President Obama signed a FMLA coverage extension for Military Families on October 28, 2009. The 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) extends FMLA exigency leave coverage to both active duty members of Armed Forces, Reserves and National Guard, and family members of active members of the Armed Forces, Reserves and National Guard. The FMLA provides 26 weeks of leave and is only for employers with 50 or more employees. This new laws covers FMLA caregiver leave for up to five years after the veteran ends active duty. Qualify exigencies are the following:
1. Short-notice deployment
2. Military event and related activities
Posted 3 months, 3 weeks ago at 5:52 am. Add a comment
President Obama approved the extension of Unemployment Benefits an extra 14 weeks of benefits in states with unemployment rates less than 8.5% and an extra 20 weeks in states with unemployment rates above 8.5%. Any individual whose benefits have expired will be eligible to re-apply for the additional benefits.
Click here to check the current unemployment rate in your state.
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Posted 3 months, 4 weeks ago at 12:39 pm. Add a comment
The shocking reality: Diabetes is the 5th largest killer disease and there is no cure. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), nearly 8% of the U.S. population (23.6 million people) have diabetes.
The most startling statistic is that about 5.7 million of those people who have diabetes are completely unaware of it and have not been diagnosed.
For more information on what you can do please visit the Diabetes.org website.
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Posted 4 months, 1 week ago at 12:23 pm. Add a comment
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that many employers mistakenly (and sometimes not so mistakenly) violate. From the miscalculation of overtime payment, mis-classifying non-exempt employees, expecting employees to work off the clock, to improper record keeping, more and more employees are challenging employers in court and the Department of Labor is cracking down on violators.
Employers must keep certain records for each non-exempt (hourly) employee. The law requires this information be accurate on all current AND past employees.
Here is the Checklist the DOL uses to audit YOUR files!
1. Employee’s full name and social security number.
This is a preview of
Mandatory FLSA Recording Keeping for ALL employers!
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Read the full post (221 words, 1 image, estimated 53 secs reading time) Posted 4 months, 1 week ago at 5:39 pm. Add a comment
Congratulations to the winners of the 2009 Luna Awards! This coveted award is for women who provide services to the construction industry. The Regional Hispanic Contractors Association had their annual award luncheon on October 15th at the beautiful Omni Mandalay Hotel in Las Colinas, Texas.
Di Ann Sanchez and her client, Mary Longoria owner of Pink Ribbon Cleaning Service were both nominated in the “Established Service” firm category.
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Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago at 7:50 pm. Add a comment
The U.S. Department of Labor plans increased enforcement of small-to-medium sized businesses after the September 2009 release of a 72-page report documenting what some call “rampant” violations of wage-and-hour laws by employers.
Martha Neil of the ABA Journal writes,
It [US DOL] is hiring 250 additional investigators to pursue claimed widespread practices by numerous employers of not paying the required minimum wage, not paying required overtime, and not allowing workers to take required breaks.
Posted 5 months ago at 5:51 pm. Add a comment
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) interprets the definition of a disability more broadly and expands the definition of “major life activities”. To learn more click here: Long-Awaited Proposed ADA Regulations Issued by the EEOC
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Posted 5 months, 1 week ago at 3:48 pm. Add a comment
Independent contractor issue heats up!
According to Andrew McIlvaine,
“desperate for revenue, state and federal officials are increasingly looking at the potential mis-classification of employees as independent contractors.”
Click here to read the entire article.
Here is the checklist the IRS Uses to audit for independent contractors:
Behavioral Control/Instructions -
1) Telling how, when, or where to do work.
2) Telling what tools or equipment to use.
3) Telling what assistants to hire to help with the work.
4) Evaluation systems of independent contractors.
5) Telling where to purchase supplies and services.
Posted 6 months, 1 week ago at 5:38 pm. Add a comment
DAS HR Consulting, LLC wants all employers to be aware of the following compliance deadlines:
9/08/09 E-Verify:
Rule requiring all federal contractors to use the federal government’s E-Verify employment eligibility system. This is Executive Order 13464 mandating electronic verification of all employees working on any federal contracts awarded after 9/8/09 that includes the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation) and E-Verify Clause (73 FR 67704). The Department of Homeland Security has free webinars on their website regarding compliance with E-Verify.
9/30/09 VETS-100A Report:
By this date, federal contractors must file the VETS-100A Report for government contracts of $100,000 or more that were entered into, or modified, on or after Dec. 1, 2003, as well as the VETS-100 Report for any unmodified government contracts of $25,000 or more that were entered into prior to Dec. 1, 2003.
9/30/09 EEO-1 Report:
By this date, employers with federal government contracts of $50,000 or more and 50 or more employees and employers that do not have a federal government contract but have 100 or more employees must file an EEO-1 report with the EEOC.
10/09/09 Health insurance:
Michelle’s Law goes into effect on this date and amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to allow seriously ill or injured college students to take up to one year of medical leave without losing their health insurance.
11/21/09 GINA:
The employment provisions of GINA (Title II) takes effect with 15 or more employees. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act protects an employee from an employer requesting, requiring or purchasing genetic information with respect to an employee or family member of an employee.
1/1/10 Health insurance:
Mental health parity provisions are effective for calendar-year plans. This law requires parity of mental health benefits with medical benefits annual dollar, lifetime limits, co-pays, deductibles etc.
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Posted 6 months, 1 week ago at 6:58 pm. Add a comment
