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| The feds and a group of states are taking a tag-team approach to making sure employees are properly classified under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Department of Labor, Internal Revenue Service and nine states are joining forces to crack down on companies that improperly classify workers as independent contractors. |
| (Source: HR Morning, 2011-09-22) |
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| The U.S. Department of Labor says it will re-do efforts to update the definition of fiduciary it uses in dealings with retirement plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The department says it expects to re-issue the proposed rule in early 2012. |
| (Source: National Underwriter, 2011-09-19) |
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| The same pattern that has emerged in health insurance -- employers' shifting more costs onto workers' shoulders and trimming or eliminating benefits -- is occurring in disability coverage. |
| (Source: Kaiser Health News, 2011-09-20) |
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| A Republican immigration bill that would require employers to check the immigration status of new workers has drawn protests from Latino and immigrant rights groups, but it seems certain to win passage in the House of Representatives. The Legal Workforce Act, approved by a House panel along strict party lines, has stirred the immigration debate. |
| (Source: Houston Chronicle, 2011-09-26) |
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| The face of today's part-time worker has changed drastically from what it was a few years ago. It used to look more like a mother who wanted to better balance work and family or the college student who needed income while in school, but the recession and high unemployment have changed that. |
| (Source: Chicago Tribune (free reg. req'd.), 2011-09-26) |
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| The Internal Revenue Service is offering a break to employers who come clean about wrongly classifying workers as independent contractors to avoid paying federal payroll taxes, the agency announced. Employers accepted into a new IRS program must reclassify workers as employees and cough up a bit more than one percent of the wages paid to the workers for the past year. |
| (Source: The Washington Post (free reg. req'd), 2011-09-21) |
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| In the age of instant tweets and impulsive Facebook posts, some companies are still trying to figure out how they can limit what their employees say about work online without running afoul of the law. Confusion about what workers can or can't post has led to a surge of more than 100 complaints at the National Labor Relations Board -- most within the past year -- and created uncertainty for businesses about how far their social media policies can go. |
| (Source: ABC News, 2011-09-26) |
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| Las Vegas entertainers Siegfried & Roy have won a $37,415 court award against attorneys who have been suing Roy over sexual harassment allegations. U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt in Las Vegas ordered attorneys for Oliver Preiss, a former personal assistant to Roy Horn, and for Preiss's wife Beatrice; to pay the $37,415 as a sanction for asserting baseless legal claims against Horn and a company owned by Siegfried and Roy. |
| (Source: Las Vegas Sun, 2011-09-22) |
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| The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Bass Pro Shops, alleging that stores illegally discriminated against black and Hispanic workers and job applicants, retaliated against employees who raised questions and destroyed records. The nine-page suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Houston, cited examples in Houston, Louisiana, Alabama and Indiana in alleging a national pattern of discrimination at Bass Pro, which has 57 stores in the United States and Canada. |
| (Source: Star-Telegram, 2011-09-21) |
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| Seattle became the third U.S. city to pass legislation requiring businesses to provide paid sick leave to employees, joining Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. The Seattle mandate establishes minimum standards for paid sick time based on company size, according to the city's official website. |
| (Source: The Wall Street Journal, 2011-09-13) |
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Ice Miller has been named the "Top Large Law Firm" in Indiana for employment law. The rankings were published in September in the new Super Lawyers Business Edition, which was sent to more than 40,000 in-house counsel as well as presidents and CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies. The Firm also ranked a "Top Large Law Firm" in the real estate/construction practice area.
The firms were chosen based on the number of firm attorneys who have been selected to the 2010 Super Lawyers list in business practice areas, as well as a combination of metrics indicating the quality of those attorneys. Quality factors that were considered included number of years selected to the list, inclusion on a top list and average blue ribbon panel score. |
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When an employee seeks medical treatment and compensation under the Indiana Workers Compensation Act, the employee must prove that he suffered "personal injury or death by accident arising out of and in the course of employment." Ind. Code § 22-3-2-2(a). A recent case decided by the Indiana Court of Appeals highlights that employers may need to view the requirement that an injury arise out of employment more broadly than they have previously when deciding whether to accept a workplace injury as compensable. Waters v. Indiana State University, 2011 Ind. App. LEXIS 1434. In Waters, the Court of Appeals ruled against the employer and determined that the employee's injury arose out of her employment, so the employer must provide medical treatment and compensation. Read more about the Waters case. |
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Presented by Ice Miller LLP and the
Indiana Chamber of Commerce
When: October 4, 2011
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT
Where: Indiana Chamber Conference Center
Immigration Update!
Immigration law is subject to frequent change and debate. Some of the topics addressed at this half-day seminar include:
Hiring and retention of H-1B and other non-immigrant workers
New changes affecting temporary workers and green card sponsorship
Proper completion of the form I-9
Successfully conducting an internal audit and preparing for a government audit
Pros and cons of the federal E-verify employment verification
Mandatory and voluntary use of E-Verify
Current status of the Indiana illegal immigration statute
Learn what these developments mean for Hoosier employers! Attorneys Jenifer Brown and Tami Earnhart from Ice Miller LLP will lead this seminar. To view the agenda, click here.
Investment
Ice Miller clients can attend at a discounted rate of $149.00. To obtain the special client discount you must register by calling Sarah at the Chamber (800) 824-6885. Please mention that you are an Ice Miller client and priority code #4236. |
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Please join Ice Miller LLP, Choose DuPage and Metro Staff, Inc. for an executive briefing discussing 2012 employment trends for Northern Illinois. Topics to be discussed include:
- Emerging Markets for Employment: Where are the greatest needs?
- Mature and Leading Markets: What are the trends in manufacturing?
- Workforce Challenges: Immigration issues; worker classification; union vs. non-union.
When: Wednesday, October 12, 2011
7:30 a.m. (CDT) - Registration and Hot Breakfast
8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. (CDT) - Welcome, Panel Discussion and Q&A
Where: The Morton Arboretum
4100 Illinois Route 53
Lisle, IL 60532
Please register here.
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As employers begin to hire seasonal workers, there are many different working relationships and hiring arrangements to consider. In Indiana, the temp agency and the placement employer are equally responsible for worker's compensation. Your agency probably covers its temps with a worker's comp policy. Still, it's prudent to add an "alternate employer endorsement" to your own worker's comp policy, in case there is a mix-up at the agency. If you use a temp agency, there may be a joint employment situation in which both entities are protected by the exclusive remedy provisions of the Act. Therefore, make sure your agreements address the parties' expectations and define the responsibilities for worker's compensation coverage. If you have specific questions about this or other workers compensation matters, please contact Ann Stewart or Karen Dutcher. |
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