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ADMINISTRATION FINALIZES NEW E-VERIFY SYSTEM REGULATIONS
The final regulation that would require federal contractors and subcontractors to use the government's E-Verify system for all new hires during the term of a covered public contract and for all new hires and incumbent employees working on a covered federal project cleared the Office of Management and Budget on October 17. The new regulations will take effect before the new administration takes office in January. The regulation will add a substantial new workload to the E-Verify system, which is currently funded by Congress only until mid-2009. System proponents vouch for its accuracy and the pressing need for a reliable and well-funded system to ensure enforcement of lawful employment policies. These regulations join another federal contracting proposal that would require federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts of $5 million or more to have detailed internal codes of ethics and procedures to detect and deter improper practices and procedures in the performance of the public contract. Failure to report violations is cause for debarment and suspension from public contract awards.
Read more...NEW EMPLOYEE REGULATIONS ISSUED
Last week the Labor Department issued proposed regulations that would amend the Davis-Bacon and Copeland Act weekly payroll reporting requirements by removing the requirement to include the Social Security numbers and home addresses of workers covered in those reports. (73 FR 62229, 10/20/08). On October 23 the Department of Homeland Security re-issued its controversial regulations that would provide employers with a prescribed course of conduct when they receive No-Match letters from the Social Security Administration concerning the lawful employment of employees. The regulations will take effect pending publication in the Federal Register and after clearing a court injunction against the previous regulations.
Read more...FEDERAL WAGE-AND-HOUR REGULATIONS AMENDED TO REFLECT 1996 CHANGES TO TRAVEL TIME PAY RULES
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed regulation on July 28, 2008 (73 FR 43654) that reflects the 1996 Portal-to-Portal Act amendments providing that home-to-work travel in company-provided vehicles is not paid time if it meets certain conditions. The Employee Commuting Flexibility Act of 1996, which became effective on August 20, 1996, states: "The use of an employer's vehicle for travel by an employee and activities performed by an employee which are incidental to the use of such vehicle for commuting shall not be considered part of an employee's principal activities if the use of the vehicle for travel is within the normal commuting area for the employer's business or establishment and the use of the employer's vehicle is subject to an agreement on the part of the employer and employee or representative of such employee." The current proposed regulations clarify the conditions under which such home-to-work travel time is to be considered noncompensable. First, the agreement between the employee and employer can be either a formal bilateral written agreement, a collective bargaining agreement, or "an understanding based on established industry or company practices." Also, the work sites must be within the "normal commuting area of the employer's establishment." The regulations also clarify that, "Activities that are merely incidental to the use of the vehicle for commuting at the start or end of the day are similarly noncompensable, such as communication between the employee and employer to obtain assignments or instructions, or to report work progress or completion." The proposed rules are open for comment until September 11, 2008; go to www.regulations.gov and use identification RIN 1215-AB13. These regulations bear on federal law only; in some cases, state wage-and-hour law regulations or interpretations on commuting in company vehicles may be different. (For example, in recent years, there have been different rulings under California and Washington laws).
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