Employment
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Employment Reference Checks
How much can you disclose about a past employee?
Colorado law not only allows but immunes a former employer from civil liability and damages for the release of employment history and information to future employers. This is a good thing to remember when you get reference checks concerning your past employees. Not only does this help our state by allowing free exchange of information, it also helps avoid a new form of liability for not releasing pertinent past employment history. Some lawsuits are now going through several courts where prior employers are being sued for not releasing employment information when employees have been terminated for embezzlement or violence. StaffScapes advises employers to verify your responsibilities and rights with each state that you are working in.
As for Colorado, the Colorado Revised Statutes 8-2-114 states “Any employer who provides information about a current or former employee’s job history or job performance to a prospective employer of the current or former employee upon request of the prospective employer or the current or former employee is immune from civil liability and is not liable in civil damages for the disclosure or any consequences of the disclosure. This immunity shall not apply when such employee shows by a preponderance of the evidence both of the following:
(a) The information disclosed by the current or former employer was false; and
(b) The employer providing the information knew or reasonably should have known that the information was false.”
For more information please visit the Colorado Department of Labor’s website at : www.coworkforce.com
Friday, May 02, 2008
Payroll Administrator Position
Open Position
StaffScapes has an opening for a Payroll Administrator -
Responsibilities:
1 Process New Hire Packets
2 Gather data needed to run payroll
3 Provide payroll advice to managers
4 Prepare and issue checks
5 Accurate payroll processing
6 Prepare garnishment reports
7 Prepare payrolls and reports
8 Assist with incoming calls and customer service
9 Assist employees with payroll related issues
10 Ensure legal compliance with federal, state, and local regulations related to payroll
11 Maintain personnel files and additional filing
12 Creating Blog Articles on industry topics
13 Assist HR and Accounting with special projects and administrative tasks as needed.
Skills/Requirements:
1 1-2 years of office experience
2 Attention to detail
3 High level of organizational skills with ability to multitask
4 Accuracy and attention to detail
5 Must have excellent customer service skills and positive attitude
6 Proficiency using Microsoft Office
7 Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality
8 Knowledge of FLSA, state and federal wage & hour laws, Human Resource experience a plus
Pay Rate: $14.00 - $18.00/hour.
Please submit past pay history/salary requirements
Lora Manternach PHR CPP
Human Resource Manager
lora@staffscapes.com
StaffScapes, Inc.
1070 W 124th Ave. Ste 900
Westminster, CO 80234
303 466 7864
303 466 7947 fax
StaffScapes, a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), provides small and mid-sized businesses with an integrated suite of services including HR administration, compliance management, safety and risk management, payroll and tax administration and employee benefits. We are seeking a Payroll Administrator based in Westminster and serving clients along the Front Range
Monday, October 27, 2008
Vote in Colorado
Colorado Voting Requirements
Employee Entitlement to Vote During work hours - If the employee is engaged or employed on the day of the election for a period of 2 hours during the times the polls are open. Eligible electors who are employed and paid by the hour shall receive their regular hourly wage during their absence. The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent but the hours shall be at the beginning or end of the workship, if the employee requests so.
EXCEPTIONS - If there are 3 or more hours between the time of opening and the time of closing of the pols during which the elector is not required to be on the job, the employer does not need to allow or pay for time off to vote.
References - Colorado Revised Statutes 1-7-102 (Employees Entitled to Vote)
Please contact StaffScapes if you have any question or for addtional information on different state voting requirements.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
October Employment
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases October 2008 employment numbers.
With unemployment on the rise and volatility in the economy, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao issued a statement concerning the recent October employment situation report:
“Today’s report underscores the importance of restoring the health of our banking system and credit markets so that employers can rebound and create jobs. It will take time for the impact of the economic rescue package to be felt on the broader economy and the labor market.”
