RKL’s Workforce Strategies team is here to help you navigate the complexities of today's HR environment with the updates, reminders and insights you need to maximize your most important asset — your people. We value your feedback, so let us know what you think of this newsletter!
Small Businesses and Payroll and HR Outsourcing
The National Small Business Association reports that many small businesses spend more than 40 hours per year on federal tax compliance, with payroll taxes among the most burdensome. When you outsource HR and payroll, you can gain more than just administrative relief. Outsourcing helps you build reliable systems, reduce risk and gain the insight needed to lead with confidence.
While you are an operational expert, you may not have all the subject-matter expertise, like HR and payroll management, to confidently run your business on your own. That's where RKL Virtual's expert advisors come into play. We are here to take the burdens of HR and payroll off your hands so you can do what you do best: serve your clients and communities.
New York Prohibits Use of Credit History in Hiring
In December 2025, the New York Senate passed Bill S3072, which restricts the use of consumer credit history in hiring, employment and licensing determinations, effective April 26, 2026. This bill prohibits an employer or potential employer from using a job applicant's or employee's consumer credit report in deciding to hire, terminate, promote, demote, discipline or compensate, or in setting the terms, conditions or privileges of employment.
Employee Handbooks: The Most Critical Legal Document in HR
An employee handbook should include key policies such as EEO and anti-harassment statements, workplace conduct standards, pay and benefits information and more. Because employment laws vary by state and locality, handbooks must be tailored to where employees work, whether through state-specific supplements or separate versions. A compliant handbook helps set expectations, ensure consistency and reduce legal risk.
Let RKL Virtual's Workforce Strategies team help you ensure your employee handbook works for you and your employees with a comprehensive handbook review. If you don't have a functional handbook, we can help you create one.
U.S. Workers Use ChatGPT for Questions About Compensation
According to a new report by OpenAI, ChatGPT receives about 3 million messages per day from U.S. workers asking about wages, compensation or earnings. As an employer, you should keep this in mind as a potential data source employees are using to inform their negotiation conversations and how they may respond.
RKL Virtual's Workforce Solutions team can help you prepare answers to questions employees and potential employees have with our Pay Equity and Compensation Analysis services, including job analysis studies, compensation benchmarking, compensation structure development and more. We help you have a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining talent.
On March 9, the U.S. Department of Labor issued new guidance to improve flexibility, consistency, quality standards and transparency within the Registered Apprenticeship system. The guidance clarifies program design requirements, outlines the roles of state agencies, streamlines the registration process (including a 30-day determination commitment) and introduces new public data tools on completion rates and registration timelines. The DOL also highlighted research showing strong employer benefits, including positive ROI, improved retention and productivity and access to financial incentives.
Meet us at the Lancaster Society for Human Resources Spring Professional Development Conference
We are excited to sponsor the Lancaster SHRM Spring Conference this year.
Be sure to stop by our booth and talk with out team to learn more about the services we offer and how we can help your organization prepare for what's next.
Date: April 24, 2026
Time: 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Where: Conference and Training Center at IU 13 1020 New Holland Avenue Lancaster, PA 17601
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