HELP WANTED: EMPLOYER RELIEF EMPLOYEE-LEASING COMPANIES SUBSTITUTE AS BOSS TO END ADMINISTRATIVE HASSLES
Robin Foster of The Sentinel StaffTHE ORLANDO SENTINEL
In the past six months, employee leasing has returned to Orlando.
Action Staffing Co. and American Staff Leasing Co., which both have opened offices this year in Orlando, are targeting small businesses that want relief from the administrative duties of an employer. Instead, the employees are fired from the contracted company, rehired by Action Staffing or American Staff Leasing, and then leased back to the company.
A handful of other companies that were offering employee leasing in Orlando up to two years ago have since closed their doors.
"We can go in with the employer's information and estimate his costs for having employees," said Daniel Hamilton, the Orlando district sales manager of Brandon-based Action Staffing. Then, he said, "we take away the headaches." Action Staffing, which charges roughly 6 percent of payroll costs, has acquired two clients in the month it has been open.
Employee-leasing firms prepare payroll checks, pay employees, pay payroll, social security and unemployment taxes, provide weekly payroll and billing reports to clients and government, provide workers-compensation and employer-liability insurance, prepare W-2 forms, process labor-relation forms when needed, provide optional group, life, dental and health benefits at group rates, provide credit-union membership, and process insurance claims.
"People automatically think of temporary services when we say employee leasing," Hamilton said, adding that that is not always so.
Employee leasing was legalized with the passage of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, which provided general guidelines on how employee-leasing companies could operate.
Terry Maroney, manager of American Staff Leasing, said the Fort Myers- based company opened its Orlando office six months ago and now has about 40 clients.
"It's a great concept, an exciting, coming thing," he said. "There's not an employer that could not benefit himself with this, period. The service is really needed. They small-business owners come to us and say they don't want to spend time administrating. We take these problems away for the small- business owner."
American Staff Leasing, which has 200 client companies statewide and, as a result, employs 800 people, has three sales people who service the state, Maroney said. The company does not gear itself to any specific industry.
Action Staffing has 600 client companies and employs 14,000 people statewide, according to Hamilton. Eight sales people cover Orange and Seminole counties and specialize in industries such as retail, manufacturing, construction and automotive. There are 80 Action Staffing sales people across Florida, and 50 administrative employees statewide. The company projects 1986 sales of $75 million.
"Most employers hate the administrative end of things. Small-business owners, in particular, don't have the expertise," Hamilton said.
Companies such as Action Staffing and American Staff Leasing charge fees based on the size of the client company's payroll.