As posted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on November 7, 2008, employment fell by 240,000 jobs. This equates to an increase in the unemployment rate to 6.5 percent. It is reported that in October the job losses continued in manufacturing, construction and service provider industries. For more detail information view the October Employment Situation release at: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
“Keep Colorado Working Day”?
November 20, 2008
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment has scheduled job fairs, workshops and open houses at different work centers and locations statewide for November 20, 2008
Below is a list of the work force centers and the events that will be held tomorrow November 20, 2008.
If you have any questions please contact StaffScapes for more information or go to the Colorado Workforce website:
http://www.coworkforce.com/wd/
Source:
Colorado Department of Larbor and Employment
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Is On Call Time Compensable?
Recent DOL Opinion Letter explains compensability of on call time.
A recent Opinion Letter from the US Department of Labor addresses on call time and compensability. The DOL Opinion Letters are specific to the original requestor’s situation and are not to be used as blanket policies. However, additional details regarding FLSA interpretation can be garnered from these letters.
Opinion Letter, FLSA2008-14NA, explains that compensability of on call time is “decided in the context of each case”. Therefore, the DOL is saying that each case, or each policy regarding on call time, must be looked at on its own merits and design, and a blanket statement can not be given to cover every given policy design.
Compensability arises when on call conditions restrict the employee from using this time for personal uses. This is the major principle that they look at when determining compensability. The DOL does go on to give several factors that they use to determine if the on call time restricts the employee from personal use. These factors include:
· is there excessive geographical limitations on the employee’s movement
· is the frequency of calls received unduly restrictive
· is the fixed time limit for response too impeding
· can the employee trade on call responsibilities
When determining compensability of on call time all of the factors of your on call policy should be examined. Employers need to be very careful examining these policies and should get professional assistance or ask your Professional Employer Organization (PEO) when making these determinations. Paying back wages including overtime hours, especially when not expecting these additional costs, can significantly hurt a company.
See Also
Monday, January 19, 2009
New Rules for I-9 Form for 2009
New rules published regarding changes to the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
A new interim rule for the Form I-9 has been released from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The amended regulations modify the types of acceptable documents that employees may present to their employers for completion of the Form I-9.
Under the new rule, employees will no longer be able to present expired documents to verify employment authorization on the Form I-9. Under previous rules, a U.S. passport and all List B documents were acceptable for the Form I–9 even if they are expired.
The rule also adds a few additional documents to List A of the Form I-9, and makes other, technical changes to update the list of acceptable documents. The revised Form I-9 includes additional changes, such as revisions to the employee attestation section, and the addition of the new U.S. Passport Card to List A.
The revised Form I-9 will need to be used beginning February 2, 2009.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Increase in Wrongful Termination Claims
During these had economic times, lay offs are causing an upswing in EEOC claims.
A recent article written by Jeff Thomas in the Boulder County Business Report has attorneys and local EEOC employees stating that wrongful termination claims will increase during these slow economic times. During this down economic time, laid off employees are having a harder time finding a replacement job. As time drags on with out employment, the ex-employee will likely become angry and focus on the lay off. Employers need to make sure that they are abiding by fair employment practices during lay offs or they will have employment attorneys and the EEOC knocking on their doors. Lay offs should be handled very carefully and employers should make sure they have good documentation to back up their decision. Both, EEOC representatives and attorneys, that are quoted in this article state that the number of disputes are rising.
Employers need to get assistance through either their employment attorneys or their HR representatives. It is too easy for an employer to pick the wrong employee to lay off, only to have that employee come back with a wrongful termination or discrimination claim. These type issues are expertly handled through the use of a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) such as StaffScapes. PEOs act as an outsourced HR department and give expert advise on legal employment matters such as lay offs.
To read the full article from the Boulder County Business Report click on the link below.
See Also
Saturday, April 04, 2009
Resume Changes for employed workers
People who are looking for work and are currently employed need to consider a few changes to better thier succes when looking for a new job.
We recently placed an add for a new payroll administrator on jobing.com over the week we have gotten in over 150 resumes for this job posting. During the review process we noticed a few items in the resume that may make it difficult for applicants to get recognized by prospective employers.
