I-9/E-Verify

By: Dave Fowler

July 9, 2009 - Well, my speculation was way off! This one surprised me and, I'm sure, many others.

The Administration has decided to move forward with the FAR rule requiring federal contractors to use E-Verify. In a press release dated July 8, 2009 the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that "After a careful review, the Administration will push ahead with full implementation of the rule, which will apply to federal solicitations and contract awards Government-wide starting on September 8, 2009." Click here for the full press release. I interpret the term full implementation to indicate that the rule will be implemented as it currently stands, which includes the a verification requirement for existing employees. No mention was made in the press release of the lawsuit filed against the rule by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others.

Based on what is happening in the administration and with other interested parties such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, here is a hypothetical timeline that has a chance of happening.

June 1, 2009 - U.S. Chamber of Commerce releases a statement that the FAR rule for federal contractors is going to be delayed again (this is the 5th time) until September 8, 2009.

June 1, 2009 - Center for Immigration Studies releases a statement that President Obama will begin meeting with Congress on June 8, 2009 regarding immigration reform. Update from Aaron Blake of The Hill (see article below): The White House had planned the meeting for June 8 originally and rescheduled it for June 17. It is being rescheduled for next week, according to a White House official. "The meeting will happen soon and a new date is being set," the official said. The meeting is set to include a small number of senators and members of Congress and is acting as a kickoff for the administration’s efforts on immigration.

June 2009 - DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announces that there will be changes to the FAR rule that will resolve the lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others.

July 8, 2009 - On or before this date a new FAR rule removing the requirement to submit existing employees to E-Verify and possibly other technical changes will be published in the Federal Register with a 60 day comment period.

September 8, 2009 - the FAR rule will take effect and federal contractors with covered federal contracts will be required to submit all new hires to E-Verify.

This is just speculation, but, who knows, it could happen. Stay tuned.

Updated 6/26/09: Rahm Emanuel says votes not there for immigration reform (BACKGROUND ON MEETING WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION REFORM) - http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/06/rahm_emanuel_says_votes_not_th.html. (6/25/09)

Updated 6/25/09: United States: Immigration Alert: USCIS Announces Further Delays In E-Verify Implementation, Article by Mintz Levin Immigration Practice Group - http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=81810. (6/24/09) 

Updated 6/16/09: NumbersUSA says - Obama Administration and DHS to Gut E-Verify Executive Order. (6/12/09)

Updated 6/16/09: Frank Davies of the Mercury News Washington Bureau writes - Obama, Congress flirt with tackling immigration reform. (6/14/09)

Updated 6/16/09: Aaron Blake of The Hill writes - White House puts off immigration meeting again.

I take the same route to and from work every day. I’m sure others have had the same experience, but there are days when I get to work and don’t remember much of the drive. I don’t pay very much attention to my surroundings because the buildings I pass and the streets I drive on don’t change.

One afternoon at work, one of my colleagues (and fellow blogger), Reid, asked me if I had noticed the squirrel statue in the roundabout by our building. (If you aren’t familiar with a roundabout, it’s basically a four-way intersection, but it has a circular roadway around a central island). Even though Reid is a psychologist, I thought he had lost his mind. Surely if there was something as strange as a statue of a squirrel in the roundabout that I go through twice a day I would have noticed it. But sure enough, as soon as he pointed it out to me from our office window, I saw the squirrel positioned right in the middle of the roundabout. I couldn’t believe it and wondered how I could have missed something so obvious. Now I wonder what else I’ve missed not only in my surroundings but in my day-to-day activities as well.

It is easy for work processes to become like my commute – so routine that we switch to autopilot and perform our tasks without even noticing them. When was the last time you systematically evaluated your pre-employment hiring process? If you always go through the process in the same way without really looking at what you are doing, how will you make improvements? If you look for candidates without really thinking about what makes a person successful on the job, what are you missing? Perhaps we should take some time to step back and evaluate our processes and determine what it is that we are really trying to accomplish. We might find something important that needs to be altered (or at least something we hadn’t noticed before) that will help us be more successful. Feel free to call or email us so that pan can help you find your squirrel statue.

Jenni Ginsburg

The current economic recession is sending more and more companies into financial crisis. The number of businesses filing for bankruptcy protection is at its highest level in over two years.

According to the AACER (Automated Access to Court Electronic Records) there were 7,843 commercial bankruptcy filings during the month of March. This was up 23% from February. It is also the highest monthly total of business filings since 2006.

Other data from the AACER showed that in the first quarter of this year 20,251 businesses sought either Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 protection; a 52.4% increase over the 13,291 business bankruptcy filings during the same period last year.

Bankrupt employers, trustees and anyone considering purchasing bankrupt businesses may have specific procedural requirements to insulate themselves from additional employer liabilities.

Pat Powell

TALX has received information from the WORKFORCE West Virginia, that the unemployment taxable wage base will be increasing from $8,000 to $12,000 effective with the second quarter, 2009.

West Virginia Senate Bill 246 was passed on April 11, 2009 and the wage base change became effective with this passage. The state will be issuing a letter to employers in the near future. They have already contacted a few of the larger payroll providers.

It is highly unusual to have a wage base change in the middle of the year; credit these unusual economic times. Employers will need to immediately change their payroll systems to reflect the new wage base. Employers will not be required to file amended first quarter returns as the change was not effective until after the first quarter ended. However, employees who met the first quarter wage base of $8,000 will now be subject to tax on the next $4,000 of taxable wages.

