December, 2007

Season's Greetings!

The holidays are already upon us - time really does move fast as I get older! I hope you all have wonder-filled days ahead and I wish you even more Prosperity in 2008.

This month's newsletter is a bit different ... our guest writer is my good friend and colleague:

Fay Feeney, Principal at Envision Strategic Group (ESG).

Fay has been working with business leaders who actively manage their business risk. This includes employee safety, OSHA programs and training, Business Continuity Plans & Ergonomics.

She is proud to introduce her new practice area working with executives and their boards on Business Greening Strategy --Helping reduce operating costs while improving the workplace and beyond. Her topic:

FIVE KEY AREAS FOR YOUR BUSINESS CONTINUITY

SROLL DOWN TO READ

Fay is a highly sought after speaker and was recently named to the 2007 Who's Who in the safety profession. She works with clients like Kingston Technology, E! Networks, The Screen Actor's Guild Health & Pension Plan and others to improve their workplace safety experience and cut costs.

Our second article is an update for The Legal Arizona Workers Act. You'll find it right after Fay's article.

BEFORE WE BEGIN ... there is some immediate news for 2008 - the IRS has announced new mileage rates.

And of course ... don't forget to take our quiz! We're quizzing you on the revised form I-9 this month. Enjoy all!

Some Immediate News For 2008!

IRS ANNOUNCES 2008 MILEAGE RATE

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced the optional standard mileage rate for 2008. The new rate is 50.5 cents per mile for all business miles driven starting January 1, 2008. During 2007, the rate was 48.5 cents per mile. "The standard mileage rate is based on the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile for business purposes," said IRS spokesperson Nancy Mathis. "The items that go into calculating the costs include maintenance, repairs, insurance, registration fees and, of course, one of the biggest variables is the price of gasoline." The new 50.5 cents standard mileage rate represents the tax deductible costs of operating an automobile for business use in 2008 if companies do not track actual costs. This rate is "optional" for other purposes, and is used by many businesses to reimburse employees for mileage (C) LawRoom

Our Quick Quiz:
On November 7, 2007, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. What deadline
did the agency set for employers to transition to the new form?

A. November 28, 2007	B. January 1, 2008
C. December 26, 2007	D. February 1, 2008

ANSWERS FOUND AT END OF NEWSLETTER

When a major disaster affects you, your financial survival depends on how well you make decisions. It's important to realize in your planning that both man-made and natural disaster preparedness must be considered. In California, we too often give our focus to earthquake preparedness, which is of course very important ... however we also must keep our eye on man-made disasters. This includes loss of business critical files due to fire, flood, power surges and outages, water damage and workplace violence.

If your business is to survive in these circumstances you should have the following key areas planned, trained and tested to ensure your prompt recovery.

1. Have an Emergency Evacuation Plan

   You and your employees will need to know how to handle an emergency if it happens during business hours. They should know how to exit, shut down and wait for instructions. This plan should have location maps with areas of assembly and protocols on how you will communicate. Test the plan before you need to rely on it.





2. Business Critical Information

   Your physical business location is down and you are not able to get into your office. How do you continue to run your business?
   Plan for this scenario by having your business critical information backed up and available off site. This can include customer information, accounts receivable, vendors you rely on for help (MJ Management Solutions, Inc., computer consultant, payroll, insurance agent, banker, accountant, bookkeeper, attorney, phone company, power company, etc.)





3. Communications

   How will you contact employees and customers? Do you have up to date contact information. Do you have a plan for who will make the calls and how they will keep these important people updated?





4. Get Back On Line

   Once you get yourself and your associates to safety you need to bring your business back on line. After an event depending on how successful you have been in securing your business you have to operate in the new environment. One of the very first things you should do is identify the basic options that are available to you.
   __Option One - You can reopen your business.
   __Option Two - You can close your business.
   __Option three - You can (try to) sell or transfer the business to someone else.





5. Resources for building your plan:
   www.123safety.com
   www.Ready.gov
   www.Microsoft.com
   www.SBA.gov
   and the Wall Street Journal announces Google's plans to offer a service allowing you to store and share your files online.
   www.WSJ.com

Fay Feeney, CSP, ARM
Principal
Envision Strategic Group
310-372-0591
www.123safety.com

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Legal Arizona Workers Act Update

Business Groups to Refile Lawsuit in Federal Court with County Attorneys as Defendants

Groups Remain Confident Legal Arizona Workers Act Will Be Declared Unconstitutional

PHOENIX (December 8, 2007) - Plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against Arizona's employer sanctions law will refile suit in federal court, this time, with Arizona's 15 county attorneys as defendants. Judge Neil Wake, in his ruling dismissing the case on Friday evening, suggested the plaintiffs specifically target the county attorneys in any further action. (The second lawsuit was filed 12/10/07.)

