Change Is Here ... for us and also for some HR laws!

Yes there are a few changes you must know about and that is what I am talking about first this month. There are new minimum wages in some states, new immigration laws, new family and military leave laws, a new disabilities law and new forms! It is all covered in this issue.

Employee morale is also very important to maintain throughout all the changes that are happening, both good and bad! My feature article shows you some ways to do this without spending a lot of money. Some of the ideas presented can even help your employees save on their personal gas and food expense! Don't miss it!

I have skipped my quiz this month. The new laws will substitute for my usual mind exercises.

Here are the new laws:

New State Minimum Wages as of January 1, 2009 The hourly minimum wage in the eleven states below increased effective January 1, 2009. The federal minimum wage, currently $6.55 per hour, is scheduled to increase on July 24, 2009, to $7.25 per hour. In cases where an employee is subject to both state and federal minimum wage laws, the employee is entitled to the higher wage rate.

Arizona – $7.25 Colorado – $7.28 Connecticut – $8.00 Florida – $7.21 Missouri – $7.05 Montana – $6.90

New Mexico – $7.50 Ohio – $7.30 Oregon – $8.40 Vermont – $8.06 Washington –$8.55

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Effective January 1, 2009, The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) redefines who is considered "disabled" under the ADA and thus leads to a potentially larger number of "disabled" employees seeking accommodations and of those who may claim they were "regarded as" disabled in unfair treatment claims. (Note: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to businesses with 15 or more employees.) Highlights include:

• Covered Individuals
  The number of individuals covered by the ADA will increase including those with:
  • Conditions corrected by medication (i.e. diabetes, epilepsy),
  • Conditions currently in remission, and
  • Conditions that are episodic.


• Reasonable Accommodation and the Interactive Process.
  • Make sure job descriptions are current and relevant,
  • Maintain an on-going dialogue with employees who may have a disability that needs to be accommodated, and
  • Document any evidence and / or discussion about potentially providing reasonable accommodation.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Effective January 16, 2009, new federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations make some significant changes to the interpretation of the Act.

The new rules serve two main purposes: (1) to provide clarity on several long-standing, challenging regulations and (2) to implement new FMLA leave available to military family members. (Note: FMLA applies to businesses with 50 or more employees.) Highlights include:

• Release of FMLA Claims:
  Employers can safely include employee releases of past FMLA claims in severance and settlement agreements.

 

• Employer Notice Obligations:
  Employers are required to provide newly-hired employees with a general FMLA notice (which can be done through an Employee Handbook), an eligibility notice, a rights and responsibilities notice and a designation notice. The time period is also extended for employers to provide such notices from two business days to five business days.

 

• Employee Notice Requirements:
  An employee requesting FMLA leave must adhere to the employer's usual and customary call-in procedures for reporting an absence unless unusual circumstances exist.

 

• Medical Certification:
  There are new medical certification form requirements - one for considering an employee's own serious health condition and one for when an employee's request for leave to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

 

• Notification of Certification Deficiencies:
  If an employer determines that a medical certification is incomplete or insufficient, the employer must notify the employee in writing, state any need for additional information, and provide the employee seven days to remedy the situation.

 

• Clarification and Authentication of Medical Certification:
  In general, after giving an employee the opportunity to remedy any certification deficiencies, the employer may contact an employee's health care provider for purposes of clarification and / or authentication of the medical certification.

 

• Past Employment Eligibility:
  Employers must count an employee's non-consecutive prior service with the employer unless the break in service was generally seven years or more.

 

• Light Duty:
  Time spent performing light duty work does not count against an employee's FMLA leave entitlement. Also, if an employee is voluntarily working a light duty assignment, the employee is not considered on FMLA leave.

To prepare for the FMLA changes such as those noted above, an employer should at least:

• Update Employee Handbook policies to reflect the new requirements. Also, be sure to review your call-in procedures and any notice requirements.

 

• Update your employer response forms, medical certification forms, and new forms to be utilized under the new service member provisions (discussed further in the following section).

 

• Train all members of Management about their responsibilities to effectively address situations regarding any employee with a medical condition.

