14 Ağustos 2012 Salı

Worker Compensation Update

To contact us Click HERE
It is important to clarify when employees are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits and explain what you should and shouldn’t do if an employee is injured on the job. This seminar will discuss:

• When is an employee eligible for worker's compensation benefits?
• Dos and Don'ts when an employee gets injured on the job.
• 2011 changes to the workers' compensation system.
• New legislation and court rulings from 2010.
• Why offer modified work, and what to do when it is refused by your employee.
• Communicating with your injured workers – how and why.


Click on location below for details
Costa Mesa, CA
Date: Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 09:00 AM
Duration: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Continental breakfast
Orange County Dept. of Education
200 Kalmus Dr. Costa Mesa, CA

San Diego, CA
Date: Tuesday, March 16, 2011 at 09:00 AM
Duration: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Continental breakfast
DeVry University
2655 Camino Del Rio N., Suite 201 San Diego, CA 92108

Fresno, CA
Date: Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 12:00 PM
Duration: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Lunch included
Piccadilly Inn Airport
5115 E. McKinley Fresno, CA 93727

Established in 1937, CEA is a non-profit association providing personalized and cost effective comprehensive information, services, and training for all aspects of human resources management,California Labor Law and relations solutions throughout California. Located throughout the state, CEA’s staff of regional directors draw upon more than 150 years combined knowledge and experience to assist in all aspects of employer-employee relations.


For more information please contact:
Scott J. Dear, Director of Membership Services
Toll free 1-800-399-5331 or 916-921-1312
Mobile 916-281-5898
Email: sdear@employers.org
Website:www.employers.org
Twitter:Caemployers

Announcing CEA HR 101 for California workshop

To contact us Click HERE
How many hats do you wear each day?

Office Manager, Human Resource Manager or Have-To-Do-It-All Manager? With all you have to do, staying up to date on human resource practices may fall to the bottom of your to-do list.

CEA to the rescue! Due to popular demand, CEA has created a brand new training called HR 101 (for California). In this small class size, we will cover the essentials of human resources on a more personal level.

Our first scheduled class was held in Sacramento click here for sample flier. If you would like us to offer this class in your area, please email Scott Dear for more information



Established in 1937, CEA is a non-profit association providing personalized and cost effective comprehensive information, services, and training for all aspects of human resources management,California Labor Law and relations solutions throughout California. Located throughout the state, CEA’s staff of regional directors draw upon more than 150 years combined knowledge and experience to assist in all aspects of employer-employee relations.

For more information please contact:
Scott J. Dear, Director of Membership Services
Toll free 1-800-399-5331 or 916-921-1312
Mobile 916-281-5898
Email: sdear@employers.org
Website: www.employers.org
Twitter: Caemployers

Employee or Independent Contractor? The IRS will decide!

To contact us Click HERE
Three-year study. The IRS is randomly selecting 2,000 returns from all types of employers in the private, tax-exempt, and government sectors as part of the three-year NRP payroll tax audit that began in February 2010. "This is the first time the IRS has conducted an employment tax study since the early 1980s. Based on studies from more than 10 years ago, the IRS has estimated that employment tax underreporting accounts for approximately $54 billion of the $345 billion tax gap (the difference between what taxpayers owe and what they pay). In other words, the IRS wants to be sure they are getting the proper amount of payroll taxes they are due.

Under Review. Employers selected for participation should expect to provide the IRS with a variety of documents, including:

• payroll tax records
• W-2 forms
• exemption worksheets (the IRS is taking a close look at worker classification).

Misclassifying a worker as an independent contractor, when they should actually be classified as an employee, can result in liability for employment taxes and for the 100-percent penalty for failure to collect and account for employment taxes. The IRS uses three characteristics to determine the relationship between businesses and workers --behavioral control, financial control, and the nature of the relationship.

The Test. The basic test for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee is whether the principal(boss/owner) has the right to direct and control the manner and means by which the work is performed. When the principal has the "right of control," the worker will be an employee even if the principal never actually exercises the control. If the principal does not have the right of direction and control, the worker will generally be an independent contractor.
What to Do. We encourage all employers to review the classification of all your independent contractors. Using the EDD employment determination guide, found at: http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de38.pdf an owner can determine whether a worker is most likely an employee or an independent contractor.

More questions? Give us a call, we can provide you with exemption worksheets and help you properly classify all of your employees!


JOIN CEA TODAY!

