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PayMaster Monthly Reporter for September 2007

Article | Department of Homeland Security

On August 10th, 2007, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez Announced a Series of Reforms the Administration Will Pursue to Address Border Security and Immigration Challenges. The following reforms represent steps the Administration can take within the boundaries of existing law to secure our borders more effectively, improve interior and worksite enforcement, streamline existing guest worker programs, improve the current immigration system, and help new immigrants assimilate into American culture.

Here is a rundown of eight of the changes announced by the Department of Homeland Security that will affect employers:

1. A "no-match" regulation has been issued to ensure workers are legal and help the government identify and crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers.
   
   When an employer has an employee with inaccurate personal identity information, the Social Security Administration sends the employer a no-match letter. A new regulation clarifies that employers may be held liable if they ignore "no-match" problems by failing to take specified steps within 90 days of receiving a letter.



2. In the coming months, rules will be published to reduce the number of documents employers must accept.
   
   Presently, 29 categories of documents can be used to establish the identity and work eligibility of employees. Due to this quantity, employers have little capacity to verify the authenticity of every document. This regulation will reduce unlawful employment by weeding out insecure documents now used often for identity fraud.



3. The DHS will raise the civil fines imposed on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants by approximately 25 percent.
   
   The department will update civil fines for inflation, boosting them by about 25 percent, as much as is allowed under current law.



4. Criminal investigations against employers that knowingly hire large numbers of illegal aliens will continue to be expanded.
   
   Arrests for criminal violations increased from 24 in 1999 to a record 716 in 2006. There have been 742 criminal arrests so far in 2007 through July 31.



5. The Administration will begin a rulemaking process to require all federal contractors and vendors to use "E-Verify," the Federal Electronic Employment Verification System, to ensure employees are authorized to work in the U.S.
   
   There are more than 200,000 companies doing federal business and expanding the use of E-Verify will make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to obtain jobs through fraud.



6. Several other steps will be taken to make greater use of E-Verify.
   
   For example, the government is planning to expand the data sources E-Verify can check, including cross-checks of Visa and passport information.
   
   The Administration will also seek voluntary state partners willing to share their Department of Motor Vehicles photos and records with E-Verify. Agreements to allow access to the repository of photographs in state DMV databases will help prevent illegal immigrants from using fraudulent driver's licenses to obtain employment.



7. The Department of Labor (DOL) will reform and streamline the H-2A Agricultural Seasonal Worker Program and the H-2B Program for workers not involved in agriculture.
   
   "No sector of the American economy requires a legal flow of foreign workers more than agriculture, which has begun to experience severe labor shortages as our southern border has tightened," according to the DHS. Therefore, the DOL is reviewing the regulations implementing the H-2A program and will institute changes to "provide farmers with an orderly and timely flow of legal workers, while protecting the rights of laborers."
   
   In addition, regulations will be streamlined in the H-2B Program for non-agricultural seasonal workers, which has been popular "because businesses in seasonal industries such as landscaping and hospitality frequently have a difficult time locating temporary workers," DHS explained. However, some employers report significant processing delays. DOL's proposed rules will speed processing.



8. The DHS will extend the Visa term for professionals from Canada and Mexico to attract more talented workers.
   
   American employers must compete for foreign professionals, and "those who elect to lend their talents to the U.S. economy should be welcomed with open arms, not given a bureaucratic runaround," according to the DHS.
   
   Yet the roughly 65,000 workers who enter the United States each year on a TN visa must renew them every year. A new regulation will extend the TN visa duration to three years -- the same term as other professional visas.

Article | The Realities and Legalities of Telecommuting

The notion of what the traditional work place should be has changed in light of new technology that continues to make a global market possible. Telecommuting is no longer viewed as the solution for the working mother who is raising children. The demand from workers for flexibility in work schedules, the increase in efficiency due to high-speed internet connections and the cost-savings to companies by allowing an off-site workforce, among other reasons, has made working from home a viable option for many workers.

The Realities:
Is telecommuting right for your business?

The Pros

An employer might decide to permit workers to telecommute for a variety of reasons, one of which may be the desire to retain quality employees who seek to strike a better balance between home and work. For many employees, dealing with traffic, parking and rising gas prices are fueling the need to work from home. Eliminating the commute also enables the employee to spend more non-working hours meeting family commitments and, at the same time, save money. In some circumstances, savings may equal one to two hours per day in childcare expenses. This in turn may have a financial impact on your business.

An employee who has the desire to work at home and who is permitted to do so will likely have a renewed or even stronger sense of loyalty to the business. Likewise, morale will be lifted, and higher employee retention rates will be achieved. A satisfied employee is usually a more productive employee with a lower absentee record.

Similarly, when a valued employee must relocate, a company may save time and money by allowing that employee to telecommute from the employee's new home. The employer might also save time and money by not having to recruit and train a replacement for this individual. The economic savings to the employer in having an off-site location may also be realized by not having as large an office space to accommodate the workforce.

Technology now exists that enables employers to realize remote-access security. The employer's information technology professionals can monitor whether or not a telecommuter's computer and other communication devices are protected with proper anti-virus software. Patching that employee into the employer's network to allow the employee to function as if she were sitting in an office at the employer's main site is now easier than ever. While the data stored on laptop computers or the employee's own home computer needs to be monitored and backed-up just as if that employee were in the office working on the server, software is available to automate the process. Once a telecommuter is logged into the system, the computer should function as part of the employer's network.

The Cons

Monitoring telecommuter employees is not as easy as monitoring employees who work in the employer's physical office. Likewise, some employees lack the independence and commitment required to be a successful telecommuter. Consideration must be given as to how to judge a telecommuter's work performance when a supervisor is not physically present to oversee the work.

Further, a rogue employee can more easily hide improper behavior. Out of sight may be out of mind. Yet, causes of action still exist for negligent supervision, negligent hiring and harassment, even when the perpetrator works from an alternate location.

The Fair Labor Standards Act's ("FLSA") record-keeping requirements for non-exempt employees may prove to be another challenge. A mechanism must be put in place and closely monitored to ensure that the employee is recording all hours worked. There is also the potential for the at-home employee to falsify time records in an effort to increase his or her compensation. Even though software can record when an employee logs on and off of the computer system, this function is not always indicative of the hours actually worked.

Additionally, consideration must be given to how an employee can fulfill its document retention requirements with a telecommuter. If the threat of or actual litigation arises, the employee's computer may be subject to a forensic search to satisfy document production requirements. This search might be more difficult and more costly in a telecommuting setting.

Maintaining privacy and exclusivity of ownership over intellectual property are also issues that may arise. An employee working outside of the workplace may maintain a duplicate set of client files and may also have access to trade secrets and other proprietary information required to fulfill the employee's job duties. Thus, the employer may have more difficulty retrieving these items from a departing telecommuter than from an employee working in a traditional office.

If a person's job is only feasible in an office environment, telecommuting will not work for this position. If an employee is in constant collaboration with other workers, despite the ease of today's electronic communications, telecommuting may not be a reasonable alternative. Likewise, the decrease in the number of employees at the work site may impact the employer's ability to handle a crisis or to staff an emergency project.

Finally, the employee's home may not be an environment conducive to performing work. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has opined that the Occupational Safety and Health Act applies to employees who have work at home arrangements. Also, if an employee is injured at home while working, worker's compensation insurance may be implicated.

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Article | Employee Self Service

PayMaster now offers Employee Self Service. Your employees can use this service to access their payroll information online; Check Stubs, W-2's, Time Off Accrual Balances and more!

Sign up this month and the $50 setup fee is waived!

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Contact your Payroll Specialist for more details.