Updated March 2010: Eligibility for the COBRA subsidy was extended to cover individuals who experience a qualifying event due to a reduction in hours or termination of employment through March 31, 2010. Bills are pending in the House and Senate to further extend the COBRA subsidy to individuals who experience a qualifying event after March 31, 2010.
Click here to download our FREE summary of the Health Care Reform Law for employers. This summary includes a timeline that outlines when different phases of the law will take effect.
The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act was signed into law by President Obama on March 18, 2010. This act has two main provisions that impact employers - a temporary exemption from social security taxes for certain newly hired employees and a tax credit for retaining these employees for 52 consecutive weeks.
The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (”DLSE”) has issued an opinion letter stating that while employers cannot deduct from the salary of an exempt employee for partial day absences, employers may deduct for such absences from employee leave balances in accordance with the employer’s bona fide leave policies.
Updated January 2010
In a previous article on this site, we advised that, as of October 26, 2009, Labor Law Section 195.1 requires New York employers to notify all new hires in writing of their hourly rate, overtime rate (if applicable) and payday and receive a written acknowledgment of such notification. The New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) took the position that a countersigned offer letter containing the information was insufficient and that employers would be required to utilize the NYDOL’s official forms. The NYDOL has now decided that, while employers may still elect to utilize the NYDOL’s forms, it is not mandatory to do so, and employers may utilize their own forms to satisfy this requirement.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a ruling that increases the damages workers can receive if they have been misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees. According to the court, the damages incurred “equal the value of wages and benefits” individuals should have received as employees but did not.
In July, we posted information about the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (”ICE”) division’s increased emphasis on investigating employers hiring illegal immigrants. Read more here. The same division announced on November 19th that it would begin delivering I-9 audit notices immediately to approximately 1,000 employers across the country.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on August 27, 2009, that the federal Office of Management and Budget has approved an extension of the current Form I-9 to August 31, 2012. As a result, the USCIS has amended the Form I-9 to reflect to reflect an updated revision date of August 7, 2009. This revision date appears in the lower right hand corner of the form.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has revised its “Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law” poster. This new version reflects current federal employment discrimination law (including the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008). The poster was revised to add information about the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, which is effective November 21, 2009. The revised poster also includes updates from the Department of Labor.
On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2647). The new law includes an expansion of the recently-enacted exigency and caregiver leave provisions for military families under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).