Pat Powell

In these troubled times, many companies are being forced to make substantial staffing cut-backs. Announcements are coming daily with some industries being affected more than others. The automotive industry in particular is scrambling to "right-size" its workforce in an effort to avoid bankruptcy and as part of recovery plans associated with Federal Bailout grants (GM's Downsizing Strategy Moving With Great Efficiency | workforce.com.)

From an unemployment perspective it is essential to understand the impact a layoff will have on your company’s unemployment tax rate. In addition, failure to meet certain employee notification requirements under the Federal Warn Act could result in penalties and open the door to class action suits or individual employee lawsuits (TALX Bulletin Employer Downsizing.)

From a liability perspective, it is important to protect your company in the area of employment litigation (Nine Ways to Protect Your Company During Staff Reductions | workforce.com.)

Lastly, maintaining employee morale for those left behind can be a challenge. Treatment of exiting employees can say a lot about a company and has a tremendous impact on the productivity of the remaining workforce (In a Time of Layoffs, Keep Human Resources Humane - BusinessWeek.)

While workforce reductions are often reactionary resolutions to tough economic conditions, planning is essential. It is crucial that you know the impact of every decision made along the way.

Tammy Mullin

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics employers took 2,933 mass layoff actions involving 299,388 workers in March. These are the highest levels on record. Mass layoff events increased by 164 from February and initial claims increased by 3,911. Twenty-six states reached program highs for March in terms of average weekly initial claims.

These types of unemployment numbers are taking their toll on the state trust fund balances. As of April 23, 14 states have borrowed money from the Federal Unemployment Fund. The outstanding loan balance is currently over $9.7 billion.

Both California and Michigan have already borrowed over $2 billion each. This is the first time since 1983 that any state has borrowed over $2 billion and it’s only April.

Pat Powell

The Employer Tax Services Group will be holding webcasts on May 6 & 7, 2009. These webcasts will focus on the impact of the recession on unemployment taxes for 2009 and beyond. The newly signed American Recovery & Reinvestment Act will be discussed in detail as well as Trust Fund solvency and subsequent Title XII Loans. Even though unemployment tax rates have been set for 2009, it's never too early to understand how the recession and new law changes will affect future tax payments. To attend one of the webinars, just click here.

Interesting controversy over Texas Governor Rick Perry’s announcement in March that he was rejecting additional unemployment funding because there were too many strings attached Texas Governor Rick Perry Rejects $555 Million In Stimulus Money - cbs2.com. He continues to make headlines and was even the brunt of jokes on The Colbert Report on April 20th. 

Other states are agreeing with Perry, just look at the press coming out of the State of Virginia recently Virginia Lawmakers Split on What's Best for Workers, Employers - washingtonpost.com.  

So why is this happening?  What are those strings everyone is talking about?  

Well, states will get a portion of $7 billion, if they have enacted or will enact an “alternative base period” – the earnings period used to establish a UI claim – as well as two of four other unemployment benefit expansions: 1) part-time worker eligibility; 2) compelling family reason quit eligibility, 3) benefits for dislocated workers in approved training; and 4) dependent allowances.  When the stimulus money runs out, Texas estimates that it will cost employers an additional $75 million a year TEXAS GOV. RICK PERRY STILL OPPOSES ACCEPTING STIMULUS MONEY FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS.

While we know that the additional unemployment coverage will benefit the individuals out there desperate for work now, what we don’t know is whether that will have enough of an impact on the economy to outweigh the negative impact on employers struggling to stay in business.  At the end of the day, only time will tell.
For more information on the Stimulus package, visit the Industry Insights section under News and Events at www.talx.com .

Tammy Mullin

The current state of the national economy has adversely affected every state’s trust fund balance. When it becomes apparent that the trust fund does not have adequate reserves to pay unemployment benefits, the Governor may request a loan under Title XII of the Social Security Act. If a state has an outstanding loan balance on January 1st of two consecutive years and has not repaid the balance by November 10th of the second year, employers in that state are at risk of losing a portion of their FUTA tax credit. As of April 13th there are 14 states with Title XII loan balances and there are several other states that may need to borrow in the near future. Only employers in the state of MI are at risk of losing a portion of their FUTA tax credit in 2009. However there are at least 4 additional states that are at risk of losing credits in 2010 and significantly more in 2011 and beyond based on today’s outstanding loans. It will be important to stay abreast of this situation in order to budget for these potential tax increases.

Pat Powell

Not long ago I was asked to speak to our sales & service teams about the key HR trends in 2009 that would be impacting HR executives and, in particular, our clients. Armed with my own opinions, I then began looking at other sources. From recent and upcoming HR conferences, analyst’s predictions and several “What’s coming in 2009” webcasts, I saw several common areas surfacing. Interestingly, many of these common themes have a direct relationship with HR/Payroll service delivery:

1. The definition of “the workforce” will continue to evolve
2. New HR initiatives must show business value and help support key organizational goals
3. Enthusiastic employee engagement
4. Web 2.0 and the next generation of Internet for business

Paul D. Hamerman and Zach Thomas’ Forrester report, Trends 2009: Human Resource Management (November 21, 2008), identified the evolution of the workforce as one of the key trends. This is not to be confused with the generational workforce issues, but rather the types of workers that will make up the workforce. This includes more people who are not fulltime employees. However, the job of managing these workers from an HR perspective will need to be accommodated within the HRMS/HCM system structure.

I believe that this changing workforce dynamic means we must pay careful attention as to how we deliver HR/Payroll services and any resulting employee communication complications. Will these workers have access to the employee portal? Should they see all of the information available to all employees? Maybe not, since they are not traditional fulltime employees. Going forward, having a firm handle on the target audience, and their specific communication needs and challenges, will be essential to successfully adapting HR/Payroll service delivery channels.

Mike Smith