Established in 1937, CEA is a non-profit association providing personalized and cost effective comprehensive information, services, and training for all aspects of human resources management,California Labor Law and relations solutions throughout California. Located throughout the state, CEA’s staff of regional directors draw upon more than 150 years combined knowledge and experience to assist in all aspects of employer-employee relations.

For more information please contact:
Scott J. Dear, Director of Membership Services
Toll free 1-800-399-5331 or 916-921-1312
Mobile 916-281-5898
Email: sdear@employers.org
Website: www.employers.org
Twitter: Caemployers

Webinar: Worker's Compensation Update March 30th

To contact us Click HERE
It is important to clarify when employees are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits and explain what you should and shouldn’t do if an employee is injured on the job. This seminar will discuss:


• When is an employee eligible for worker's compensation benefits?
• Dos and Don'ts when an employee gets injured on the job.
• 2011 changes to the workers' compensation system.
• New legislation and court rulings from 2010.
• Why offer modified work, and what to do when it is refused by your employee.
• Communicating with your injured workers – how and why.

HRCI Approved:
The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification.

Speaker: Steven Roberts Esq
Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 At 12:00 PM
Duration: 1 Hour

Mr. Roberts is a partner in the workers’ compensation defense firm of Yrulegui and Roberts. He is certified by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in Workers’ Compensation.

He has full range of trial experience including all phases of workers’ compensation litigation; appellate court hearings and Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board trials.

Registration information Click Here



Established in 1937, CEA is a non-profit association providing personalized and cost effective comprehensive information, services, and training for all aspects of human resources management,California Labor Law and relations solutions throughout California. Located throughout the state, CEA’s staff of regional directors draw upon more than 150 years combined knowledge and experience to assist in all aspects of employer-employee relations.

For more information please contact:
Scott J. Dear, Director of Membership Services
Toll free 1-800-399-5331 or 916-921-1312
Mobile 916-281-5898
Email: sdear@employers.org
Website: www.employers.org
Twitter: Caemployers

What's the Real Cost?

To contact us Click HERE
With the increase in Federal agency initiatives targeting employers, such as I-9 audits or independent contractor classification audits, employers face increased scrutiny. In addition, disgruntled current or former employees are free to lodge complaints with State and Federal agencies that may spark an investigation. In either case, an employer faces potential liability, as very few employers are capable of keeping up with the myriad of employment laws. In reality, most employers try to remain compliant with employment laws, but if the government looks hard enough, it is likely to find a violation or two.
What’s the cost of a claim? It might be fines for incomplete I-9s, unpaid taxes for misclassification of workers, overtime for unpaid wages or a need to change employment practices. But, the biggest cost is usually legal fees. It is a best practice to hire counsel when an employer faces a government investigation, employee claim or audit. Contacting counsel before reacting/responding to a claim is prudent, but it does create an expense. Moreover, a disgruntled employee is likely to have an attorney herself. When an employee has an attorney, that attorney will likely make a demand for some kind of monetary compensation for whatever wrong the employee alleges. The demand ordinarily includes the payment of that employee’s attorney’s fees.
Most Federal discrimination laws allow for the recovery of attorney’s fees to the “prevailing party”. In a case that goes to litigation, this can mean that the employee’s attorney will ask the court to award “reasonable attorney’s fees”. Typically, the employee’s will ask that the court award attorney’s fees in excess of $100,000. Even in cases that settle, employees expect their attorney’s fees to be paid by the employer, which again can add up to significant amounts of money even in a case that is considered suspect.
In a recent Federal employment discrimination case, a jury awarded an employee $110,000 in damages for the employer’s retaliation for her protesting unlawful employment practices. The employee asked the court for an award of attorney’s fees. Although the employee also brought two other unsuccessful claims (one for gender discrimination and one under the FMLA) that the jury rejected, the judge in that case awarded the employee $250,000 in attorney’s fees and expenses. Think about it: her attorney’s fees award more than doubled the amount of actual damages that the jury awarded to her. The judge reasoned that the winning claim (retaliation) was “intertwined” with her other discrimination claims such that she was entitled to all of her attorney’s fees.
What is the lesson learned from this illustrative case? Be proactive as an employer. Conduct regular training for both employees and management, including on topics such as harassment. In addition, conduct a self-audit of internal recordkeeping, policies and procedures, etc. If you find violations on your own, it’s cheaper and easier to correct with the assistance of counsel than when your company is facing a claim or audit. Finally, while not all claims are avoidable despite best efforts, if the company has taken proactive steps such as those mentioned above, it can mitigate its exposure and can reduce the number of claims. After all, paying someone else’s attorney’s fees doesn’t exactly help the bottom line.