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| HR and the Law in the News September 2009, Volume 8, Issue 9 |
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| HR and the Law in the News September 2009, Volume 8, Issue 9 |
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Government Regulation - Here it Comes: Are You Ready? It's that time of year again! September 30th has historically marked the time by which certain employers have had to file EEO-1 and/or VETS-100 reports. This year, certain employers get two more mandates: VETS-100A reports and employment verification using E-Verify! Let's try a brief recap of each, one at a time. EEO-1 Who must file?
What gets reported and when? The employer records a snapshot, so to speak, taken in any pay period in the month of July through September, of the employees in its workforce by gender and one of nine racial categories within each of ten job classifications, all defined in the EEO-1 report. The report is filed online by September 30th of each year. How is that data collected? The federal regulations urge employers to obtain this information through employees' voluntary self-identification rather than relying upon the employer's visual survey of its workforce. The form, however, must clearly convey to employees that self-identification is voluntary. Click here for more information. VETS-100 & 100A Who must file? Now this gets a little tricky. This is the first year that covered employers will have to determine which report to file, if not both; the VETS-100A is a new report.
What gets reported and when? A similar snapshot as described above but with regard to employees' status as a covered veteran as defined in the current VETS-100 and VETS-100 reports. The report is filed online by September 30th of each year. How is that data collected? Same as above but in the case of being a covered Veteran, the employer likely cannot make a reasonable assessment based on visual observation. For more information click here. E-Verify After multiple delays and the filing of a lawsuit to block implementation of the regulations, it appears the E-Verify regulations for government contractors will go into effect September 8, 2009. Who Must Use E-Verify? Generally, an employer who is awarded a federal contract after September 8, 2009 that is above $100,000 ($3,000 for covered subcontracts) and has a performance period of more than 120 days must use E-Verify. A covered employer then has 30 days from the date of the covered contract to enroll with E-Verify and then 90 days from the date of enrollment to begin verification inquiries. Covered contracts will include language that indicates the employer must comply with this requirement. Click here for more information. Note #1: Watch your state laws too. No less than 11 states have already passed laws requiring the use of E-Verify in some form. Note #2: Litigation continues. On August 25th the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Associated Builders and Contractors, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and the HR Policy Association and held that the E-Verify regulations do not violate federal law and can be enforced. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (or other named plaintiffs) may, however, still file an appeal. Hot Hits!! Education Corner September's Public Seminars & Presentations presented by Christine V. Walters, MAS, JD, SPHR Wednesday, September 16th, "Personnel Policies and Employee Handbooks" presented for the HR Association of Southern Maryland, Hughesville, MD 9:00 a.m. - Noon. Thursday, September 17th, "Federal Update" and "Maryland Legislative Update" presented during the Cumberland Valley SHRM Chapter's Annual Employment Law & Legislative Conference, Hagerstown, MD, 7:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 22nd, "Legislative & Regulatory Update" presented during the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce's HR Conference, Westminster, MD, 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. SNEAK PEEK! Wednesday, October 21st, "From Hello to Goodbye: Managing Positive Employee Relations" a full-day seminar sponsored and presented by FiveL Company, Owings Mills, MD, 8:00 - 4:30. This program has been pre-approved by HRCI for 6.5 general credit hours! NEXT WEBCAST! "Tweeting, Chatting & Social Networking: Employer Benefits and Pitfalls" September 23rd, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. EST Click here to register or for more information.
Did You Miss the August Webcast? REMEMBER! EFFECTIVE AUGUST 2009!!! FiveL Company's webcasts that are archived in and after 08/09 are now eligible for continuing education credits through HRCI ! Once Again - Not Just Your Average Speaker! For the 6th year, Ms. Walters again presented at the annual conference of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in June 2009. This year's topic was, "To Pay or Not to Pay: The Latest News in Wage & Hour Administration." The average, overall rating for all speakers was 4.42. What was Ms. Walters' rating? From an audience of nearly 200 attendees, she received an overall average rating of 4.64! Do you belong to a professional or trade association that is looking for a dynamic and engaging speaker? Call FiveL Today! Happy 7th Anniversary! Wow! Time does fly. September will mark FiveL Company's 7th Anniversary. In the last year, FiveL Company has:
Special thanks to each and every reader for your continued interest and support! Question of the Month Two clients asked this question this month so I thought it might be of interest. Q: If we had an employee sign an authorization for a background check (consumer report) along with their employment application, can we run another check now, a year or more later, without having the employee sign a new authorization? A: Of course, it depends! If you are obtaining these reports from a 3rd party vendor (consumer reporting agency) then you are covered under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which specifies the language a proper authorization must contain. While the FCRA does not expressly address the question above, the Federal Trade Commission has issued an opinion letter (8/5/98) indicating that the use of "blanket" authorizations for obtaining consumer reports is permitted under the FCRA; so you may obtain a consumer report later in the employment relationship without having the employee sign a new authorization. Note that different procedures may apply for consumer investigative reports. TIP: The authorization form is not valid if it is printed on the same form as the employment application. The FCRA requires that the notice and authorization be "in a document consisting solely of this notice." Follow Me! Want the very latest in HR news? Why wait for the monthly newsletter? Get the latest alerts of legislative and regulatory developments as well as events that STP/ATP (Support the Professional & Advance the Profession)! Follow Ms. Walters on Twitter; it's free! Spotlight! Christine M. Eichler, HR Manager for the PDP Group, Inc. recently rated FiveL Company's training program "HR & the Law for Managers" as "Excellent" and wrote, "The feedback I received from my management team was positive. I wouldn't hesitate to have [FiveL] conduct more training for us." Thank YOU Christine! Are you planning your 2010 training schedule? Looking for interactive training programs for your management team members? Contact FiveL Company for a list of popular training programs, descriptions and pricing. |
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