Immigration reform legislation continues to heat up on both the state and federal fronts. In the midst of protests surrounding a new Arizona law that critics see as a license for racial profiling, a group of Democratic senators unveiled a new federal bill on April 29 that would require employers to use biometric social security cards to verify the status of new hires and hike monetary penalties for illegal hires by 300 percent.

Biometric Card

read more…

Adding momentum to federal agencies’ ongoing initiatives to crack down on employee misclassification, the U.S. House and Senate have introduced legislation intended to curtail the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. The Employee Misclassification Prevention Act, introduced April 22, would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to impose additional compliance and record-keeping requirements on employers and to specifically prohibit the misclassification of employees.

Under the Act, employers would have to provide written notice of classification to each individual hired alerting the employee (or contractor) of her particular status. Employers also would be required to keep records, similar to the work and wage records kept for employees, for each contractor hired.

read more…

This morning the Department of Labor (DOL) hosted its final two agency agenda web chat sessions, beginning with an hour-long segment hosted by the Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Deputy Administrator Nancy Leppink fielded questions and provided insight toward the Division’s current regulatory initiatives.

The agenda priorities for the Division in the Spring agenda include proposed rules on recordkeeping under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), proposed rules affecting the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and final rules related to child labor. Proposed rules on employee recordkeeping are expected to be published in August, while the proposed revisions to the FMLA rules are expected in November. Final child labor regulations, which have been in the works for some time, are expected to be published soon.

read more…

Effective May 1, 2010, smoking will be prohibited in most Michigan workplaces, restaurants, and bars.

The law, known as the “Dr. Ron Davis Law,” was signed by Governor Jennifer Granholm on December 18, 2009, and bans smoking indoors in Michigan “public places.” Under the law, “public places” are defined to include most places of employment, indoor areas owned by the state or local government, and privately owned indoor areas for general public use (e.g., educational facilities, auditoriums, arenas, and theaters). Smoking is also prohibited in food service establishments.

The law does have limited exceptions for motor vehicles in which work is conducted, home offices in which the owner/lessee doesn’t employ other workers, and certain cigar bars, tobacco shops, and casinos.

read more…

Early Tuesday morning, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) resumed its ongoing series of agency Web chats with a brief session hosted by Patricia Shiu, the director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). The OFCCP enforces the civil rights of both federal contractor employees as well as applicants for federal contractor jobs. According to the OFCCP, approximately 22 percent of the American workforce is employed by federal contractors.

Director Shiu discussed the OFCCP’s regulatory priorities for the coming year, noting that strengthening construction regulations — particularly in the area of affirmative action requirements — will be the key item on the agency’s spring agenda. The agency specifically plans to update and amend the regulations that detail affirmative action program requirements for federal construction contractors. The agency will specifically look at rules dealing with recruitment, training, and apprenticeships.

read more…

Throughout this week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) will host a series of live Web chats to discuss the regulatory agendas of the various federal agencies. The chats, which will run through Wednesday, will include details of the proposed regulatory activities of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), and other agencies.

Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)
The chats kicked off this morning with a brief session hosted by the Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS), which is the department that enforces the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA). The LMRDA establishes reporting and record-keeping requirements for employers and labor relations consultants, with the intention of ensuring that workers may make informed decisions with regard to their rights to organize and bargain collectively.

read more…

By David R. Godofsky

Yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Conkright v. Frommert rejects the “one-strike-and-you’re-out” rule, awarding a home run to Xerox as sponsor of a defined benefit pension plan.

The Conkright case arose when Frommert and other employees brought a claim for benefits. The employees contended that the method Xerox used to compute their benefits was an unreasonable interpretation of the plan and that Xerox had not given them sufficient notice of the method. The plan administrator denied their claims, and Frommert sued.

read more…

Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed the Continuing Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 4851) into law. The bill, which passed the U.S. Senate by a 59-38 vote and the U.S. House of Representatives by a 289-112 vote yesterday, extends the original federal COBRA subsidy created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The new legislation extends the subsidy to individuals who are involuntarily terminated between April 1, 2010, and May 31, 2010. Since the last COBRA subsidy extension period ended March 31, 2010, this extension applies retroactively. Congress is also considering legislation that would further extend the COBRA subsidy to the end of the year.

by Calvin Keith, Perkins Coie

For over 10 years, Oregon employers have been waiting for an answer to the question of whether they must accommodate a disabled worker’s use of medical marijuana. The Oregon Supreme Court’s April 14 decision in Emerald Steel Fabricators, Inc. v. Bureau of Labor and Industries answers that question with a resounding NO.

Emerald Steel terminated a temporary employee who, during the process of seeking permanent employment, disclosed that he used medical marijuana two to three times a day. The company said it didn’t have to accommodate a claimed disability by allowing the employee to use illegal drugs. It argued that position unsuccessfully before the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and the Oregon Court of Appeals.

read more…

The IRS recently released Form W-11, Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act Employee Affidavit. The HIRE Act (H.R. 2847), a jobs bill President Barack Obama signed into law on March 18, 2010, provides tax breaks to employers that hire unemployed workers or individuals who were working only part-time in 2010. Under the HIRE Act, qualified employers could receive a payroll tax incentive and a general business tax credit.

Under the HIRE Act, employers may be entitled to the payroll tax incentive if they hire “qualified” employees. Under one of the requirements for an employee to be “qualified,” employers must receive a signed affidavit from a new hire that she hasn’t been employed for more than 40 hours during the previous 60 days (the 60-day period ends on the date the employee starts work). Employers can use Form W-11 to satisfy this requirement, and it can be located at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw11.pdf.

read more…