Holland & Hart offers a complimentary on-demand webinar on the most important things employers should be doing now to prepare for health care reform during 2015.

The webinar discusses what to expect and how to prepare to comply with the ACA employer reporting requirements, and recent changes to the rules for determining full-time employee status and applicable employer coverage requirements.

The presenters also talk about important transition rules that delay the effective date of certain ACA requirements for some employers, and about the Administration’s enforcement efforts targeting employers who “dump” their employees on the exchanges.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Wolfsdorf Rosenthal presents a free webinar explaining President’s Obama’s executive immigration actions.

On its website, the firm says this webinar will clarify and explain the variety of executive actions initiated by President Obama as outlined in his Nov. 20, 2014, speech announcing new steps his administration is taking in light of Congressional inaction to address the broken immigration system.

The webinar will cover enforcement priorities, border security, Deferred Action for Parents, pending proceedings, immigration court feforms, U/T visas , worksite enforcement and more.

Watch the on-demand webinar and see the presentation slides.

Billions of tax dollars are squandered in the United States every year because of a decades-old loophole in federal law that allows tens of thousands of businesses to do the wrong thing – simply because they’ve been doing it all along, reports the News  Observer.

The safe harbor rule, officially known as Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978, allows many companies can identify their workers as independent contractors for tax purposes even though the workers are, in fact, employees.

“Under the safe harbor rule, the company just has to have a “reasonable basis” for doing so,” the News & Observer reports. “Generally, companies must just show they’ve been doing it this way all along and that others in their industry do it the same way.”

Read the story.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that asks whether a company discriminates by refusing to provide a simple accommodation to an expectant mother.

The ABA Journal reports on the case of Peggy Young, who was a part-time delivery driver for United Parcel Service when she became pregnant in 2006. She sought an accommodation from her employer based on a fairly standard restriction imposed by her doctor: no lifting of anything greater than 20 pounds in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and nothing more than 10 pounds thereafter.

But UPS told Young that company policy did not permit light duty for pregnant drivers because an essential function of the job was to be able to lift up to 70 pounds, the Journal reports.

Read the story.

Equifax Workforce Solutions will present a complimentary webinar details on President Obama’s immigration plan and methods to help an organization gauge the potential impact on the hiring processes and procedures as well as retention procedures.

The 60-minute webinar will be Tuesday, Dec. 16, beginning at noon Central time.

Speakers will be Montserrat Miller, Partner, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP; Jason Fry, Senior Director, Equifax Workforce Solutions; and Chad Whittenberg, Sr. Director, Product Management – I-9 & E-Verify, Equifax Workforce Solutions.

Topics to be covered include:

–What and who is included in the President’s executive action
–What it means to affected populations
–What it means to the business community
–What it means for the Form I-9 and E-Verify
–What impact it may have short-term and long-term for comprehensive immigration reform

Register for the webinar.

Robert Half Technology has posted its 2015 “IT Hiring Forecast and Local Trend Report,” which was released Dec. 2.

The report discusses the latest trends and salary data for more than 70 positions, including:

Download the hiring guide.

There is little guidance about how much monitoring of an employee’s or job candidate’s social media activities is advisable or legal, panelists said Oct. 15 at a discussion hosted by the Professional Services Council and the Equal Employment Advisory Council.

“We’re in the very early stages of the legal development here,” said Mike Eastman, senior counsel and vice president for public policy at the EEAC. “There’s no U.S. Supreme Court case interpreting Facebook posts and employment law.”

According to a report at Bloomberg BNA, government and industry have a responsibility to know what’s being posted to social media, said Charlie Sowell, senior vice president of Salient Federal Solutions, an information technology, training and engineering service company that employs workers with security clearances.

Read the story.

International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is urging multinational companies to move whistleblowing up their risk agendas as a global survey of more than 2,500 middle and senior managers reveals high levels of corporate complacency.

