CHANGES IN BACKGROUND CHECKING POLICIES INEVITABLE
Awhile back, we told you about an upcoming EEOC hearing on the use of conviction records in the hiring process. About 250-300 people attended including many interested third party organizations. While statistical data was missing for the most part, the tone of the meeting has been reported to support the position that criminal checks have become a barrier to employment.
It seems certain that existing EEOC guidelines on the subject are sure to be revisited with an emphasis put on responsible use of criminal checking. This means employers giving more attention to the nature of the job, seriousness of the crime and length of time since it occurred in using criminal checks in hiring decisions.
For those that want first hand information, a webcast of the meeting can be found by clicking here. Along similar lines the city of San Francisco is seeking legislation that would prohibit employers from asking criminal history related questions as part of the hiring process. They cite an unemployment rate of 25-30% for ex-cons as the rationale." Ban The Box" laws are on the rise throughout the country.
BE CAREFUL WHO YOU WORK WITH ON STAFFING!
A jury recently convicted the owners of Commonwealth Temporary Services Inc. of Westport Massachusetts of paying more than $25 million in wages under the table to temps between 2000 and 2004.
It would appear that the IRS frowns on this practice as well as the folks at Workers Compensation, Social Security and Medicare. They face up to 20 years each in the slammer and a $250,000 fine on the mail fraud charges alone.
In a related case another Massachusetts staffing firm owner was recently indicted on workers compensation fraud for underreporting the size and scope of his business to avoid paying $110,000 in premiums. This involved not reporting wages as well as misclassifying wages in to lower premium positions.
The possibility that the Feds could go after the users of these temp services for back tax payments and workers compensation premiums is a distinct possibility....so beware!
PROTECTED CONCERTED ACTIVITY AMONG TEMPS UPHELD
The First Circuit has upheld a ruling that the NLRA prohibits a staffing firm from preventing temporary employees from discussing their compensation with others. Enough said here.
THIS WOULD BE AN INTERESTING HEARING TO ATTEND
An Australian woman who was injured while having sex on a business trip is suing for workers compensation benefits. It seems she suffered multiple head injuries and psychiatric issues when a wall-mounted lamp over the bed fell on her during the deed
The victims argument is that she was required to travel as part of the job and stay overnight in the hotel room so she should be entitled to benefits....a "during the course of employment" argument. The woman's lawyer equates the injury to falling in the shower at the motel.
We could have more fun with this but we'll leave it go for now.
IRS CRACKING DOWN OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR ABUSE
The federal government is predicting it will reap $7 billion in revenue over the next ten years by cracking down on employee misclassification of "independent contractors".
If you need more information on compliance issues on this subject we suggest that you Google "Darden Factors" and "Economic Realities-Independent Contractors" to read up on the subject.
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