BRENTWOOD, Tenn., January 8, 2010 — Staff One, Inc. was awarded second place in the “Most Informative – National” category at the Greater Nashville Apartment Association Trade Show held July 23, 2009 at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn.

Staff One was among more than 100 exhibitors at the annual event, which connects apartment owners, managers and leasing professionals with local and national companies that serve their industry.

“We are very pleased that Staff One was recognized by the GNAA,” said Dan Telford, Business Development Executive for Staff One. “We support the GNAA at every opportunity and really enjoyed participating in this year’s trade show. We work hard to make sure our trade show exhibits convey the services Staff One provides, as well as sharing relevant information on how we can impact business owners and managers.”

With a presence in more than 41 states, Staff One is a leader in the HR Outsourcing industry, providing PEO services that include HR, benefits administration, risk management, compliance management, payroll and tax administration services to small businesses. Staff One has worked with clients in the property management industry for more than 20 years – playing a key role in decreasing employee turnover, maximizing occupancy rates and managing workers compensation risk. As a result, Staff One’s clients have grown more than 500% since they started with Staff One.

About Staff One
Founded in 1988, Staff One is a leading Human Resources Outsourcing firm with an ESAC accredited and bonded PEO service offering. Staff One operates as a full-service human resources department and delivers a comprehensive range of solutions that provides our clients with a level of support and value previously only available at much larger companies. By aggregating the buying power of hundreds of firms, Staff One provides premium benefits and benefits administration, risk management, compliance management, payroll outsourcing, tax administration and strategic HR services. Staff One currently serves clients with employees in more than 40 states. For more information, visit www.staffone.com.

About Greater Nashville Apartment Association
The Greater Nashville Apartment Association is a non-profit trade organization representing owners, management companies, apartment communities and suppliers to the multi-family industry.

From USCIS

On August 27th, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Office of Management and Budget has extended its approval of Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) to Aug. 31, 2012. Consequently, USCIS has amended the form to reflect a new revision date of Aug. 7, 2009.

Employers may use the Form I-9 with the revision date of either Aug. 7, 2009 or Feb. 2, 2009. The revision dates are located on the bottom right-hand portion of the form.

Staff One clients should begin using the revised I-9 form for all new hires, effective immediately. The new form can be found at www.staffone.com

A business coalition, including the U.S. Chamber and SHRM, has lost in its effort to have a court overturn the federal regulation requiring federal contractors to start using the E-Verify Program for federal contracts that are entered into or modified after September 8, 2009. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Maryland on August 26, 2009, turned down all arguments raised by the plaintiffs and has opened the door for the rule to be applicable as planned on September 8, 2009. There is no word on whether or not the decision will be appealed. The USCIS Web site has a federal contractor page as well as a series of Q&As on the rule that explains its provisions and application.

Source http://www.irs.gov

If you have not filed a prior year tax return and are due a refund, you should consider filing the return to claim that refund. If you are missing a refund for a previously filed tax return, you should contact the IRS to check the status of your refund and confirm your current address.

Unclaimed Refunds

Some people may have had taxes withheld from their wages but were not required to file a tax return because they had too little income. Others may not have had any tax withheld but would be eligible for the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit.

• To collect this money a return must be filed with the IRS no later than three years from the due date of the return.
• If no return is filed to claim the refund within three years, the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.
• There is no penalty assessed by the IRS for filing a late return qualifying for a refund.
• Current and prior year tax forms and instructions are available on the Forms and Publications web page of IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
• Information about the Earned Income Tax Credit and how to claim it is also available on IRS.gov.

Undeliverable Refunds

Were you expecting a refund check but didn’t get it?

• Refund checks are mailed to your last known address. Checks are returned to the IRS if you move without notifying the IRS or the U.S. Postal Service.
• You may be able to update your address with the IRS on the “Where’s My Refund?” feature available on IRS.gov. You will be prompted to provide an updated address if there is an undeliverable check outstanding within the last 12 months.
• You can also ensure the IRS has your correct address by filing Form 8822, Change of Address, which is available on IRS.gov or can be ordered by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).
• If you do not have access to the Internet and think you may be missing a refund, you should first check your records or contact your tax preparer. If your refund information appears correct, call the IRS toll-free assistance line at 800-829-1040 to check the status of your refund and confirm your address.

From HRMorining.com

To further prove that immigration reform is still on the front burner, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced its plan to implement a nationwide audit of employer I-9s.

ICE announced that it’s drawing up Notices of Inspection to review the I-9 records of 652 employers — names not released yet. In some instances, the notices will include subpoenas for records such as

>> quarterly wage reports
>> EINs
>> business licenses
>> correspondence from Social Security Administration regarding no-match letters, and
>> payroll data.

Employers whose I-9-related records don’t pass muster with ICE will then receive Notices of Intent to Fine. Also in the announcement, ICE officials said the audit is just a “first step,” so employers probably can expect more audits and inspections.

What happens if you’re contacted for an audit? Make sure you know:

The name and contact information of company legal counsel. If the company’s legal counsel is not in-house, there should be written instructions for personnel to contact outside counsel immediately.
Who, in HR or otherwise, will be the the company’s representative for the ICE investigation or audit. You’ll want all communication with ICE channeled through that person to avoid redundancy or contradictions in information.
The names of company managers who should be informed of an ICE investigation or audit.
And keep in mind:

>> An investigator may contact you and ask for an interview, but you have the right to refer the investigator to an attorney.
>> An investigator has no right to files and records without a search warrant or subpoena.
>> Once you’re informed of an intent to investigate, take special care to secure all related records. Destruction or loss of records after notification could be seen as an attempt to destroy evidence or sabotage the investigation.

