PMLA and MI Minimum Wage posters: If you need a copy of the Michigan Paid Medical Leave Act (PMLA) poster, click here. If you need a copy of the Michigan Minimum Wage poster, click here.
H-1B petition season begins on April 1: On March 19, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the start of the fiscal year (FY) 2020 H-1B cap season, the start dates for premium processing of cap-subject H-1B petitions, and the launch of the agency’s new H-1B data hub. USCIS also reminded petitioners of its new H-1B cap selection process. USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the FY 2020 cap on April 1, 2019. The agency will reject any FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions filed before April 1. The agency stressed that H-1B petitioners must follow all statutory and regulatory requirements as they prepare petitions to avoid delays in processing and possible requests for evidence. Form M-735, Optional Checklist for Form I-129 H-1B Filings, provides detailed information on how to complete and submit an FY 2020 H-1B petition. USCIS will offer premium processing in a two-phased approach during the FY 2020 cap season so that the agency "can best manage the premium processing requests without fully suspending it as in previous years." Phase one will include FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitions requesting a change of status; phase two will include all other FY 2020 cap-subject petitions. Source: CCH 3/25/19
The drama continues – EEO-1 Component 2 reporting: On March 4th a District Court in the DC Circuit ruled that the EEOC must open the Component 2-pay reporting. The EEOC on March 18th opened the EEO-1 Component 1 report (demographic data) but not Component 2. The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) filed a request for a status conference with the Court on March 19th to “discuss Defendants’ compliance with the Court’s Memorandum Opinion and Order.” The result of the status conference was to allow the EEOC to provide a timeline to the Court on or before April 3, by which employers would provide pay data described on the Revised EEO-1 Report. Plaintiffs then have an opportunity to respond to the EEOC’s timeline by April 8. From the Court’s rulings it appears that the Court wants to move rapidly to institute the vastly expanded recordkeeping requirements contained in the Revised EEO-1. It is unclear whether those obligations would apply to this filing cycle or the next filing cycle, given that the final notice to employers filed in the Federal Register recognized the need for an 18-month period during which time employers would prepare for the collection of the new data described in Component 2. Therefore, employers should complete Component 1 and just wait until the drama of Component 2 plays out. In the meantime, the EEOC sent out letters to companies with the log-in information for the EEO-1 reporting tool late. If you have not received it yet, call the Joint Commission at 1-877-392-4647 from 10 am - 8 pm EST, Monday – Friday. Source: Seyfarth Shaw 3/19/19
Wage and Hour publishes new OT rule: The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division posted the proposed regulation, which will replace a previous version that was issued by the Obama administration, on its website on March 7. But the 60-day notice-and-comment period can’t begin until a proposed rule is published in the Federal Register, which happened last Friday, March 22. Employers under the current DOL proposal will be allowed both to count certain nondiscretionary bonuses and incentive payments like commissions as constituting up to 10% of a worker's salary and to make a one-time “catch-up” payment when a worker’s 52-week pay year ends to make up any shortfall if an employee’s salary hasn’t hit the $35,308 mark. The so-called highly compensated-worker threshold will also see a significant spike from $100,000 to $147,414 under the DOL’s proposed rule. Source: Law360 3/22/19
And there is more drama at Wage and Hour and the new OT rule: Tammy McCutchen, currently a shareholder at Littler Mendelson, said DOL's planned timeline for finalizing the rule is "very squished," with a target effective date in the first quarter of 2020, just months before a presidential election that could undermine the proposal if it's delayed. "I am concerned that the political expediences will have them giving us like 60 or 90 days to comply," McCutchen told attendees. "The people who are going to be hurt by it are the people in this room who have to deal with what they're adding." Adding to the complexity of the situation is the fact that the overtime rule proposed earlier this month by the Trump administration isn't the only one that could take effect; McCutchen repeated her long-standing warning that the Obama administration's version of the update is still alive. "The 5th Circuit, whenever they want to, could uplift the state of the appeal and rule on that decision," she said. "It's not outside boundaries because nobody thought we would win the injunction in the first place." And on top of all that, there's the possibility that rule could be implemented retroactively. That could mean employers having to pay overtime to every exempt employee that made less than $47,476 a year during the time the rule was enjoined; "Think about what that would do to your business," she said. McCutchen noted, however, that there would likely be litigation in the event that retroactivity is raised. Source: HR Dive 3/21/19
More employees feel less safe at work: About half (48%) of surveyed HR professionals said their organization had at some point experienced workplace violence, according to research released today by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). SHRM surveyed 1,416 members in February 2019. The total of those who say violence has occurred at their workplace is up from 36% in 2012 and includes incidences of harassment and intimidation, as well as physical assaults and homicides. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 458 of the over 5,000 fatal injuries that happened in a workplace in 2017 were homicides. About 15% of those were perpetrated by co-workers or other work associates. A majority (82%) of 545 employees surveyed by NORC at the University of Chicago, an independent research institute, reported feeling safer in organizations that provide programs to prevent workplace violence and train employees to respond to violent incidents. But less than half say their organization has a program to prevent workplace violence (45%) or provides training to workers on how to respond to an act of workplace violence (49%). Less than one-third of workers (29%) said that they are unsure or don't know what to do if they witness or are involved in workplace violence. SHRM 3/19/19
Are you prepared for the opioid epidemic in your organization? While 75% of U.S. employers have been directly affected by opioids, just 17% feel extremely well-prepared to deal with the issue, according to a National Safety Council (NSC) survey. 38% report experiencing absenteeism or impaired worker performance, and 31% have seen an overdose, arrest, a near-miss, or an injury because of employee opioid use. For the first time in U.S. history, a person is more likely to die from an accidental opioid overdose than from a motor vehicle crash, according to NSC calculations. In fact, workplace overdose deaths involving drugs or alcohol have increased by at least 25% for five consecutive years. Other findings include: 86% of employers believe taking opioids, even as prescribed, can impair job performance, yet only 60% have policies in place requiring employees to notify their employer when they are using a prescription opioid. Only half of employers are very confident that they have the appropriate HR policies and resources to deal with opioid use and misuse in the workplace. 79% are not very confident that individual employees can spot warning signs of opioid misuse. Encouragingly, 41% of employers would return an employee to work after he or she receives treatment for misusing prescription opioids. Source: CCH 3/20/19
Employees are unhappy and stressed and communication is the key: At a time of economic uncertainty and record-low unemployment, a shocking number of U.S. employees are stressed, unhappy, and ready to quit. According to findings from Dynamic Signal’s Annual State of Employee Communication and Engagement Study, 80% of the U.S. workforce reports feeling stressed because of ineffective company communication – a 3% jump from just one year ago. The 2019 study, which surveyed 1,001 U.S. employees, also found that 63% have wanted to quit because ineffective communication interfered with their ability to do their job – almost double from the 33% in 2018. Other findings include 70% of employees feel overwhelmed because of broken communication methods and fragmented information. More than half of employees wouldn’t confidently advise keeping their CEO because of poor communication. 17% would recommend firing their CEO based on how the company communicates to its employees. 78% of employees surveyed said improving employee communication and engagement should be a higher priority for their current company; and a majority of employees don’t feel like their company communicates with them in a way that makes them want to be an advocate for the organization. Source: Dynamic Signal