Another huge issue is taxes. You as the employer are not paying their taxes and they may not be filing their quarterly payments and now the Franchise Tax Board or Internal Revenue Service wants their money. When they try to go after the “independent contractor”, they find they have no money, no assets or possibly can’t even been found. So they come after you since you are the employer who has money and failed to make the required tax withholdings. Not to mention the misclassified employee could possibly be seeing red when they learn that as an independent contractor they owe a lot of taxes. So they may turn you in for misclassifying them.

So—are you hiring employees as “independent contractors”? There are many rules when it comes to independent contractors, but the simplest rule is that if the work the person is doing is a regular part of your business, then they are more than likely an employee. An independent contractor makes their own hours, has their own supplies and does not work regularly for any employer. If you are misclassifying employees the fines and penalties can be huge.

First, let us make mention that LinkedIn is a social media outlet that is used to present your professional experience to others. Notice that nowhere in a person’s LinkedIn profile does it make mention of you marital status, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. The reason for this seems pretty obvious..if it is a social media outlet for a professional purpose that information is not pertinent.

Now let us take a look at other social media outlets such as Facebook. Facebook is clearly intended as an outlet for you to be yourself. You do post your marital status, your religious beliefs, your sexual orientation and other personal information about yourself. If you are a company who is using Facebook to prescreen your applicants you are able to see information about a candidate that you would NEVER be able to ask in an interview. Would you change your mind about a candidate if you knew that they had five children that they care for solely? What if you learned that they are homosexual? What if you learned that they are a swinger or in an open relationship?

This sounds like it could be a rising legal issue and some companies may find themselves in hot water doing this type of prescreening. Any thoughts?

• 42% said the bullying included work interference or sabotage
• 33% stated that they were verbally abused
• 24% stated that the bullying was offensive conduct (threats, humiliation or intimidation)

Everyone knows that an HR Professional holds a unique position within an organization. We coach and challenge personnel so that good decisions are made to improve the organization. Sometimes those conversations can be viewed as though we are attacking people and this can give rise to us being bullied. 

The main reasons why HR Professionals feel they are targets for bullying are:

• We must often tell managers “no”
• No one fully understands or appreciates what HR Professionals do
• HR Professionals can be viewed as lacking business knowledge
• HR Professionals can lack the credentials or education that would make them a fit within an organization

Unfortunately HR Professionals will more than likely remain the “bad” guys within the organization, but those of us in this field know the important role we play in keeping an organization running smoothly.

Computing Overtime Pay

Overtime must be paid at a rate of at least one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for each hour worked in a workweek in excess of the maximum allowable in a given type of employment. Generally, the regular rate includes all payments made by the employer to or on behalf of the employee (except for certain statutory exclusions). The following examples are based on a maximum 40-hour workweek applicable to most covered nonexempt employees.

1. Hourly rate (regular pay rate for an employee paid by the hour) – If more than 40 hours are worked, at least one and one-half times the regular rate for each hour over 40 is due.

Example: An employee paid $8.00 an hour works 44 hours in a workweek. The employee is entitled to at least one and one-half times $8.00, or $12.00, for each hour over 40. Pay for the week would be $320 for the first 40 hours, plus $48.00 for the four hours of overtime – a total of $368.00.

1. Piece rate – The regular rate of pay for an employee paid on a piecework basis is obtained by dividing the total weekly earnings by the total number of hours worked in that week. The employee is entitled to an additional one-half times this regular rate for each hour over 40, plus the full piecework earnings.

Example: An employee paid on a piecework basis works 45 hours in a week and earns $405. The regular rate of pay for that week is $405 divided by 45, or $9.00 an hour. In addition to the straight-time pay, the employee is also entitled to $4.50 (half the regular rate) for each hour over 40 – an additional $22.50 for the 5 overtime hours – for a total of $427.50.

Another way to compensate pieceworkers for overtime, if agreed to before the work is performed, is to pay one and one-half times the piece rate for each piece produced during the overtime hours. The piece rate must be the one actually paid during nonovertime hours and must be enough to yield at least the minimum wage per hour.

1. Salary – The regular rate for an employee paid a salary for a regular or specified number of hours a week is obtained by dividing the salary by the number of hours for which the salary is intended to compensate. The employee is entitled to an additional one-half times this regular rate for each hour over 40, plus the salary.

If, under the employment agreement, a salary sufficient to meet the minimum wage requirement in every workweek is paid as straight time for whatever number of hours are worked in a workweek, the regular rate is obtained by dividing the salary by the number of hours worked each week. To illustrate, suppose an employee’s hours of work vary each week and the agreement with the employer is that the employee will be paid $480 a week for whatever number of hours of work are required. Under this agreement, the regular rate will vary in overtime weeks. If the employee works 50 hours, the regular rate is $9.60 ($480 divided by 50 hours). In addition to the salary, half the regular rate, or $4.80, is due for each of the 10 overtime hours, for a total of $528 for the week. If the employee works 60 hours, the regular rate is $8.00 ($480 divided by 60 hours). In that case, an additional $4.00 is due for each of the 20 overtime hours for a total of $560 for the week.

