Featured Articles:
Proposed Changes for Foreign Worker Visa H-2A
U.S. Labor Department unveils online resource to help Americans chart retirement finances
Mortgage and Banking Layoffs Prompt $5.5 Million Grant for Californians
Corporate Email Use Ruling
New Federal Posting Requirement
Small Business Tax Workshop Lesson 1
WineCountryHR - HR Roundtable
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Proposed Changes for Foreign Worker Visa H-2A
WASHINGTON, February 6 - Secretary Chao unveiled U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) and Employment Standards Administration's (ESA) proposed rules to modernize the H-2A program for employing foreign workers in temporary or seasonal agricultural jobs.
The proposed changes to the H-2A visa program will make the system more efficient, effective and will modernize the broken program that has not been updated in over 20 years. These changes will provide American farmers with an orderly and timely flow of legal foreign workers while protecting the rights of all agricultural workers both American and foreign.
The 45-day period for public comment will begin once the proposed regulation is published in the Federal Register. The Department of Labor's ETA Web site will have more information on making a public comment once the proposed regulation is published.
Read the Proposed Regulation - (PDF).
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U.S. Labor Department unveils online resource to help Americans chart retirement finances
Washington - The U.S. Department of Labor released a new online resource that makes it easier for Americans to prepare for a financially secure retirement. A series of interactive worksheets were developed as a companion to a 2006 publication entitled 'Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning.' Using the worksheets, individuals who are 10 to 15 years from retirement can calculate their income and savings as well as their projected expenses in retirement.
'Americans are living longer, healthier lives and need to plan for their retirement,' said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. 'These interactive worksheets will give workers and their families a better perspective on how much they need to save to ensure that they can realize their retirement dreams.'
Although targeted to individuals approaching retirement, the worksheets and booklet are also useful for recent retirees. The worksheets are available online. Free copies of the booklet are available by calling the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) toll-free at 866.444.3272 or download booklet.
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Mortgage and Banking Layoffs Prompt $5.5 Million Grant for Californians
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $5,572,226 grant, with $2,545,312 released initially, to California to provide employment and training assistance for approximately 863 workers dislocated as a result of statewide layoffs from companies within the mortgage and banking industries.
'This $5.5 million grant will provide re-employment services, including skills training and career counseling, for these California workers to help them find new jobs,' said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.
The grant, awarded to the California Employment Development Department, will provide affected workers with a full array of dislocated worker services that may include skills assessment, individual career counseling, career and occupational skills training, and relocation assistance.
Between July 1 and December 31, 2007, California experienced large worker dislocations as a result of more than 40 mortgage industry employers filing Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notices.
National Emergency Grants are part of the secretary of labor's discretionary fund and are awarded based on a state's ability to meet specific guidelines. For more information on National Emergency Grants, visit www.doleta.gov/NEG.
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Corporate Email Use Ruling
A sharply divided National Labor Relations Board(NLRB) ruled by a vote of 3-2 that employers may prohibit employee use of company email systems for non-work solicitation, including union-related solicitations.
The Guard Publishing Company. The NRLB went on to rule that a company’s policy discriminates against union-related communications only if the policy, as stated or as applied, bars or restricts union organizing communications differently than other communications.
Comment: This long-awaited decision is good news for employers in this unsettled area of the law. Employers are assured that they can implement (or continue using) even-handed policies prohibiting solicitation or other non-work communications by their employees. Attorney Ronald J. Souza (Lynch, Gilardi & Grummer - San Francisco, CA)
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New Federal Posting Requirement
(February 27, 2008) The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has added a posting requirement to notify employees of recent changes to the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that provide additional leave rights to military personnel and their families.
The new federally required posting must appear next to the 2008 California and federal employment poster immediately. This is an addendum and should not be posted over the current FMLA posting. Failure to post the notice could result in fines and penalties.
The amendments to the federal FMLA went into effect on January 28. There are two major changes to the law. Because of these amendments, companies may have to provide as much as 12 weeks of leave for an employee whose family member will be on active duty, and as much as 26 weeks of leave for an employee to care for a family member who has been injured in the line of duty.
FMLA may be used to care for:
- A newborn child or if a child is placed with your employee for adoption or foster care.
- The spouse, child or parent of your employee, if the spouse, child or parent has a serious health condition.
- A serious health condition of the employee that means he/she is unable to perform the functions of the position.
New Reason for Leave
The amendment adds a reason for leave under FMLA for 'any qualifying exigency (to be determined by regulations) arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter or parent of an employee is on active duty or notified of impending call or order to active duty in the armed forces in support of a contingency operation.'
Because the amended FMLA is a new law, regulations are not yet in place to implement it. If a business has an employee who may be eligible for leave under one of these provisions, consult with legal counsel.
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Small Business Tax Workshop Lesson 1
As a business owner you may be required to get a Federal Employer Identification Number or EIN. The EIN identifies tax returns filed with the IRS. If you don't have an EIN you need to get one if you: pay wages to employees, have a self-employed retirement plan, operate your business as a corporation or partnership, or are required to file any of these tax returns, employment, excise, fiduciary, or alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. If you're a sole proprietor with no employees and don't meet any of these requirements you don't need an EIN for dealing with the IRS. But you may need one for dealing with other businesses including banks that require an EIN to set up business accounts.
The IRS will give you an EIN even if you don't need it for IRS purposes. Let's look at the application process.The easiest and fastest way to get an EIN is online.
Just go to irs.gov, complete the form, you'll get your EIN within minutes. While the IRS calls this a provisional EIN, the IEIN is actually the permanent federal employer identification number for your business.This IEIN may be cancelled if, the name and social security number of the principle officer do not match the social security administration records or your business already has an EIN.
Look for Lesson 2 in April's e-Newsletter.
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WineCountryHR - HR Roundtable
WineCountryHR - HR roundtable is a group comprised of HR professionals. The purpose is to keep updated on current laws and issues in the area of Human Resources.
Lunch meetings are the second Thursday of every month at 12:30PM:
September: Compadres Rio Grille - 505 Lincoln Avenue
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Required workplace posting: http://www.dir.ca.gov/WP.asp
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