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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > January 14, 2009
Software can help employers comply with sick leave mandate
Published January 14, 2009 - BizTimes Daily
Unless the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce is successful in gaining a court injunction, the City of Milwaukee's sick leave mandate will go into effect on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
To help local employers comply with the ordinance, the MMAC is partnering with Qqest Software Systems to provide free trial access to TimeForce, an employee timekeeping software application.
The new ordinance states that organizations that have employees working within the geographic boundaries of the City of Milwaukee will be required to provide those employees one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 10 or more employees will be required to provide the benefit to employees up to a maximum of 72 hours per year. Employers with fewer than 10 employees will be required to provide the benefit to employees up to a maximum of 40 hours year.
For employers whose current leave policy meets or exceeds the mandatory minimums of the ordinance, little, if anything, will change, the MMAC said.
However, for others, the ordinance imposes an entirely new layer of process management and record keeping for the employer to manage.
As this ordinance takes effect, Milwaukee employers will be required by law to perform the following:
1. Accurately track employees' hours.
2. Ensure that sick leave ratios are applied correctly to hours worked.
3. Track and manage the usage of employees' available leave balances.
4. Maintain historical records of all leave data to stay compliant with the ordinance.
"While we are doing our best to fight this issue in the legal arenas, companies do need to be prepared in the event that our legal efforts are unsuccessful. Qqest's willingness to offer the TimeForce service free of charge for 90 days is a tremendous opportunity for MMAC members to stay compliant with the new ordinance while a legal decision plays out," said Steve Baas, director of governmental affairs for the MMAC.
TimeForce is designed specifically to address work time accrual and will enable companies to track employee sick time with 100 percent accuracy, and more importantly, in full compliance with the new ordinance, according to Robert Hansen, director of strategic alliances for Qqest Software.
"Qqest is honored to partner with MMAC to help alleviate the burden this new ordinance will place on employers. TimeForce efficiently manages the tracking and reporting of employee time, allowing employers stay focused on core business activities," Hansen said.
In addition to tracking employee sick time, the TimeForce application can track vacation, holiday, overtime, jobs worked and shift differentials. TimeForce also has the ability to interface with more than 150 payroll applications and processors.
For information about the free trial usage of the software, visit www.milwaukeesickleave.com or call Qqest Software at (414) 545-8463.