In no case may the regular rate be less than the minimum wage required by the FLSA.

If a salary is paid on other than a weekly basis, the weekly pay must be determined in order to compute the regular rate and overtime pay. If the salary is for a half month, it must be multiplied by 24 and the product divided by 52 weeks to get the weekly equivalent. A monthly salary should be multiplied by 12 and the product divided by 52.

This service is offered to free to anyone over the age of 16 and can be used to confirm your eligibility for employment. This is beneficial because it allows a worker to discover any issues that may arise when employer’s use the E-Verify system. They can then take the appropriate measures to correct any data mismatches in the E-Verify system. E-Verify uses information provided on the I-9 to verify a person’s eligibility for employment in the United States. There are many reasons that can affect the outcome of the verification such as name changes, citizenship changes, mismatch birthdates, etc.

To learn more about Self Check visit: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Peters was a commissioned minister who taught at Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. In 2004 she was diagnosed with narcolepsy. Before her return, after a year of leave, the school board had moved to replace her permanently. She did not accept the “peaceful release agreement” she was offered. She then was terminated for “insubordination and disruptive behavior.”

She filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC and they brought a lawsuit on her behalf. The Federal District Court found that the ministerial exception applied and since she was a commissioned minister she was not able to file a lawsuit. They appealed and the 6th Circuit Court found that she was not in fact a minister and therefore she could bring an employment lawsuit against the church. This was appealed and the Supreme Court reversed the 6^th Circuit Court’s decision. The Supreme Court found that there is a ministerial exception and a church does not have to continue to retain an unwanted minister and cannot be punished if they do not retain an unwanted minister.

http://bit.ly/AaYjhU

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0751-0800/sb_757_bill_20110906_enrolled.pdf

These are some of the reasons California is listing for the prohibition of the mandatory use of E-Verify:

1. The E-Verify system is not sufficient enough to meet the requirements to provide accurate verification for employment.
2. By mandating the use of E-Verify they would be increasing the costs of driving business in a difficult economy.
3. Businesses in California would be affected by implementing the E-Verify system because the staff must receive additional training and this would have cost in the billions, mostly affecting the small businesses.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1201-1250/ab_1236_bill_20110331_amended_asm_v98.pdf

Labor Code section 1024.5, the person for whom the report is sought must be: (1) in a managerial position, as defined below; (2) in a position in the state Department of Justice; (3) in the position of a sworn peace officer or other law enforcement position; (4) in a position for which the information contained in the report is required by law to be disclosed or obtained; (5) in a position that involves regular access to specified personal information for any purpose other than for the routine solicitation and processing of credit card applications in a retail establishment; (6) in a position in which the person is or would be a named signatory on the employer’s bank or credit card account, or authorized to transfer money or enter into financial contracts on the employer’s behalf; (7) in a position that involves access to confidential or proprietary information (as specified); or (8) in a position that involves regular access to $10,000 or more of cash, as specified. “managerial position” is defined in the new law as an employee covered by the executive exemption set forth in Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order 4, subparagraph 1 of paragraph A of Section 1, which applies to “persons employed in professional technical, clerical, mechanical and similar occupations.”

Before an employer can even request a consumer credit report they must give a written notice to the potential candidate of the exact reason as to why they are running the consumer credit report. See more about the new law by visiting the link below.

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1101484724288-375/CA_AB_22_2011_final_Gov_Brown.pdf

Right to work or employment without membership in labor organization

No person shall be denied the opportunity to obtain or retain employment because of non-membership in a labor organization, nor shall the State or any subdivision thereof, or any corporation, individual or association of any kind enter into any agreement, written or oral, which excludes any person from employment or continuation of employment because of non-membership in a labor organization. (Addition approved election Nov. 5, 1946, eff. Nov. 25, 1946; amended November 30, 1982.)

For more information on Right to Work in Arizona please visit: http://www.azleg.gov/arizonarevisedstatutes.asp?title=23  

If you work in a right to work state you may be under the wrong impression as to what that entails. Many people believe they can be fired without cause at any time. Although you do live in a right to work state that does not mean you have no rights. Here is what it boils down to when talking about the right to work:

You have the right to not join a union and you have the right to not pay dues to a union unless you choose to join.  You do not have to be part of a union if you do not wish to be.

Many people that are for union states believe that by employees not being required to pay mandatory dues to a union there cannot  be an offset  of the larger businesses within the economy. Without this offset they argue it results in fewer earnings for workers. They also argue that employees that are not paying dues to a union are essentially catching a free-ride because they are able to enjoy the perks associated with their employment rights and benefits, but without the price of the union fees.

So is it better to work in a right to work state or a union state? There are arguments for both. I have put some interesting links below:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120450306595906431.html

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/02/mitch-daniels-right-and-right-work-wrong

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/business/04labor.html?_r=1&pagewanted=2

http://www.stopteacherstrikes.org/index.php?pr=Forced_Unionism