Despite the ruling, attorneys representing the 12 business associations challenging the Legal Arizona Workers Act remain confident that they will prevail once the technicalities are addressed and the court considers the merits of the law.

"The most important part of the decision is that Judge Wake specifically did not uphold Arizona's employer sanctions law. The Court noted that the law imposes additional costs and burdens on Arizona employers," said David Selden of Ballard Spahr and lead attorney for the plaintiffs in Arizona Contractors Association, et al. v. Napolitano.

"The decision gives every reason to believe that Judge Wake is prepared to rule that the federal E-Verify program cannot be mandated by the state and that he will do so quickly. His problem with our case is on technical grounds concerning who all of the defendants should be and the court disagreed with us that the Governor and Attorney General were sufficient. We'll refile the case shortly including the county attorneys as defendants consistent with the Court's decision," Selden continued.

"We remain confident the plaintiffs will ultimately prevail on the merits of our case and that the law will be found unconstitutional; ironically maybe even more confident after reading Judge Wake's decision," said Julie Pace, an attorney with Ballard Spahr and co-counsel for the plaintiffs.

"In addition to our refiled suit, we will seek a temporary restraining order immediately to block enforcement of the law in the interim."

The Legal Arizona Workers Act, also known as HB 2779, passed the Arizona Legislature and was signed into law in July by Governor Janet Napolitano. The law, set to take effect Jan. 1, seeks, on second violation, to revoke all state licenses held by businesses found to have "knowingly" or "intentionally" employed an undocumented worker. The law also mandates that more than 140,000 Arizona employers use the voluntary federal E-Verify program to screen new hires for employment eligibility.

Under the Act, businesses are subject to anonymous complaints. A first offense results in a 10-day suspension and fine. The second offense issued within a three to five year probationary period results in the business "death penalty," a permanent revocation of a business's license.

Arizona's employer sanctions law was one of the toughest laws of its kind passed at the state level when it was signed in July. Since then, Oklahoma has instituted a sweeping anti-illegal immigration scheme and legislatures in dozens of other states are considering similar laws.

Currently, Arizona also has two ballot initiatives collecting signatures to put employer sanctions propositions on the November 2008 ballot.

(c) Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform

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Quick Quiz Answers

Response C is Correct: December 26, 2007

Explanation:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that employers must transition to the revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9) no later than December 26, 2007. Effective December 26, 2007, employers who fail to use the revised form will be subject to applicable penalties.

A copy of the new Form I-9 can be found at:
www.uscis.gov/i-9
The new Handbook can be found at:
www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/m-274.pdf
The new Handbook contains updated examples of completed I-9s and updated, color copies of various acceptable documents.

HR.BLR.com

ABOUT MJMS, INC.

President and Principal Consultant: Margaret Jacoby, PHR

Margaret Jacoby has more than 25 years of Human Resources and professional management experience in a variety of industries. She has designed human resources infrastructure and implemented systems to ensure compliance with state and federal employment laws. She has directed high quality human resources functions for small and emerging businesses, and served as an external consultant to a wide range of diverse organizations, including non-profits.
 
Her work has included: 

• Conducting H.R. Needs Assessments
• Drafting employee handbooks and policy manuals
• Conducting job analysis and developing position descriptions
• Conducting on-site compliance audits
• Counseling management on progressive discipline
  
• Drafting and review of employee disciplinary actions
• Providing mediation in employee/employee conflict
  
• Training employees/supervisors/managers in the implementation of human resources systems and policies such as Sexual Harassment
• Conducting workshops for business owners on H.R. compliance issues.

 
Ms. Jacoby has earned the nationally-recognized certification of Professional in Human Resources (PHR) from the HR Certification Institute, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
 
Ms. Jacoby's professional affiliations include:

• Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA)
• Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
• National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), Los Angeles and Phoenix
• California Chamber of Commerce


• Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA)
• Long Beach Community Business Network (LBCBN)
• Institute for Management Consultants (IMC)
• Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce