Payroll Companies & Payroll Services in East Hartford, CT

OEM America is a family-owned Professional Employer Organization based in East Hartford, Connecticut. The firm was founded in 1995 to give Connecticut employers a more efficient way to handle workforce administration. It concentrates on companies with fewer than 500 employees. For buyers comparing payroll providers, it positions itself as a hands-on, locally rooted alternative to large national processors. Under that model, payroll is bundled with benefits, compliance and HR support rather than sold as standalone software.

Payroll and HR Services

Payroll sits at the center of the firm's offering, alongside a broader set of human resources functions. Its published service lines include:

• Managed payroll services
• Senior-level payroll support
• Year-end support services
• HRIS (human resources information systems)
• PEO services, plus ASO and HRO arrangements
• HR outsourcing, consulting and compliance guidance
• Audits and assessments
• Compensation and benefits administration
• Risk management, insurance and workers' compensation
• Pre-employment testing for candidates

Under the PEO arrangement, employees continue to receive wages on their usual schedule, by paper check or direct deposit. The client receives an invoice with each payroll run that also includes workers' compensation and benefits charges. OEM takes over injury and benefits paperwork. It also manages new-hire onboarding and employee separations, and it represents clients at unemployment hearings. Its specialists are available for advice on HR, benefits and workplace safety questions.

How Engagements Work

A relationship typically starts with a review of how a business currently handles payroll, HR, benefits and workers' compensation. If OEM does not believe it can cut costs or improve efficiency, it says it will tell the prospect so. Otherwise, it prepares a written proposal laying out service options and pricing. The firm also offers a free time-and-motion study to show prospects what their present approach to employee administration is costing them.

Onboarding begins with OEM gathering employee details such as pay rates, deductions and direct deposit instructions. It then submits updated filings to state and federal agencies. Next comes a workplace rollout, in which OEM staff meet with employees to explain its role and usually introduce a new handbook.

Contracts can be ended by either side with thirty days' notice, so clients are not tied to long commitments. The firm says the working relationship can be as structured or as informal as the client prefers.

Background and Differentiators

OEM states that it serves businesses across Connecticut and around the country, with a network covering all 50 states and 26 distribution outlets. It describes itself as well capitalized, profitable and audited. It is a member of NAPEO, the national PEO trade association. Manage HR Magazine also listed it among its top ten benefits administration consulting and service companies.

The company contrasts itself with large shareholder-owned processors in several ways. It cites direct phone access to a familiar team without automated menus, and onsite help for Connecticut clients. It also points to predictable pricing with invoices that are simple to read. Finally, it describes a hands-on HR approach meant to reduce the workload on in-house staff instead of leaving them to work through a software platform on their own.