I-9 Compliance in 2012: What Companies Need to Know
The Form I-9 will pose additional problems in 2012, are you ready? In the last few years, the federal government has initiated I-9 audits with increased vigor as a result of both substantially increased funding and public debate about illegal immigration. The audits continue to include companies of all sizes across industries and geographic areas with a continued focus on so-called crucial infrastructure companies (transportation, food, energy, chemical production, among others). These audits should cause companies of all sizes and across the entire United States to review and re-think their I-9 compliance strategies.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
What HR Topics Will You Be Watching in 2012
2012 will pose extreme issues for employers and employees. As we close the books on 2011, many businesses are looking at strategies and tactics for the new year. Given recent waves of market uncertainty, this year poses a unique challenge for decision-makers and C-level executives. While there are numerous financial considerations ranging from healthcare compliance to tepid consumer confidence, human resource managers have been forced to align their practices with the evolving global economy.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Are Employers Aware of Injuries at the Workplace?
Labor Law Violations Affecting Restaurant Workers
Restaurant workers are being affected by labor laws. If you’ve ever worked as a server at a restaurant, then you know what a slow shift is like. After eight hours on the floor, you only help a handful of tables, and some are inevitably bad tippers. Your base hourly wage probably doesn’t exceed $2.13, and so you end up receiving compensation below the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Has Your Company Adopted A Formal Separation Process With Employees?
Company’s should not separate employees from the organization without good reasons. If you are terminating someone and they feel dis-respected they will feel angry. If they feel like they have been mistreated they will look for something to file a lawsuit on. And if you have not been incompliance in wage and hour, or EEO matters, or safety or a myriad of other things that is what they will hang their hat on.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
What is Form I-9 and What is the Importance of I-9 Compliance?
How compliant is your company with the Form I-9 requirements? Since 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) has mandated the use of a Form I-9 by all U.S. employers. This form is used for employment eligibility verification of all newly hired employees – both citizen and non-citizen – and must be completed within three business days of employment.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Human Resources Diamond in the Rough – Exit Interviews
Does your company have an internal process for speaking with employees leaving the organization? Those exit interviews are diamonds in the rough for Human Resources. They’re your best–and last–chance to capture actionable, honest and critical feedback from a departing employee. In this article, I’ll present an argument for this undervalued stage in talent management, and highlight the three components of an ideal offboarding strategy.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Have You Scheduled A Review Of Your Employment Practices For 2012?
There are significant changes to employment practices for 2012, are you ready? The Wage and Hour Division expects to conduct an additional 3,250 investigations in 2012, which will mainly target industries with higher rates of violations. These industries are construction, child care, home health care, grocery stores, janitorial businesses, poultry and meat processing, business services and landscaping.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
The DOL Has Recruited Allied States To Reduce Worker Misclassification
Company’s should audit their agreements on exempt employees and independent contractors to address any misclassification issues. On December 5, 2011, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the improper classification of employees as independent contractors.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Severance Agreements?
Company’s should take a hard look before their offer departing employees severance agreements. Some employers pay employees a lump sum at the end of their tenure in order to tide them over until they find a new job, and never enter into a contractual agreement with them. This is perfectly legal, but it should be seen as a gift and nothing more.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Businesses Should Leave I-9 Audits To The Professionals
Company’s should audit their Form I-9’s annually, with a trained internal employee or an outside professional organization. One of the most common questions for employers under the Alabama Immigration Law is “how can I show a good faith belief my current workers are legal?” This question comes often as cities, counties and state agencies begin to send out letters to those who do business with them and are being asked to sign an E-Verify Affidavit of Compliance.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Review Your Hiring Practices Because The EEOC Will Be
The EEOC is focusing on failure to hire. In late September, it sued sporting goods retailer Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC, alleging that it engaged in a pattern or practice of failing to hire African American and Hispanic applicants for jobs in its retail stores nationwide. The lawsuit also alleges that Bass Pro unlawfully destroyed or failed to keep records and documents related to employment applications and internal discrimination complaints and punished employees who opposed its unlawful practices.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Form I-9 Errors Will be Costly for Violators
Errors completing the Form I-9 will be expensive for violating companies. Internal I-9 Audits should be in writing, and should involve not only correction of errors, but also updates in policies and procedures and training, to ensure good corrections and prevention of future errors. Audits should be conducted by quailed, well trained, impartial auditors who are able to review I-9 from the point of view of preparing the employer to defend itself from DHS.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
The Majority of Colorado Businesses Not Verifying Employees Eligibility
Colorado businesses has a responsibility to verify employees eligibility. More than half of Colorado businesses have failed to comply with a state law that requires them to verify that new employees are in the country legally, according to an audit released earlier this week.
Auditors found that the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment is not doing enough to assure compliance with the law, adopted during a 2006 special session of the General Assembly focusing on illegal immigration.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
What Role Should Employers Play About Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Sexual harassment awareness in the workplace plays a critical role. Sexual harassment in the workplace has long been illegal. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of1964 classifies sexual harassment as discrimination. The specific definition is “unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment.”
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Employee Misclassification has the Department of Labor Teaming With the IRS
Because of employee misclassification the Department of Labor and the IRS find the need to collaborate. Independent contractors are ineligible for minimum wage and overtime pay, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and social security benefits. And, the government does not collect employment taxes on compensation paid to independent contractors. Therefore, if an employee is misclassified as an independent contractor, he or she loses out on valuable protections and the government loses out on substantial tax revenues.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
Do You Know How to Protect your Business From Workplace Retaliation Claims?
Workplace Retaliation Claims can be extremely expensive to the organization if not handled correctly. “We are certainly seeing an uptick in retaliation claims filed by current and former employees,” says Nicole Gray, an attorney in the Labor and Employment Practice Group at McDonald Hopkins. “Recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court that have expanded the rights of employees who complain about retaliation, energetic enforcement by federal agencies, and increased public awareness are all factors that could explain why retaliation claims are becoming more frequent.”
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
How to avoid FLSA Class Action Lawsuits
Does your organization know the difference between the employee classifications? Many companies don’t understand when to properly classify employees as exempt versus non-exempt, and consequently whether to pay overtime. Most think all you have to do to avoid paying overtime is make an agreement with the employee to pay them on a salary basis. While a salary basis test is part of the requirement to make an employee exempt from overtime, that is just a small part of the analysis. Startups are particularly susceptible to this, as staffing is constantly in flux, employees work long hours, and entrepreneurs are still learning the ropes as they go.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
What Role are you Asking your HR Department to Play?
Companies Be aware of Mistakes That Make Compliance Efforts Fail
The federal government plays a tremendous role in how a business must operate so be aware. For as much time and effort is spent at most enterprise and government organizations in complying with regulatory and standards body mandates, an awful lot of security firms can’t seem to get compliance right. A study earlier this year showed that half of organizations have failed an audit, and 75 percent were not sure they’d pass their audits in the future.
W. Garnett & Associates
Human Capital Management
1-303-658-9342
