by TJ Carter, SPHR

Taking on a management role can be demanding; it brings new responsibilities, additional workload and more. It can be even more challenging when an employee has been promoted into the role of manager and is now responsible for supervising former co-workers. In order to succeed, these managers will need to find a way to transition a peer relationship into a successful manager-employee relationship.

Here are some tips for making a successful transition:

• Separate the personal relationship from the professional one. You can remain friendly with former co-workers but should make it clear that personal relationships cannot and will not influence your decisions and actions at work. Creating this separation may involve limiting or eliminating after-work socializing to avoid potential conflicts. This doesn’t mean a manager and his or her employees can’t be social or have lunch together, but if they do, conversation should be limited to general topics such as hobbies and interests.
• Let former peers know that you take your new responsibilities seriously. Some new managers will use jokes or humor to ease into difficult conversations with their employees, but doing so can undermine the seriousness of a counseling session or disciplinary action. Being gentle but firm can go a long way in helping employees improve and can help the manager gain and maintain employees’ respect.
• Treat all employees equally. Playing favorites can create tension and interfere with a manager’s ability to effectively lead the team. It could also invite claims of discrimination in some circumstances. Managers should consistently provide both positive feedback and suggestions for improvement to all of their subordinates. Doing so can promote successful employee development while ensuring fair treatment.
• Ask for help. Many managers have, at some point in their careers, found themselves in the position of managing former co-workers and peers. Talking with others in leadership roles can be a great source of guidance when making this transition.

By separating the personal relationship from the professional one and managing former peers or co-workers with consistency, fairness and respect, an employee can successfully make the transition to manager.

By Washington Post

President Obama on Thursday signed into law a measure that repeals the unpopular 1099 tax-reporting provision of the national health-care law.

The move marked the first successful effort by Congress to repeal a portion of Obama’s signature health-care legislation.

The Senate earlier this month voted 87-to-12 to repeal the 1099 provision. The House passed the measure in March on a bipartisan 314-to-112 vote.

The White House released a statement announcing the Obama had signed the measure, which it said “repeals the expansion in the Affordable Care Act of requirements for businesses to report information to the Internal Revenue Service on payments for goods of $600 or more annually to other businesses and increases the amount of overpayment subject to repayment of premium assistance tax credits for health insurance coverage purchases through the Exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act.”

Obama’s signing of the legislation into law marks the end of a nearly eight-month-long effort by lawmakers to do away with the 1099 tax-reporting provision. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.) had led the effort in the Senate, but each time repeal seemed close, the parties reached an impasse over how to pay for the repeal, which would result in the loss of an estimated $22 billion over the next decade.

The law signed by Obama on Thursday would pay for repeal by forcing greater repayment of health insurance subsidies for families whose income unexpectedly exceeds certain thresholds.

By NAPEO

Thirty-three states (including the Virgin Islands) have borrowed more than $48 billion from the Federal Unemployment Account, according to U.S. Department of Labor data released this week. In states with loan balances on January 1 of two consecutive years that have not repaid them by November 10 of the second year, employers are at risk of losing a portion of their state FUTA tax credits for that year. The credit is reduced by 0.30 percent for each year the loan remains outstanding beyond the second year of the loan. Twenty-four states will experience a FUTA tax credit reduction, assuming each has a loan balance on November 10, 2011.