• 70% of Employers are non-compliant with wage and hour laws, according to the Department of Labor (DOL).
• 2 out of 3 workplace-related lawsuits that go to trial are won by the employee.
• $10.3 Million: Civil penalties assessed against employers by the Wage &  Hour Division of the DOL in 2007.
• $220.6 Million:  Damages paid by employers for wage and hour non compliance in 2007.
• 11.2 Million:  The jury award against Mary Kay Cosmetics for classifying beauty “consultants” as independent contractors.
• $650,000:  The average jury award to plaintiffs for damages in workplace-related lawsuits.
• 88,846:  Number of violations recorded by OSHA inspectors in 2007, of which 67,176 were serious.
• $1 million: Potential per-occurrence fine for failure to safeguard personal/non-public information against identity theft under the Gramm/Leach/Bliley safeguard Bill.

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.

One aspect of the recently approved federal stimulus bill – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -offers eligible terminated employees a 65 percent discount on COBRA coverage.  Enacted in 1986, COBRA allows former employees to continue their health insurance coverage for up to 18 months after they are terminated.

 The issue facing business owners is that they must pay 65 percent of the COBRA premium and then file for reimbursement through a payroll tax credit.  Employees pay the other 35 percent.  This discounted rate could potentially cause a dramatic increase in COBRA election by former employees.

 To avoid substantial penalties, employers were required to mail out COBRA notices by April 18, 2009 to eligible employees who had been laid off since September 1, 2008.  This new regulation affects most companies with 20 or more employees.

Some companies are worried that the federal requirement could cause cash flow problems because of the up-to-three-month delay for reimbursement.  And cash flow problems could cause some financially strapped companies to lay off more employees, freeze or cut salaries, or eliminate some benefits.

How the new COBRA rules work:

• The federal government will provide a 65 percent subsidy for up to nine months of the COBRA premium retroactive to March 1 for certain terminated employees.
• To be entitled to the subsidy, employees must have been involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, and must be eligible for COBRA.
• A special election period exists for individuals involuntarily terminated on or after last September 1 who had not elected COBRA.  They will have 60 more days after receiving the notice to elect coverage, which is retroactive to March 1 if they lost their jobs before then.
• The employer pays the 65 percent on the employee’s behalf and is then reimbursed through a payroll tax credit.  Large companies may be reimbursed either weekly or monthly, but smaller employers must file for the credit with their quarterly payroll taxes.
• The employee must pay 35 percent of COBRA before the employer can request reimbursement of the other 65 percent.  Employers that do not charge the full COBRA premium will not be entitled to reimbursement of 65 percent of the maximum COBRA premium.

 For more information, visit www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-09-27.pdf or www.dol.gov/ebsa/cobra.html

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)

Staff One and our Client Companies are at-will employers in all states where applicable. This means that, in the absence of a union contract or other employment contract limiting an employer’s right to discharge or stating a specific term or duration of employment, the employer is free to hire and fire at any time for any reason – or for no reason at all. However, court decisions and new statutes in recent years have created a more complex employment situation.

Federal and state laws may limit what can be considered in making an employment decision. You cannot base an employment decision on race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, veterans’ status, filing a workers’ compensation claim, use of benefit plans, serving on a jury, etc.

Courts have also expanded potential liability for employers who discharge employees in violation of “Public Policy” reasons.  For example, if an employee accuses his employer of firing him for refusing to carry out some unlawful request or claims he was fired for reporting allegedly unlawful acts on the part of his employer, that person could be considered as a “whistleblower” and can bring a wrongful discharge lawsuit.

While employment lawsuits arise out of all sorts of circumstances, the event which causes most legal actions is a discharge or termination of employment. Therefore, we must be increasingly sensitive to what can and cannot be done in connection with a termination. The manner in which a termination is handled is critical.

Successful supervisors avoid having to discipline employees by treating them in a fair and reasonable way. Once employees understand what is expected of them, they will usually do their jobs effectively. Do not be afraid to ask for the kind of action you expect from individuals. How else will they know?

Progressive Discipline System

If discipline becomes necessary, Staff One advocates a progressive discipline system to deal with problem employees and minimize the possibility of wrongful discharge and discrimination claims.  The system basically imposes goals, timetables, and progressively greater disciplinary measures upon an employee whose performance continues to be unacceptable. The system also recognizes that certain infractions or misconduct will be sufficient for immediate discharge. It is absolutely mandatory that this system be used uniformly with all employees.

 Below are the steps to an effective progressive discipline system.

Step 1: Verbal Warning

A verbal warning is usually adequate for a first offense. Be sure to discuss the problem in private with the employee, explaining what was done wrong and what will happen if another violation occurs. Be sure to document the warning in writing, and send a record of the conversation to Staff One to be placed in the employee’s personnel file.

Step 2: Written Warning

If after receiving a verbal warning the offense is repeated, a written warning should be used.

Review the facts of the case with the employee and in the presence of another supervisor at your level or above. Tell the employee what action will be considered if another violation occurs. A limit should be set on the number of written warnings allowed before other action is taken. Make a record of the meeting, stating the facts that were reviewed with the employee and the action taken (use Staff One’s Employee Written Warning Notice). Have the employee sign the notice, after allowing him or her to enter comments. If the employee refuses to sign, have the supervisor sign the notice attesting to the employee’s refusal. Send the warning to Staff One to be placed in the employee’s personnel file.

Step 3: Suspension

A suspension without pay may be considered for employees as deemed necessary. Contact your Staff One Client Service Executive or Staff One’s Corporate HR Department for guidance.

Step 4: Discharge

Terminating an employee can present a difficult and sometimes hazardous situation. A recent nationwide survey showed that half of all companies that fired anyone had a suit or legal charge brought against them. You can help minimize this risk by considering the effects of any termination. It is always unpleasant to terminate an employee, but try to carry out the termination in a rational manner, not out of anger and never on the spur of the moment.

Call Staff One Client Services Department or your Client Service Executive before proceeding with any termination action. Together, we will discuss your plan and the reason(s) for the termination.

Many times, you may overlook the “protected activities” an employee might say are the real reasons for the termination. For instance, has the employee recently filed a workers’ compensation claim (a “protected activity”)?

Termination Meetings

This is a crucial step in the process. Terminating an employee is never easy, and the very fact that it is such an uncomfortable situation may cause you to be nervous or make a mistake. So, before you terminate an employee, contact your Staff One Client Service Executive or Staff One’s Corporate HR Department for guidance.