Payroll Health Mini-Audit, Your Review Helper, Corporate Zombieism - Jul 9, 2025

Howdy, HR heroes! 🌟 July's not just for fireworks — it’s time for your Mid-Year HR & Payroll Check-Up. Let’s make sure your compliance is hotter than summer and your data cleaner than PTO logs…

On today’s agenda:

💰 Mid-year payroll health check

✏️ Your Review Helper

📘 SHRM’s Blueprint rebrand

🧟‍♂️ Corporate zombieism

THE HR SPOTLIGHT

A Mid-Year HR & Payroll Health Mini-Audit

July isn’t just for beach days and BBQs — it’s also your cue to fine-tune payroll and HR compliance before Q3 rolls in like an audit team with clipboards.

📉 The Situation: What’s slipping through the cracks?

Even your most polished payroll system can turn dusty by mid-year. Here’s what often trips up even seasoned HR leaders:

• Missed tax deposit due dates (hello, penalties 😬)

• Outdated employee classification — are your “freelancers” really freelancers?

• Inaccurate ACA measurement periods, especially if hours fluctuate

• Unreported tips — reminder: July 10 is the IRS deadline for June tips (if employees earned ≥ $20) IRS Tip Reporting

✅ What HR Can Do: Use this 5-point mini-audit to be Q3-ready:

1. Review Q1 & Q2 payroll runs for accuracy in wages, tax deposits, and deductions

2. Recheck worker classifications (W-2 vs. 1099) — DOL crackdowns are rising

3. Ensure ACA measurement periods are aligned with eligibility tracking

4. Remind employees to submit tip reports (Form 4070) by July 10

Spot gaps in payroll processing — or just automate it smartly in Excel: How to Prepare Payroll in Excel »

Review Tracker & Helper: Catch Up & Drive Progress

It’s not too late to streamline your process and make performance reviews count — even if you're behind schedule.

Introducing the Employee Performance Review Tracker — an Excel-based system built for busy HR pros juggling late reviews, manager delays, and Q3 planning.

✅ Track Goals & Feedback - Stay on top of performance data across teams, even if reviews are trickling in late.

✅ Built for HR Pros -  An intuitive layout designed to save you hours — no steep learning curve required.

✅ Real-Time Insights - Centralize progress, identify gaps, and guide development conversations with confidence.

✅ Skip the Manual Work - Automated fields and summaries let you focus on outcomes, not spreadsheets.

Perfect for teams still finalizing reviews or prepping post-review action plans.

⏳ This week only – Promo ends July 12 at midnight.

📘 SHRM Blueprint Rebrand - HR Dive

• What’s Unfolding: SHRM is retiring its “Inclusion” conference, relaunching it in Louisville this October as Blueprint 2025, promising “deeper rigor, sharper guidance, legal foresight” built around DEI, compliance, and workforce strategy.

• Why It Matters: HR must pivot from buzzwords to actionable, legally sound inclusion plans. Audit current programs for legal robustness, align DEI goals with business metrics, and mark your calendar for SHRM Blueprint insights.

• What’s Unfolding: On July 8, the Supreme Court lifted a block on Trump’s EO, allowing mass federal layoffs across departments like VA, State, Treasury & Agriculture to proceed. Only Justice Jackson dissented.

• Why It Matters: Federal cuts may reduce service contracts, employee referrals, or cause mood swings in public-sector teams. If your org partners with federal agencies, expect new audit pressures and prepare your org to support or absorb displaced talent.

• What’s Unfolding: Spotify’s 2025 internship program spans NY, London, Stockholm, hosting 99 interns across 10 weeks. It integrates AI/ML training and cultural events—immersing interns in next-gen tech and community.

• Why It Matters: AI-focused upskilling positions interns as future-ready contributors. Infuse future-of-work topics into your intern/onboarding programs. Consider AI bootcamps and culture-first orientation to stay competitive.

COMPLIANCE CORNER

• What’s Unfolding: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins reaffirmed a “no amnesty” stance for undocumented farmworkers, suggesting Medicaid recipients or automation may replace them.

• HR Implications: This signals a tightening labor pool in agriculture and related industries—HR in supply chain, food, and logistics should assess labor vulnerabilities now and explore upskilling and retention strategies.

• What’s Unfolding: OSHA has released proposed rule changes affecting 26 safety standards across industries, from lockout/tagout to machine guarding.

• HR Implications: Compliance teams must review the NPRMs—some changes may require updates to training, equipment, or safety documentation. Deadline to comment is fast approaching, so loop in legal early.

• What’s Unfolding: The EEOC announced strategic reforms that streamline case handling, leverage AI for investigations, and enhance transparency in discrimination claims.

• HR Implications: Expect faster and more thorough audits—HR must ensure documentation and DEI policies are airtight. It’s also time to audit your own hiring AI tools for bias risk.

BREAKROOM

📬 Missed Monday’s issue ‘Forgiveness-Feedback Loop’? Read it »