Ten Most Recent Federal Articles
The Kullman Firm Comments On Proposed DOL Regulations Regarding Affirmative Action for the Disabled
The OFCCP has proposed regulations which would dramatically expand the obligations of federal contractors and subcontractors towards individuals with disabilities. On February 1, 2012, The Kullman Firm submitted comments to the OFCCP regarding their newly proposed regulations.
EEOC Outlines New Four-Year Strategic Plan
With relatively little fanfare, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently posted its Draft Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2012-2016. The plan, which is required every four fiscal years from each government department, both reflects the current economic climate and provides some insight into where the EEOC will focus its efforts in upcoming years. Indeed, the plan acknowledges what many employers and employment attorneys have been saying for years - that during an economic downturn comes "an increase in overall charges [of discrimination] as more people are laid-off." Indeed, in 2010 and 2011 each, the EEOC received just shy of 100,000 individual private sector charges of discrimination, including a record 99,947 individual charges in 2011. Against this influx of charges, Congress recently cut the EEOC's budget for the upcoming fiscal year - something the Commission does not expect to change anytime soon. The new plan assumes that the EEOC's funding will remain at its 2012 levels through 2016.
Business Is Booming . . . for the EEOC, Anyway
Many employers continued to face financial challenges in 2011. But business is booming for at least one group. The EEOC received a record number of complaints last year--almost 100,000 in all.
Quarterly Social Media Index
Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube: Who's really using what and how?
New Clarifications and Guidance on W-2 Reporting
The Health Care Reform Act requires employers to report the aggregate cost of employer-provided health coverage on each employee's W-2, beginning with the 2012 tax year (i.e., W-2 forms generally issued in 2013).
Warning: ICE Build-Up a Worry for Employers Navigating I-9 Compliance
The Obama Administration is launching another round of worksite investigations—this time, returning to employers that have already been the subject of I-9 inspections during the last three years. Approximately 500 employers are being re-visited by Special Agents to confirm that noncompliant activity identified during prior reviews has been remedied, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Generally, businesses must make sure they are hiring only people who can work legally in the U.S. Businesses that previously have received warning letters or administrative fines may now be the subject of treble damages if ICE Special Agents find that, notwithstanding the prior review, the employer continues to make the same mistakes.
DHS Outlines Plans to Attract and Retain Highly-Skilled Immigrants and Entrepreneurs
In a January 31, 2012 press release, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to reform some administrative practices to ease the visa process and reduce immigration burdens in an effort to retain highly-skilled foreign nationals and attract new business investment to the United States. The proposed reforms are being implemented in line with the White House Startup America Legislative Agenda, which proposes tax breaks, capital for startups, and visa reforms to boost high-skilled workers and entrepreneurs. DHS stated that “the President supports legislative measures that would attract and retain immigrants who create jobs and boost competitiveness in the U.S., including creating a ’Startup Visa,’ strengthening the H-1B program, and ’stapling’ green cards to the diplomas of certain foreign-born graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.” DHS did not disclose when the proposed reforms will be implemented, and the changes will not likely take effect for several months or more, until they progress through the federal regulatory approval process.
Employer Cannot Have Its Cake and Eat It Too in Terminating Illegal Striking Employees
A recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board demonstrates that in law, as in life, sometimes you cannot change your mind without consequences. In Douglas Autotech Corp., 357 N.L.R.B. No. 111 (Nov. 18, 2011), the Board affirmed the administrative law judge's decision that, even though employees participated in an illegal strike, their employer illegally fired them.
Obamacare By The Numbers
Two new studies just out highlight the extraordinary problems now facing the United States health system, and some of the consequences that could befall the country if critical parts of health reform are stripped away.
It's 2012 And The NLRB Is Off To A Fast – And Controversial – Start
The 2011 calendar year was one of the more interesting years for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Board became a lightning rod for controversy and partisan politics due to its controversial decisions to utilize its rarely-used rulemaking authority to rewrite the rulebook on union elections and to require employers to post what many consider a pro-union National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) poster in its workplace.
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