Did you know that the recently passed Health Care Reform legislation requires employers to provide nursing mothers with an unpaid break to “express milk”?
The break must be provided “each time such employee has need to express the milk” for one year after the child’s birth. It also requires employers to provide a private break area (not restroom) shielded from view and free from intrusions. Just something to think about in the coming months.
Temp Help. . . A Growth Industry?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics 117,000 temporary jobs were created in the second half of 2009. This is despite the economy as a whole shedding traditional jobs by the thousands.
Further predictions call for employment services to be among the fastest- growing segments of the economy adding 637,000 jobs over the next 10 years.
Top 10 jobs for the temps 2008-15
Occupation Jobs added (thousands)
Occupation Jobs added (thousands)
Laborers and freight stock & material movers 40.0
Customer service reps 34.2
Construction laborers 33.7
Team assemblers 31.7
Other production workers, assemblers 29.3
Helpers – production workers 28.3
Employment, recruitment, placement specialists 24.5
Registered nurses 20.0
Office clerks – general 16.2
Total 599.7
Independent Contractors. . .Be Careful
Now that business activity is picking up. . .sort of, the temptation to save a buck by utilizing independent contractors instead of permanent hires (or temps) is ever present. It’s also time to be careful.
During a 16 month investigation in 2007-08 the U.S. Dept of Labor caught 12,300 cases of mis-classification in New York alone. They catch you by comparing employer generated 1099-Misc statements with individual returns.
For more information on how the Federal Government determines independent contractor status visit IRS.gov.
Staffing Index Continues RiseAccording to the American Staffing Association U.S. staffing employment is 22% higher than the first week of 2010 and 17% higher than at the same time a year ago.
The index has some history for identifying recession ending trends and predicting increases in stock market indexes.
Take a look at these major staffing company stock prices: (04.20.10)
Current Year Ago %Change
Manpower (Man) 56.93 42.01 +35.6
Kelly Services (Kelya) 17.27 10.69 +61.6
Adecco (Ahexy) 29.27 20.50 +42.8
Robert Half (RHI) 30.09 23.46 +28.3
Randstad (Ranjy) 25.45 15.00 +69.7
Did you know?
- 2.6 million temps work each day.
- 2008 sales of temp and contract staffing was $70.7 billion.
- 6000 staffing firms operate 20,000 offices in the U.S.
I-9 Checks?I recently saw an HR person ask if it was proper (legal?) for her organization to spot check their staffing supplier’s I-9 forms on temps working at their place. The simple answer is “sure”. And, I might add it’s not a bad idea when you factor in the potential co-employment liability your firm risks if the staffing company is not accurately completing the I-9 paperwork.
The battle on immigration reform is heating up with the recent law passed in Arizona.
Did you know that Herbert Hoover during the “real” depression ordered the deportation of all illegal aliens to create jobs for Americans? Or that Truman did the same after WWII to two million illegals? And finally the Eisenhower successfully deported millions of illegal Mexican nationals in “Operation Wetback” in 1954?
Anyone think this could happen today?
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing, really like your view. Waiting for some more great articles like this from you in the coming days.
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