With the holidays upon us, I hope you’ve had a productive, healthy and fulfilling year.
From all of us at impactHR, please allow me to say it continues to be our privilege to be of help and service to our client companies and organizations in support of their HR and business growth strategies. 
In looking ahead to 2022, I’m also thinking of our collective journey over the last 12 months. While we all have felt some relief that the pandemic and its effects have improved compared with the previous year, we indeed remain vigilant and hopeful for everyone’s continued good health and prosperity.
In working closely with our clients this past year, I’m pleased to see a renewed, robust focus on investing in the overall development and well-being of their employees, including flexible work arrangements and ensuring workplaces are as safe as can be.
These steps, plus doing more to help employees with their personal and professional needs, will go a long way to building a workplace where employees want to stay and build their careers. Plus, working to build a culture of positivity and employee engagement helps with recruiting your best-fit employees. Building this type of culture isn’t done overnight, but a sustained commitment to it will help your company or organization stay on your growth path.
With this in mind, I’d like to say once again that it’s a great privilege for me and for all of us at impactHR to be of help to our client companies and organizations. Our client relationships, as well as with our partners and friends, means everything to us. We look forward to continue being your go-to firm for HR support and consulting in 2022.
Thank you and my best wishes to you for the holidays and the new year.
Sincerely yours,
Kelly Mitchell, MS, SPHR, SHRM-SCP
Recruiting: The Keys to Developing Effective Job Descriptions
With the labor market in a state of flux not seen in years, recruiting, hiring and retaining the talent you need is a daily imperative.
While there are many strategies and tips to sharpen and optimize your recruitment and retention efforts, one small but powerful move you can make is to focus on improving your company’s job descriptions. 
Ultimately, the development of clear, well-defined job descriptions for every role in your organization serves a number of major business goals, including:
Recruitment: To attract “best fit” candidates for your open positions, the job description should be re-written into a “job posting.” The posting (or ad) is a succinct, distilled explanation of the open position with marketing language that promotes the company and its mission.
Onboarding: You’ve made your hire and are welcoming a new employee into your company. In the onboarding process, go over the job description (and other details as part of their new employment packet) with your new employee. Make sure your new hire signs off on their job description as part of their job contract.
Performance management: job descriptions should detail how you and your managers will establish accountability for your employees and expectations of their growth and success. For each role in your company, its corresponding job description should exist as a living document and be updated regularly.
Evaluating reasonable accommodations: Be sure to include specific information about physical job requirements and working conditions in your job descriptions.
The bottom line: job descriptions should detail clearly the position’s title, overtime status (exempt or non-exempt under the FLSA), essential functions, skills and qualifications needed to conduct the work, plus physical demands and the job’s specific work environment.
Job descriptions, at the end of the day, can play a big role in setting the tone for your company’s culture and performance expectations, helping to define your organizational brand.
impactAction: If you’d like to learn more about developing effective job descriptions for your employees, contact us at info@impacthrllc.com or call 443-741-3900.
Howard County (MD) Approves Minimum Wage Increase to $16/Hour Phased in By 2026
Howard County (MD) Executive Calvin Ball last week signed legislation into law raising the county’s minimum wage to $16/hour to be phased in by 2026. 
Under this new law, for county employers with 15 or more workers, the hourly minimum wage will increase incrementally to:
$14 on April 1, 2022
$15 on January 1, 2023
$16 on January 1, 2025
For employers with fewer than 15 workers, the hourly minimum wage will increase to:
$12.50 on April 1, 2022
$13.25 on January 1, 2023
$14 on January 1, 2024
$14.75 on January 1, 2025
$15.50 on January 1, 2026
$16 on July 1, 2026
Howard County’s current minimum wage level is $11.75/ hour. Learn more.
Minimum Wage for Federal Government Contractors to Rise to $15 per Hour by January 30, 2022
The White House announced late last month it will move forward with implementation of an executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal government contractor employees to $15/hour (from $10.95/hour now) by January 30, 2022.
Under this new rule, all agencies will need to incorporate a $15 minimum wage in new contract solicitations starting January 30, 2022.
In addition, note that if contracts are entered into on or after January 30, 2022, or the contract is renewed or extended on or after January 30, 2022, this new minimum wage applies to the contract. Learn more.
OFCCP Announces New Contractor Portal for Affirmative Action Program (AAP) Compliance
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has launched a Contractor Portal where covered federal government contractors must certify whether they are meeting their requirements to develop and maintain annual affirmative action programs (AAP).
Note: covered federal contractors and subcontractors must use this portal to certify, on an annual basis, whether they have developed and maintained an AAP for each establishment and/or functional unit, as applicable. In addition, the Contractor Portal will provide a secure portal for scheduled contractors to submit to OFCCP their AAPs during compliance evaluations.
- On Feb. 1, 2022, contractors may begin registering for access to the portal. OFCCP will also send an e-mail to each covered federal contractor whose email information is available in its system inviting them to register.
- On March 31, 2022, contractors will be able to utilize the certification feature in the portal to certify their AAP compliance.
- By June 30, 2022, existing contractors must certify whether they have developed and maintained an AAP for each establishment and/or functional unit, as applicable.
impactAction: If you need assistance in complying with regulations covering federal government contractors, contact us at info@impacthrllc.com or 443-741-3900.
DC Employers Must Now Provide Paid Leave for COVID-19 Vaccinations
DC employers, as of last month, are now required to provide up to 2 hours of paid leave for their employees (or their children under 18) to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and boosters. 
This new policy also mandates up to 8 hours of paid leave per vaccine injection during the 24-hour period following the 2-hour vaccination leave period to recover from vaccine side effects.
In addition, DC employers must provide a total of 48 hours of vaccination and recovery leave in a year. Eligible employees must be employed by their employer for at least 15 days before the request for leave.
impactAction: If you have questions or need assistance complying with this new policy, contact us at info@impacthrllc.com or 443-741-3900.
In case you missed these impactnews articles . . .
impactHR Continues Growth with New Staff Additions
Performance Management: Moving Past the Annual Review
Diversity and Inclusion: Fostering a Tolerant and Productive Workplace