Below are a few things to consider not having on your resume:
- If currently employed do not fax your resume from your office fax machine.
- This also goes if you plan to email your resume in don’t use you current employers email account.
- The phone number you use for a prospective employer should not be your current employers phone number. Many employers have caller ID and this can cause problems. You would not want to get fired for looking for work on company time.
-If you leave a phone number to call consider updating your voice mail message that an employer would feel comfortable leaving a message on. Don’t leave "bro leave a message I may call you back".
These are a few things to thing about changing or updating on your resume.
See Also
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
New ICE I-9 Audit Initiative Becoming More Aggressive
652 businesses were recently served notices of immigration audits.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has recently launched their new audit initiative issuing 652 Notices of Inspection. The notices explain that ICE will be inspecting the hiring records of these businesses including auditing I-9 form compliance. The businesses that have been presented a Notice were selected due to complaints and information provided by other investigations. ICE has stated that it is “focusing its resources on the auditing and investigation of employers suspected of cultivating illegal workplaces by knowingly hiring illegal workers.” This new audit initiative has increased the amount of notices sent over last years 503.
See Also
Monday, September 28, 2009
Be Careful How You Train Your Employees
A pharmacy technician is suing her employer for traumatizing her during a recent training session.
Recently reported on FindLaw, a New Jersey pharmacy technician claims she was traumatized from a mock hold up arranged by her employer. The gunman told the technician that he had taken another employee hostage and demanded the pain narcotic OxyContin. Later she found out that the hold up was fake and the employer arranged it for a training exercise.
The technician claims that she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder arising from this training exercise. The technician’s claim rests on the fact that she was not notified in advance of the training drill.
Employers need to be cognizant of how these training exercises will affect their employees and try and prevent any undue stress or hardship. There is a balance between realism and effectiveness that must be calculated for any training exercises. In this case the effectiveness of the training seems to have been significantly overshadowed by the trauma caused by its realism.
See Also
Friday, December 04, 2009
Warning: IRS Increasing Audits for the Next Three Years
IRS will audit 2,000 taxpayers each year for the next three years.
Beginning February 2010, the Internal Revenue Service will begin employment tax audits on 2,000 randomly selected taxpayers (employers) per year for the next three years. The IRS states that they are conducting this study “to collect data that will allow the IRS to understand the compliance characteristics of employment tax filers”. This means, the IRS is using this three year “study” to find out where employers are not staying in compliance with collecting, reporting, and paying taxes. The IRS also explains that the examinations will be comprehensive in scope. The IRS will not be looking for just a handful of different problem areas, but searching for any and every area of non-compliance. Now is the time to audit your employment compliance practices. Contact StaffScapes to discuss any concerns or problems that you may have.
See Also
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Ridiculous Unemployment Ruling Shows What is Wrong with the System
Back in March of this year, the Maine Unemployment Insurance Commission overturned a lower ruling and awarded unemployment benefits to an employee that was fired for illegally downloading 800 music files onto her work computer. The Portland Press Herald reported that after the employee was fired, she sought unemployment benefits and was initially denied. However, the Commission overturned the denial 3-0 stating, as the Press Herald reported, the claimant “made an isolated error in judgment when she downloaded the software on the company’s computer and that the action “does not constitute misconduct”.
What? I must have a different definition of isolated. Illegally downloading 800 files would not constitute isolated in my world. Also, not only did the employer have to pay wages to the employee for this unproductive time, but this could also open up legal action taken against the employer for copyright infringement and media pirating.
The Press herald goes on to report that the Commission ruled that the employer’s code of conduct policy “was not imposed, enforced, or communicated in an equitable manner.”
So what can we learn form this extreme case? Make sure that your policies, including code of conduct, computer and/or electronic usage policies are well documented, communicated and enforced. Contact StaffScapes to review your current policies for proper creation and implementation.