The survey found that more than one in ten (12%) employees have blown the whistle, while almost half of employees (46%) would consider blowing the whistle. However, less than one in ten (7%) say whistleblowing is currently an important issue for their organization and less than half (44%) say their companies either don’t have a whistleblowing policy or fail to publicize it if there is one.

On its website, the firm says the survey data also shows that employees continue to fear reprisal for blowing the whistle. More than one third (37%) of all employees surveyed believe senior management at their organization would either treat them less favorably or look for ways to terminate their employment if they blew the whistle. Four in every ten (40%) employees say their organization discourages or actively discourages whistleblowing.

Read the report.

The president of the American Bar Association is set to urge chief executives at all of America’s Fortune 500 companies to commit to ending human-rights abuses in their supply chains. The ABA president will send executives the message in a letter by the end of this year, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Even though a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision has made it harder to hold U.S. companies liable for child labor, slavery, human trafficking and dangerous working conditions among their suppliers, the risks to corporate brands grows by the day, said Chris Johnson, the former general counsel of General Motors North America who heads the ABA business section’s supply-chain initiative.

The Star Tribune quoted Johnson: “Regulation is increasing. Litigation is increasing. It’s astounding to me that companies don’t get out ahead of this. It’s a time bomb.”

Some companies have tried. Johnson credits Starbucks, Microsoft and Coca-Cola with setting examples in assessing and addressing the risks of human-rights violations in their supply chains.

Read the story.

Ceridian offers a free on-demand webinar on proper global payroll management techniques.

Demand for global payroll and HR is exploding, and the industry is evolving quickly – so quickly that many companies are struggling to keep pace, Ceridian says on its website. This webinar discusses the current global payroll and HR environment and how these challenges are being addressed by forward-thinking companies.

Topics include:

• The industry evolution of global payroll
• Business initiatives and objectives that drive the need for a global payroll solution
• What other companies are doing to solve for their growing global payroll needs

Watch the on-demand webinar.

When a company buys another business, frequently the acquiring party sees some “overlapping general and administrative functions” in the company that was acquired. This can result in layoffs for some in-house lawyers and other executives and staff people, reports Crain’s Chicago Business.

From the magazine’s report: Professionals’ fates depend on a mix of factors, including their spot on the org chart and the acquirer’s goals, says John Nimesheim, managing director at Slayton Search Partners in Chicago. For example, a private-equity firm that buys a company is more likely to leave the management team intact than a company that acquires for strategic purposes.

“Sometimes it’s, ‘We’re the acquirer, and our team is going to win, and your team is going to go away,’ “ he says. “Sometimes, depending on the structure of the deal, they really want to be friendly.”

The Crain’s report examined several mergers and acquisitions to discern patterns.

Read the story.

An administrative law hearing that could determine whether more than 3,000 workers at the nation’s biggest peach farm are unionized got heated when a lawyer for Gerawan Farming accused the chief prosecutor in the case of playing “hide and seek” with evidence and witnesses

As reported by CNBC, California Agricultural Labor Relations Board (ALRB) General Counsel Sylvia Torres-Guillen, who is responsible for investigating and prosecuting the case, has alleged that Gerawan Farming carried out unfair labor practices, engaged in bad-faith bargaining, and tainted workers.

“This case from the beginning has been hide and seek by the general counsel,” said Ronald Barsamian, an attorney for Gerawan. “We’re still waiting for the UFW to put on its case—let alone the ALRB. If it’s not hide and seek, it’s just not preparing adequately for this case.”

Read the story.

Equifax will present the next in a series of webinars detailing the recent legislation regarding UI Integrity (Unemployment Insurance Integrity) and its impact on employers.

The free webinar will be Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 12 p.m. Central time.

Unemployment claims response is no longer an issue of whether or not to protest a claim, but a matter of UI compliance that involves increasing financial penalties, Equifax says.

