By: Jeffrey A. Risch and Sara Stertz, SmithAmundsen, LLC
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made it clear that they are here to stay. In April 2009, ICE announced their new workforce enhancement strategy. Since then, they have announced I-9 audits in July of 654 businesses and on November 19, 2009 another 1,000 business were served with I-9 audit notices. It is clear that ICE is not going away and is, in fact, increasing their workplace enforcement efforts.
Happy Thanksgiving from the entire Illinois Chamber of Commerce!
By: Jeffrey A. Risch and Rebecca L. Dobbs, SmithAmundsen LLC
Back in May of 2008, President Bush signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act into law. Along with imposing obligations on health insurance companies, the Act also imposes various obligations on employers. Notably, the Act’s provisions have amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, HIPAA and ERISA. Some of the primary obligations on Employers under the Act are as follows:
Jay Shattuck, Shattuck & Associates
IDES will be issuing a proposed rule later this month to clarify implementation of legislative changes made this summer to Section 601 of the Unemployment Insurance Act. The Illinois Chamber had insisted in the agency developing rules to help employers and unemployed workers better understand when situations qualify as “voluntary quits” and therefore ineligibility for unemployment insurance benefits.
Sarah Frye, Manager of Legislative Relations, Illinois Chamber
Last month’s workers’ compensation conference brought together over 250 attendees to hear and learn about how employers can cope with current law and what employers need to do to help generate change to current law that leads to a more efficient and less costly system.
Chamber CEO Doug Whitley provided insight as to what employers all across the state are relating to him about how Illinois workers’ compensation costs are hindering economic opportunity in our state. ELC Executive Director Jay Shattuck cited studies and reports that indicate Illinois workers’ compensation costs are much higher than our surrounding states and 11th highest in the country according to the Oregon Department of Commerce and Business Services. There was an excellent cadre of speakers who provided important and informative ideas to attendees.
Every week, Illinois courts and the Workers’ Compensation Commission make decisions affecting how employers manage their workforce and their workers’ compensation costs. The conference was an outstanding kickoff to help Illinois employers become more proactive to lower their costs and engage policy makers to change how workers’ compensation is implemented in Illinois. For the document “Making the Case for Workers’ Compensation Reform in Illinois” contact Jay Shattuck at jaydeeshattuck@att.net or by phone at 217-544-6590.
This article appeared in the Chamber’s monthly Employment Law Update. To read the full update, click here.
OSHA has issued fact sheets for employers and employees to promote safety during the current H1N1 influenza outbreak. The fact sheets inform employers and workers about ways to reduce the risk of exposure to the virus at work. There are separate fact sheets for health care workers who require close contact with H1N1 patients.
Q. Can we give our employees comp time when they work over 40 hours in a week instead of paying overtime?
A. Comp time is only permitted when it occurs in the same workweek. For example, if a non-exempt employee works 10 hours a day Monday - Thursday, it would be perfectly fine for the employer to pay their employee for 40 hours and have the employee take Friday off, thus avoiding the overtime. When employers get into trouble is when they log these extra hours for future use. Non-exempt employees who work above 40 hours in a workweek must be compensated at a time-and-a-half rate for all hours over 40 in the period in which it is earned.
The U.S. Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revealed the preliminary top 10 most-frequent workplace safety violations for 2009 as part of a presentation at the NSC’s annual Congress & Expo. The number of top 10 violations has increased almost 30 percent over the same time period in 2008.
“We appreciate our colleagues at OSHA presenting their new violation data to such a receptive audience,” said National Safety Council President and CEO Janet Froetscher. “The sheer number of violations gives us new resolve in raising awareness about the importance of having sounds safety procedures.”
The workplace violations are:
By: Elizabeth Garlovsky, Partner and Rebecca Dobbs, Attorney, SmithAmundsen LLC
Many employees utilize tax-deferred vehicles to save for retirement. Few would disagree that the current stock market and interest rate environment has wreaked havoc on their retirement plans. For some this means retirement may have to be put off until a recovery is made in order to recoup enough assets to maintain a desired lifestyle in retirement. Many of these people, however, overlook another extremely important piece of the puzzle when it comes to planning for retirement; they have no idea who will inherit the balances in their accounts when they die.
For those who plan to leave a legacy or whose loved ones are relying on the retirement assets to last for more than one lifetime, it is more important now than ever to take another look at who stands to benefit from the death of the account owner or plan participant. The first place to look is the beneficiary designations associated with these accounts or plans.
By: Julie A. Proscia, SmithAmundsen LLC
On October 29, 2009 President Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2647). The new law includes an expansion of the recently-enacted exigency and caregiver leave provisions for military families under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).
In January 2008, Congress amended the FMLA to provide:
These provisions are effective upon enactment. In other words, employers must once again revise, update and modify their FMLA policies and practices.
If you have any questions regarding the legislation, your responsibilities, and/or how it affects your business, please contact SmithAmundsen Attorney Julie Proscia at jproscia@salawus.com, or at (630) 587-7911.
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