table to determine if your industry is exempt from the recordkeeping rule.
Important: States with OSHA-approved plans may require employers to keep records for the state, even if employers are within an industry that is exempted from doing so under OSHA regulations.
Unless your facility is municipal, state, or federally-owned, it is subject to OSHA regulations as long as it has employees. Having non-profit status or a small number of employees does not exempt a business from OSHA compliance
Q&A provided by ThinkHR, powering the UST HR Workplace for nonprofit HR teams. Have HR questions? Sign your nonprofit up for a free 30-day trial here.
On March 14, the DOL announced new tools to help states detect and recover improper unemployment insurance (UI) payments as well as fight UI fraud.
The new online tool is called the Fraud Tips and Leads Gateway and it gives any user the ability to report fraud. Essentially, the DOL is putting power into the hands of the people to help lower fraud and overpayments. It will help states act quickly to investigate tips and leads as well as prosecute fraudulent claims. The DOL is also publishing new, simplified materials that highlight the most common mistakes made by claimants. And for businesses, the materials offer instructions on how to avoid the negative tax implications of wrongful claims.
Said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Too many people don’t know their responsibilities under the program, and too many businesses don’t know what’s at stake for them, especially the tax implications. The tools announced today will help educate consumers and businesses, and ultimately improve the UI system.”
To get these tools into the hands of the public, the department is working with states and through the workforce system to broadly display these materials in public areas and to post them online, says SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management.
These new resources are expected to help cut down on the billions overpaid, and ultimately help businesses reduce the UI tax rates they pay to the state. The DOL also announced $192 million in grant funds to implement waste-cutting initiatives and improve the UI system. It is expected that these efforts combined will help reduce fraud and overpayments, and potentially save state governments and businesses millions of dollars.
View the DOL map of improper payments by states and find out about the new toolsHERE.
Read the DOL’s fact sheet: “Are You Doing Everything to Protect Your Business from Higher Taxes”.
Having recently joined UST as a Customer Service Representative, Jenny is excited to now be working with nonprofit organizations. As for volunteer work, she’s a sucker for animals and spends as much time as possible supporting the cause during her downtime.
Outside of work, Jenny enjoys spending time with her boyfriend and her fur baby, Diego. They often venture out on hikes at the beach or in the hills and she and her boyfriend fancy exploring new restaurants and breweries when time allows. Jenny’s a huge baseball fan, the San Francisco Giants are her team of choice and she loves the fun rivalry sparred in a city of Dodger fans that just happen to include her boyfriend – that can make for some interesting dinner conversation. She also enjoys cooking and hitting the farmers market. She even worked as a baker/chef in a delicatessen for some time.
She’s a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie and her enthusiasm for adventure has led her on some pretty impressive journeys. Just to name a few, she’s gone skydiving in Australia from 16,000 feet, repelled down mountains, did a 90-mile cattle drive on horseback mustering 200 head of cattle in Australia for two weeks straight, and rode Horseback through the Loire Valley in France that led to her and her family being in an Absolut Vodka ad – we have a celebrity in house. Not surprisingly, she has an extensive list of places she’d like to visit that include Greece, New Zealand and Italy. She’s already been to Australia three times and actually hopes to one day live there.
Jenny seems like an extremely busy person but she finds her Zen on the beach listening to the waves while reflecting on the things going on in her life. Something we should all get in the habit of doing.
Are you an adventurous soul? Share your stories with Jenny @USTTrust with the hashtag #MeetUSTMondays!
Established in 1989, the Colorado Nonprofit Insurance Agency has been a UST partner since 1983. Having recently joined forces with HUB International, the agency is devoted to serving the 501(c)(3) nonprofit community by providing affordable insurance designed exclusively for nonprofits. Originally established as a benefit to the Colorado Nonprofit Association, the organization has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception.
The Colorado Nonprofit Insurance Agency negotiates and contracts with insurance carriers, evaluates products for quality and cost, researches and develops new products and concentrates on educating their members. A full-service insurance agency, CNIA offers a wide range of products including liability, property, Workers’ Compensation and employee benefits such as health, life and disability coverage. Additionally they provide employee benefit programs ranging from flexible spending accounts to wellness programs.
Serving the Colorado nonprofit community with their insurance needs is all they do! Dedicated to helping 501(c)(3) charitable organizations for over two decades, the Colorado Nonprofit Insurance Agency has many years of experience helping nonprofits determine the best insurance coverage needed to protect their unique needs. For more information on CNIA visit http://coloradononprofitinsurance.org/.
But, Florida was able to make their final loan payment of $9.2 million on Tuesday, May 21st.