Updates on the evolving UI system, which places increased focus on timely and adequate claims response, will be provided along with the following details:

–Up-to-date guidance on state interpretations of the federal mandate
–Efforts by state agencies to identify overpayments and enforce non-compliance penalties
–Best practices for timely and adequate claims response, maximizing favorable determination response, and the use of the latest enhancements to CaseBuilder to ensure UI compliance moving forward

Guest speakers will include experts in Unemployment Cost Management, UI Integrity, and Government Relations. In addition, all attendees will receive the most recently updated White Paper on UI Integrity and Compliance (Q4/2014) featuring a current state-by-state matrix with interpretations of a “pattern of failure,” non-compliance penalties, and overpayment rates by state.

Register for the webinar.

Epstein Becker Green will present a complimentary webinar reviewing 2014 developments in non-compete contracts and what employers should expect and prepare for in 2015.

The webinar will be Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

On its website, the firm says the webinar will cover recent decisions regarding what constitutes adequate consideration for a non-compete.

Other topics will include the trend toward criminal prosecution of trade secret theft, especially in the international context; interesting decisions determining choice-of-law issues; and new and pending state and federal legislation.

Register for the webinar.

Employment Screening Resources has posted an on-demand webinar how “Ban the Box” laws that remove questions about criminal records of applicants from job applications are fast becoming a national standard that will soon affect all employers.

“Ban the Box will soon affect most types and sizes of employers,” says Lester Rosen, founder and CEO of ESR and author of The Safe Hiring Manual, the first comprehensive guide to employment screening. “We are near a tipping point with Ban the Box and employers should adjust to these new laws and move forward.”

On its website, ESR says that, in addition to removing criminal history questions from job applications, Ban the Box seeks to delay inquiries into and use of the criminal records of job applicants until later in the hiring process so candidates are judged fairly on their knowledge, skills, and abilities for the position in question.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Because temporary employees usually have access to your place of business, and they interact with your permanent work force and maybe even clients, it’s important to be sure they can be trusted, advises EmployeeScreenIQ.

It’s likely that these temporary workers are trained on your business systems, and may have access to certain intellectual property.

“They may even have access to your trade secrets,” EmployeeScreenIQ says on its website. “Given the huge amount of access that temporary workers are given during a relatively short amount of time, it’s important to screen these workers just as you would other employees.”

Read the story.

Hatmaker Law Group will present a free employment webinar discussing methods for navigating social media, religion and privacy in the workplace.

The event will be Wednesday, December 17, beginning at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time.

The Hatmaker Law Group’s monthly webinars serve as educational opportunities for employers, owners, managers, accountants, attorneys, and human resource professionals to stay current with up-to-date information on important California employment law issues.

For more information, contact Laura Dakin at (559) 374-0077 or email laura@hatmakerlaw.com

Register for the webinar.

Equifax Workforce Solutions will present a complimentary webinar about the latest developments in Washington affecting the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program.

The webinar will be Thursday, Nov. 20, at 1 p.m. Central time.

WOTC experts from Equifax will join lobbyist Evan Migdail of DLA Piper, who is also a consultant to the National Employment Opportunity Network, to address the prospects for renewal and as well as the actions employers need to do new to be ready for the likely re-instatement of WOTC.

Topics
–Will Congress make WOTC permanent?
–What are the key bills?
–Will Congress add new WOTC categories?
–Who are the key lawmakers and where do they stand?
–Do lawmakers understand the value of WOTC?
–What data do we have to support the effectiveness of WOTC?
–What have State Workforce Agencies been doing during the WOTC hiatus?

Register for the webinar.

Advisen has posted a free on-demand webinar that discusses methods to employ to lower workers compensation costs.

In the webinar, Arthur J. Gallagher’s Bob Walker, Amaxx’s Becki Shafer and Michael Stack, and Advisen’s David Bradford review how organizations hone their pre-injury and post-injury procedures in order to significantly reduce their workers comp expenses.

They discuss such topics as setting realistic goals for reducing comp costs, when to get involved with a claim, developing a return-to-work program, employee communication, obtaining senior management commitment, training programs, and an in-house SIU Director vs. an insurance company’s SIU director.

Listen to the webinar audio or view the presentation slides.