American Staffing Association (01/04/12) Malara, Toby

In 2011, the Obama administration and Congress worked to score political points before a crucial election year. Some key policy decisions from Congress and the White house in 2011 that could have an effect on staffing firms relate to the areas of unemployment insurance reform, union rules, employers’ use of criminal background checks, immigration and customs enforcement, worker misclassification, and employer tax credits.

Faced with an angry electorate and uncertain political futures, the Obama administration and Congress worked to score political points before a crucial election year—in 2012, control of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Senate, and the presidency will all be up for grabs.

These are some key policy decisions from Congress and the White house in 2011 that could have an effect on staffing firms. UI Reform: Congress and the Administration—Congress’s attempt at unemployment insurance reform stalled, but with defeat came a victory for employers.

American Staffing Association (01/04/12) Lenz, Ed

California Labor Code requires that certain wage and other information be provided to each employee at the time of hire in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information. Any changes in such information must be provided within seven days of the changes unless such changes are reflected on a timely wage statement. The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement issued a notice form that employers can use to comply with the new law. However, the DSLE form is problematic for temporary staffing firms.

Effective Jan. 1, 2012, California Labor Code section 2810.5(a) requires that certain wage and other information be provided to each employee at the time of hire in the language the employer normally uses to communicate employment-related information. Any changes in such information must be provided within seven days of the changes unless such changes are reflected on a timely wage statement.

The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement issued a notice form that employers can use to comply with the new law. However, the DSLE form is problematic for temporary staffing firms because it says a “work site employer” that uses another business, such as a “temporary services agency” or PEO, should provide the wage information “for the other business.” This suggests that temporary staffing firm clients would have to provide the notice to the staffing firm’s employees (and does not rule out the possibility that both the staffing firm and the client must provide the notice). Although temporary staffing firm clients may be co-employers for some purposes, they do not hire the firm’s employees—the staffing firm hires them, generally when it completes the I-9 form. Moreover, clients are not the employer of record for the payment of wages to the staffing firm’s employees and would have no way of knowing a temporary job applicant’s potential rate or rates of pay. Nor do they provide workers’ compensation coverage to the staffing firm’s employees. Therefore, the client should have no obligation to provide the notice of wages and workers’ compensation information to staffing firm employees.

Nashville Public Radio (01/03/12) George, Bradley

An increasing number of Tennessee businesses are using E-Verify, the federal online database that checks if someone is in the U.S. legally. In 2007, about 400 Tennessee businesses used it, while today, more than 4,000 are signed up. Increased auditing of employment records by the federal government is one reason for the increase, as is the fact that states surrounding Tennessee have passed laws requiring employers to check their workers’ immigration status.

Jeff Bates of TA Staffing says his firm has been using E-Verify since it started, and calls it a selling point when he is recruiting businesses to hire his temporary workers. “You know, if 10 people are walking in the door and applying each day and they’re not eligible for employment in the U.S.,” says Bates, “then why are they wasting their time with those 10 candidates?”

Out of every 500 names he runs through E-Verify, Bates says only one will come back as being in the country illegally. E-Verify use is still optional in Tennessee, but state legislators will push next year to make its use mandatory. The Tennessee chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business says reviews are mixed, with some business owners liking it, while others find it too time consuming. The group also notes it can be a challenge for businesses in rural areas.

Seyfarth Shaw (01/04/12)

The National Labor Relations Board has announced that it has again postponed implementation of its published rule requiring private sector employers subject to the National Labor Relations Act to post an official notice informing employees of their rights under the NLRA, and penalizing employers for non-compliance.

The NLRB decided to postpone implementation as a result of a request made by Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court in connection with a consolidated lawsuit brought by the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. which alleges that the NLRB does not have statutory authority to implement such a rule. The NLRB had already postponed implementation until Jan. 31 because of the litigation.

American Staffing Association (01/04/12) Dwyer, Stephen

Connecticut’s paid sick leave law went into effect Jan. 1. The law requires certain employers to provide paid sick leave to service employees. “Day or temporary workers” are excluded from the law, however.

The law defines a day or temporary worker as an individual who performs work for another on a per diem basis, or on an occasional or irregular basis for only the time required to complete such work, whether such individual is paid by the person for whom such work is performed or by an employment agency or temporary help service.

Under the new law, hourly service workers, such as waiters, cashiers, fast food chefs, and others, will earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours that they work, up to a maximum of 40 hours of paid sick leave a year. It is estimated that 200,000 to 400,000 workers will be covered under the law.

The law applies only to businesses with 50 or more employees. Along with day or temporary workers, the bill excludes manufacturing companies, nationally chartered nonprofit organizations, and independent contractors.

Connecticut joins the District of Columbia and San Francisco as the only U.S. jurisdictions to impose a paid sick leave mandate on employers.