 

• In addition, the regulations create new poster and notice requirements. According to the DOL, there was a new FMLA poster available in December. Check here for a free pdf format poster: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/finalrule/fmlaposter.pdf

California employers: note that in addition to the FMLA responsibilities, you have the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), the Pregnancy Disability Leave Act (PDL) and Paid Family Leave (PFL) which will impact the way you address and monitor requests for leaves from your employees. California also has state-specific regulations around spousal military leave which impacts employers of 25 or more. The California Family Military Leave Act took effect in October of 2007.


Military Leave
In line with the 2009 FMLA changes, keep in mind the National Defense Authorization Act for 2008 (NDAA), which was signed into law on January 28, 2008. Highlights include:

• Leave Duration.
  An eligible employee may take up to 26 workweeks of leave during "a single 12-month period" to care for a seriously injured or ill service member. An employee may be eligible for Military Caregiver Leave if he or she is a spouse, child or parent of a service member or a service member's "next of kin."

 

• Multiple Leaves.
  An eligible employee may take more than one Military Caregiver Leave if the leave is to care for a different covered service member or to care for the same covered service member with a subsequent serious injury.

 

• Qualifying Exigency.
  Employers also must provide eligible family members 12 workweeks of leave for "any qualifying exigency" for events such as military events and related activities, childcare and school activities, and short-notice deployment.

 

• Qualified Employees
  Qualified exigency leave is limited to family members of reservists and retired members of the regular armed services or reserves on active duty or called to active duty status to support a contingency operation. (Note: Qualifying exigency leave is not available to family members of active service members of the regular armed forces.)

Exceptions. An eligible employee is generally entitled to a maximum of 26 weeks of Military Caregiver Leave and traditional FMLA leave in a "single 12-month period." For example, an eligible employee may, during "a single 12-month period" take 16 weeks of military caregiver leave to care for a covered service member and 10 weeks of FMLA leave to care for a newborn.

Source: NetPay Services © 2009


State Immigration Updates
Here is a quick update on some recent information on certain state activities:

• South Carolina
  State contractors with 500 or more employees must complete special verification of newly-hired employees by using DHS' E-Verify system or by reviewing a qualifying drivers' license starting January 1, 2009. South Carolina employers with 100 or more employees must perform the special verification starting July 1, 2009. The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation conducted training on the South Carolina Illegal Immigration and Reform Act in December 2008 and January 2009 across the state. /li>
   
  
• Arizona
  Perhaps the broadest of all state laws, the Legal Arizona Workers Act (LAWA) became effective on January 1, 2008, and requires all employers within the state to use E-Verify. LAWA provides for the suspension and revocation of the business licenses of Arizona employers that knowingly employ illegal immigrants and, although there is no specific penalty for the mere failure to use E-Verify, the use of E-Verify does serve to insulate the employer from sanctions. The Arizona law has withstood a court challenge and an effort to weaken the law (Proposition 202) was voted down by Arizona voters on Election Day. Thus, the broadest state E-Verify law is still valid.

 

• Mississippi
  Passed in March 2008, the Mississippi Employment Protection Act (S.B. 2988) requires employers to participate in E-Verify. On July 1, 2008, all Mississippi agencies and political subdivisions, all public contractors and private employers with 250 or more employees became subject to the E-Verify requirement. On July 1, 2009, private employers with 100 or more employees will also become subject to the requirement.

As we proceed through 2009, all employers, particularly multi-state employers, will need to be mindful of state and federal changes that impact immigration compliance requirements.

Source: Ogletree Deakins Immigration E-Authority (c) 2009

You may notice a theme here - the Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify system is becoming a star player in the employment verification process. Effective January 15, 2009, all contractors and subcontractors who work under federal contract must perform the E-Verify procedure on every new AND existing employee. If this affects your business or a business owner you know, let MJ Management Solutions, Inc. help that business comply with this new regulation. We are an authorized Designated Agent and can handle this sometimes complex and always time-consuming process for you. Call or e-mail us for more information.

That's it for laws ... now to my main article on morale!