Article: http://www.hrmorning.com/feds-launch-nationwide-i-9-audit/

From USCIS
The current I-9 form lists an expiration date of 6/30/09. However, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the form will remain valid after this date.

On June 26, USCIS asked the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to approved continued use of the current version. While the request is pending, the form will not expire, despite the date listed at the top of the first page. When the extension is approved — and a new expiration date is set — USCIS will update the form. For the time being, continue to use the form dated “Rev. 02/02/09″ at the bottom of each page and the June 30 expiration date at the top.

Note: When the form is updated by USCIS, Staff One will update the form provided to its clients at that time.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) clarifies and strengthens the Veterans’ Reemployment Rights (VRR) Statute. USERRA protects civilian job rights and benefits for veterans and members of Reserve components.

USERRA also makes major improvements in protecting service member rights and benefits by clarifying the law, improving enforcement mechanisms, and adding Federal Government employees to those employees already eligible to receive Department of Labor assistance in processing claims.

USERRA establishes the cumulative length of time that an individual may be absent from work for military duty and retain reemployment rights up to five years (the previous law provided four years of active duty, plus an additional year if it was for the convenience of the Government). There are important exceptions to the five-year limit, including initial enlistments lasting more than five years, periodic National Guard and Reserve training duty, and involuntary active duty extensions and recalls, especially during a time of national emergency. USERRA clearly establishes that reemployment protection does not depend on the timing, frequency, duration, or nature of an individual’s service as long as the basic eligibility criteria are met.

In addition, USERRA provides protection for disabled veterans, requiring employers to make reasonable efforts to accommodate the disability. Service members convalescing from injuries received during service or training may have up to two years from the date of completion of service to return to their jobs or apply for reemployment.

USERRA provides that returning service-members are reemployed in the job that they would have attained had they not been absent for military service (the long-standing “escalator” principle), with the same seniority, status, and pay, as well as other rights and benefits determined by seniority. USERRA also requires that reasonable efforts (such as training or retraining) be made to enable returning service members to refresh or upgrade their skills to help them qualify for reemployment. The law clearly provides for alternative reemployment positions if the service member cannot qualify for the “escalator” position. USERRA also provides that while an individual is performing military service, he or she is deemed to be on a furlough or leave of absence and is entitled to the non-seniority rights accorded other individuals on non-military leaves of absence.

Health and pension plan coverage for service members is provided for by USERRA. Individuals performing military duty of more than 30 days may elect to continue employer sponsored health care for up to 24 months; however, they may be required to pay up to 102 percent of the full premium. For military service of less than 31 days, health care coverage is provided as if the service member had remained employed. USERRA clarifies pension plan coverage by making clear that all pension plans are protected.

The period an individual has to make application for reemployment or report back to work after military service is based on time spent on military duty. For service of less than 31 days, the service member must return at the beginning of the next regularly scheduled work period on the first full day after release from service, taking into account safe travel home plus an eight-hour rest period. For service of more than 30 days but less than 181 days, the service member must submit an application for reemployment within 14 days of release from service. For service of more than 180 days, an application for reemployment must be submitted within 90 days of release from service.

USERRA also requires that service members provide advance written or verbal notice to their employers for all military duty unless giving notice is impossible, unreasonable, or precluded by military necessity. An employee should provide notice as far in advance as is reasonable under the circumstances. Additionally, service members are able (but are not required) to use accrued vacation or annual leave while performing military duty.

The Department of Labor, through the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), provides assistance to all persons having claims under USERRA, including Federal and Postal Service employees.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions For Reservists Being Called To Active Duty may be viewed at: http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/faqs/faq_911_2.html.

To access a copy of the final rule and poster, visit http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/poster.htm.

From USCIS Website
The applicability date of the final rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to begin using U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) E-Verify system has been pushed back by six weeks to June 30, 2009.

The Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council (collectively known as the Federal Acquisitions Regulatory Councils) will publish an amendment in the Federal Register tomorrow postponing the applicability of the final rule until June 30, 2009. The rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to agree to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their employees was first published on Nov. 14, 2008, and went into effect on Jan 19, 2009.

The extension provides the Administration an adequate opportunity to review the entire rule prior to its applicability to federal contractors and subcontractors.

For more information on E-Verify, visit www.uscis.gov/everify.

Related Document at Applicability Date for E-Verify Federal Contractor Rule Extended (27KB PDF)

DALLAS, TX. (March 26, 2009) – Staff One, Inc., a leading provider of HR Outsourcing solutions, today announced a new program that will help small and medium-sized companies optimize their Human Resources costs, stay current with new employment laws and gain access to benefits typically enjoyed by much larger companies.

The Staff One HR Outsourcing Business Stimulus Program is designed for businesses with fewer than 750 employees. Participants in the program will receive a wide array of HR services that are typically only available to FORTUNE 500 companies.

For additional details on the program, companies can visit www.staffone.com/stimulus. To qualify for the program, companies must contact Staff One prior to April 15, 2009 and become a client by June 1, 2009. Existing clients are not eligible for the program.

To read the full press release, click here.