Using more than $3.1 billion from employer tax collections and $360 million from an issued Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) tax credit, Florida became the 14th state to successfully pay off their debt. The remaining states still possess a cumulative outstanding balance of over $21 billion, with an added interest of over $464 million—all of which must be paid off in order to restore their Trust Fund balance.
With their balance finally at $0, and their unemployment rate down to 7.2 percent, Florida is now able to focus their energy on job creation and economic improvement strategies.
While there was no specified payment schedule for the loan, Florida has progressed a lot quicker than some of the larger states. 22 states still remain in debt, but Florida paves the way for economic salvation. And provides a sense of hope to those seeking employment.
Want to learn more about the Florida federal loan pay-off from the Tampa Bay Times? Read this overview.
Compare what your state debt balance is here.
UST maintains a secure site. This means that information we obtain from you in the process of enrolling is protected and cannot be viewed by others. Information about your agency is provided to our various service providers once you enroll in UST for the purpose of providing you with the best possible service. Your information will never be sold or rented to other entities that are not affiliated with UST. Agencies that are actively enrolled in UST are listed for review by other agencies, UST’s sponsors and potential participants, but no information specific to your agency can be reviewed by anyone not affiliated with UST and not otherwise engaged in providing services to you except as required by law or valid legal process.
Your use of this site and the provision of basic information constitute your consent for UST to use the information supplied.
UST may collect generic information about overall website traffic, and use other analytical information and tools to help us improve our website and provide the best possible information and service. As you browse UST’s website, cookies may also be placed on your computer so that we can better understand what information our visitors are most interested in, and to help direct you to other relevant information. These cookies do not collect personal information such as your name, email, postal address or phone number. To opt out of some of these cookies, click here. If you are a Twitter user, and prefer not to have Twitter ad content tailored to you, learn more here.
Further, our website may contain links to other sites. Anytime you connect to another website, their respective privacy policy will apply and UST is not responsible for the privacy practices of others.
This Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for our site is subject to change.
UST maintains a secure site. This means that information we obtain from you in the process of enrolling is protected and cannot be viewed by others. Information about your agency is provided to our various service providers once you enroll in UST for the purpose of providing you with the best possible service. Your information will never be sold or rented to other entities that are not affiliated with UST. Agencies that are actively enrolled in UST are listed for review by other agencies, UST’s sponsors and potential participants, but no information specific to your agency can be reviewed by anyone not affiliated with UST and not otherwise engaged in providing services to you except as required by law or valid legal process.
Your use of this site and the provision of basic information constitute your consent for UST to use the information supplied.
UST may collect generic information about overall website traffic, and use other analytical information and tools to help us improve our website and provide the best possible information and service. As you browse UST’s website, cookies may also be placed on your computer so that we can better understand what information our visitors are most interested in, and to help direct you to other relevant information. These cookies do not collect personal information such as your name, email, postal address or phone number. To opt out of some of these cookies, click here. If you are a Twitter user, and prefer not to have Twitter ad content tailored to you, learn more here.
Further, our website may contain links to other sites. Anytime you connect to another website, their respective privacy policy will apply and UST is not responsible for the privacy practices of others.
This Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use for our site is subject to change.
Though the system has gotten off to a rocky start, many hope it will soon pick up.
As part of the program, the 10 states which are picked to participate would be allowed to use UI funds to subsidize employer-provided training or to pay employers that hire unemployment insurance beneficiaries. Although atypical, some lawmakers see the UI job program as a quick way to increase the number of those going back to work.
According to an article published in Stateline Daily, George Wentworth of the National Employment Law Project believes that the program’s intent is to ensure that the program participants “get good jobs with good wages and that there is a good chance they can retain the job permanently.”
However, a good intent and the lack of state applicants may show that the innovative program is a far cry from the easy fix that some lawmakers see it as. New Hampshire has already indicated that it probably won’t bother to apply because the considerations for inclusion are too difficult.
Other states have similarly indicated that they will wait to see what the federal government and their fellow states do before considering an application for the waiver.
For 501(c)(3) agencies that can opt out of the state UI system but have not yet done so, the program’s possibilities are problematic though. Repurposing funds from their taxes to pay for the salaries of for-profit agencies, the waiver program could undercut the operating budgets of many nonprofits.
Now, more than ever, it is important that nonprofits with more than 10 full-time employees explore their options for leaving the state UI system to self-reimburse for unemployment claims. To learn more about how UST can help your nonprofit stop subsidizing the salaries and unemployment benefits of other for-profit companies.
Read more about the current holding pattern at Stateline.