Michigan 2022 UIA contribution rates published: Contribution rates for employers with three or more years of experience will continue to range from 0.06% to 10.3% in 2022. The maximum rate of 10.3% includes a 6.3% maximum chargeable benefit component, a 3.0% maximum account building component, and a 1.0% maximum nonchargeable benefits component. Note that if the employer has submitted no quarterly tax reports, that employer's maximum tax rate will be 10.3%, and the employer also will be assessed a penalty of 3.0%, which is separate from the contribution rate. In addition, the new employer rate remains at 2.7%, plus part of its chargeable benefits component depending on the employer’s year of liability, except for new construction employers.  The nonchargeable benefits component (NBC) for 2022 may range from 0.06% to 1.0%, depending upon an employer's experience.

Forget what you are hearing – bipartisanship isn’t dead in DC: A bipartisan bill passed both houses. The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, known also as H.R. 4445, was passed in the Senate by voice vote three days after it was passed in the House by a 335-97 vote and signed into law.  The new restrictions would apply “with respect to any dispute or claim that arises or accrues on or after the date of enactment of this Act,” meaning that once enacted, millions of American workers could elect to be released from existing arbitration agreements and/or class and collective action waivers as relating to sexual harassment and sexual assault claims that arise after the law goes into effect.  However, because the law only addresses pre-dispute arbitration and class/collection action waiver agreements, any agreement to arbitrate claims entered into by the parties after the claims arise remains enforceable.  Source:  HR Dive 2/4/22, Law360 2/10/22, Proskauer 2/10/22

Skill gap biggest issue facing employers today: According to ATD’s Bridging the Skills Gap: Workforce Development in Changing Times, 83% of organizations reported current skills gaps in their workforce with 78% expecting to face a skills gap in the future.  The report also found the biggest skills gaps organizations were currently experiencing were critical-thinking and problem-solving skills (65%), managerial skills (55%), and communication and interpersonal skills (53%).  Talent development professionals expect to face gaps in critical-thinking and problem-solving skills (56%), leadership skills (53%), and creativity and innovation skills (50%) in the future. Six in 10 participants report that the cause of the current or forthcoming skills gaps in their organization is because the skills of the current workforce do not match changes in the company’s strategy, goals, markets, or business models. Other key causes include insufficient bench strength in the company’s leadership ranks (54%) and a lack of skilled talent in one or more of the company’s lines of business (44%). Most participants say their organization is addressing the skills gaps they face by providing more training internally in technology-aided settings such as e-learning or virtual classrooms (60%), and 21%  were offering more in-person training.  ASE provides all this training and is your one stop center for training. View our options here.  Source:  ATD 1/25/22

Mandatory training required by employer may have to be paid: A lawsuit filed in Illinois federal court by a proposed collective of American Airlines employees claims that the airline failed to pay or didn't adequately pay them for hours spent completing mandatory training. Lead plaintiff alleges that he along with other hourly American Airlines workers like fleet service clerks, mechanics, gate agents and cargo workers, are required to complete quarterly training modules. But they are regularly expected to undergo that training after their respective shifts are over and they've already clocked out for the day. The workers are not paid or not paid properly for that time. The training modules typically last about four to five hours each. Workers who don't complete the training or refuse to take part are disciplined and can lose their jobs, forcing workers to regularly work more than 40 hours without being paid overtime wages. The case is Wilhelm v. American Airlines Inc., No: 1:22-cv-00690, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The time that employees spend in meetings, lectures, or training is considered hours worked and must be paid, unless: attendance is outside regular working hours; attendance is voluntary; the course, lecture, or meeting is not job related; and the employee does not perform any productive work during attendance.  Source: Law360 2/9/22, HR Daily Advisor

Applicant skill-gap – spell check: 64% of resumes contain at least one spelling mistake, according to a survey by job search site Adzuna, and 10% of resumes include five or more errors. Out of the 90,000 resumes Adzuna analyzed, just one-third were error free. Other common mistakes included unexplained employment gaps, an invalid email address, or inappropriate file names. While prospective employees may feel like they have the upper hand right now, employers are still being selective with who they bring through the door. 77% of employers will automatically disqualify an applicant over spelling and grammar errors, according to a survey by Indeed. And many companies now use applicant tracking systems, which utilize AI to screen candidates and quickly weed out those who don’t fit the bill. The average recruiter spends just seven seconds scanning through a resume, according to an eye-tracking study by career site Ladders.  The top ten commonly misspelled words are:  honors, behaviors, organization, inquiries, submission, skill set, program, judgement, modeling, and training.  Source: EBN 2/9/22

Are more people working than are being counted? Maybe.  It appears that more than six million people disappeared from the Labor Department’s count of hourly paid workers between 2019 and 2021. They didn’t just vanish. Many found ways of working that expose a blind spot in government policy while transforming the economy. They signed up for flexible working apps such as DoorDash, Amazon Flex, Trusted Health, and Instawork—apps that match hourly workers with local businesses on a shift-by-shift or task-by-task basis. Yet despite the apps’ popularity, the Labor Department rarely publishes statistics on flexible work. The last report on “Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements” came out in 2018. Government counts such as the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey can easily miss flexible workers. While a full-time worker who takes vacation or sick leave will still show up as employed, a flexible worker who does the same will be classified as outside the labor force. The Labor Department’s count of self-employed people isn’t much better, it rose by only about 100,000 between 2019 and 2021, even as flexible work was taking off. Flexible workers—especially those in hourly paid professions—fell off the department’s radar.  Therefore, even with the auto slowdown and interest rates rising, more people are working, just not at the same level of compensation as in the past.  Might also explain the rise in tax revenues in the past few years.  Source:  The Wall Street Journal 2/8/22