Summer Greetings!!

It's summer in the city and we all need a little time to "re-create." This newsletter will be a bit shorter than usual because I am trying to take my own advice and take time away to recharge my batteries.

Now that summer is in full swing, many of your employees and even YOU, will be taking some time off to rest and refresh. Before the vacation, we feel excited and look forward to taking time to be away from work. At the end of the vacation, or maybe even a few days before, the feeling of dread comes over us - how much work will be waiting when we get back to our desk? How much mail and e-mail will have accumulated?

Our main article this month may help you deal with those feelings and manage your return in such a way that you can keep that good vacation feeling. Feel free to share the article with your employees and give them a head start on retaining that positive vacation glow.

Before we go to our main article, however, there are a couple of important notices for you to pay attention to:

BREAKING NEWS! IRS Raises Mileage Rates July 1, 2008

If you are an employer who requires employees to drive their personal vehicles for business purposes and you have a mileage reimbursement policy in place, you may want to consider this latest increase by the IRS. If you don't have a policy in place and wish to know more, contact margaret@mjms.net. According to the IRS regulations, "Business mileage rates are set based on the fixed and variable costs of operating a vehicle, while medical/moving rates are based on variable costs only." Here is a breakdown of the specific cost components in each: Fixed costs include: depreciation (or lease payments), insurance, registration and license fees and personal property taxes.   Variable costs include: gasoline and all taxes thereon, oil, tires, routine maintenance and repairs. People often assume that gasoline prices are the major factor in any mileage rate, but as you can see from this breakdown, that is not necessarily the case. As it relates to the current cost of gasoline, the IRS sets mileage rates once a year, generally at the end of the year. The rates for the current year were set in November 2007 and became effective January 1, 2008. So it came as a surprise that the IRS agreed to raising the mileage rates it controls by 8 cents at the mid-year point. While this is not unprecedented, a mid-year increase has only happened once in the past 11 years and that was in response to Hurricane Katrina. 'Rising gas prices are having a major impact on individual Americans. Given the increase in prices, the IRS is adjusting the standard mileage rates to better reflect the real cost of operating an automobile," said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman in a written statement. "We want the reimbursement rate to be fair to taxpayers." In the last month or so, members of Congress and industry groups started pressuring the IRS to raise the rates. And on Tuesday, June 24, some of those requests were granted. The rate will increase to 58.5 cents a mile for all business miles driven from July 1 through Dec. 31. That's up 8 cents from the 50.5 cent rate in effect for the first six months of 2008, the IRS said. The new six-month rate for computing deductible medical or moving expenses will also increase by 8 cents to 27 cents a mile, up from 19 cents for the first six months of 2008. The rate for providing services for charitable organizations is set by statute, not the IRS, and remains at 14 cents a mile, the IRS said. By SHANNON BUGGS Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

And, our second notice of importance ....

President Signs Executive Order Requiring All Federal Contractors to Use E-Verify If you have any federal contracts, this is important information for you. President George W. Bush recently signed an Executive Order requiring all federal government contractors to use E-Verify to confirm the employment authorization of new hires and persons assigned to perform work on future federal contracts. E-Verify is the Internet-based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration to electronically verify employment eligibility of newly hired employees. The June 6 order amends Executive Order 12989 (1996) to "promote economy and efficiency in Federal Government procurement." According to the amended Executive Order, "contractors that employ illegal aliens cannot rely on the continuing availability and service of those illegal workers, and will inevitably have a less stable and less dependable workforce." The specific language of the amended Executive Order requires all federal agencies and departments that enter into contracts to require, as a condition of each contract, that the contractor agree to use an electronic employment eligibility verification system (E-Verify). This applies to: All persons hired during the contract term by the contractor to perform employment duties within the United States   All persons assigned by the contractor to perform work within the United States on the federal contract. The amended Executive Order directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue rules and regulations to implement the requirements. According to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, the implementing rule (which would amend existing Federal Acquisition Regulations) is being sent to the Federal Register for publication. This will be followed by a 60-day public comment period. Secretary Chertoff indicated the new system could be up and running later this year. The original Executive Order 12989 provided for debarment of federal contractors whenever the Attorney General made a determination that a contractor had violated the Immigration and Nationality Act's employment verification provisions. The regulations implementing the amended Executive Order will be updated and will presumably make the debarment penalty applicable to federal contractors that fail to use E-Verify. Secretary Chertoff declined to comment on whether subcontractors will also be required to use E-Verify, but it is likely that such a requirement will be specified in the forthcoming regulations. While some observers have expressed concerns with the accuracy of E-Verify, Secretary Chertoff claims that the system is a "tremendous success," with approximately 1,000 new employers signing up to use the program each week. At yesterday's press conference, Secretary Chertoff stated that the system can handle the increase in participation prompted by the amended Executive Order, which could affect "hundreds of thousands of employees and perhaps as many as one million workers" depending on "the number of government contracts over the next few years."   (c) OGLETREE, DEAKINS, NASH, SMOAK & STEWART, P.C.

Now let's talk about summer vacations ...and returning to work!