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October 2010

Welcome to
SELECTEMP Employment Services
 
Welcome Back! 
 
My how time flies!  Summer has given into fall, school is back in session and the holiday season is closely approaching. Things are changing for the positive.
 
Please check our latest issue for great articles & updates!
In The News...
 

ICE Launches Nationwide I-9 Audits

Last year, the Obama administration pledged to uphold federal immigration laws by shifting its policy on illegal immigration-instead of investigating and punishing undocumented workers, federal agencies began to focus on work site enforcement, targeting employers that employ illegal immigrants. The investigation involves a comprehensive review of Forms I-9, which employers are required to complete and retain for each employee.

Earlier this month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sent hundreds of notices of inspection (NOIs) to companies throughout the U.S. If an employer receives an NOI, it has three days to submit Forms I-9 for inspection. Depending on specific factors, an extension may be granted.

This latest round of ICE audits coincides with the end of the government's fiscal year, which closes Sept. 30. According to an ICE official, more than 2,000 inspections have been conducted in FY 2010. This marks an increase from 1,444 inspections in FY 2009, 503 in FY 2008, and 254 in FY 2007.

Update from our Safety Director

OSHA TRAINING STANDARDS POLICY STATEMENT

The purpose of this article is to reiterate Oregon OSHA's policy that employees training required by OSHA standards must be presented in a manner that employees can understand.

 

Employers Training Obligation

 

Many Oregon OSHA standards require that employees receive training so that work will be performed in a safe and healthful manner.  It is the OSHA's position that, regardless of the precise regulatory language, the terms "train" and "instruct," as well as other synonyms, mean to present information in a manner that employees receiving it are capable of understanding. This follows from both the purpose of the standards - providing employees with information that will allow work to be performed in a safe and healthful manner that complies with OSHA requirements and the basic definition of training and instruction.

 

      Training and instruction mean imparting information, a definition that implies the information is presented in a manner the recipient is capable of understanding.

 

Oregon OSHA has a long and consistent history of interpreting its standards and other requirements to require employers to present information in a manner that their employees can understand.

 

      Instruction that employers must provide must be tailored to the employee's language and education and learning style, whether it's: 1) Auditory - speaking and hearing/listening; 2) Visual - sight; and 3) Kinesthetic - hands-on.

      If the employees receive job instructions in a language other than English, then training and information to be conveyed will also need to be conducted in a foreign language.

 

In practical terms, this means that an employer must instruct its employees using both a language and vocabulary that

the employees can understand.

 

      For example: If an employee's vocabulary is limited, whether they comprehend the English language or not, the training must account for the limitation.

       By the same token, if employees are not literate, telling them to read training materials will not satisfy the employer's training obligation.  As general matter, employers are expected to realize that if they customarily need to communicate work instructions or other workplace information to employees at a certain vocabulary level or in a language other than English.  Employers will also need to provide safety and health training to employees in the same manner.

Additionally, Oregon OSHA's training provisions contain a variety of specific requirements related to employee's comprehension.

 

      For example:  Lockout/Tagout requires the employer to verify that the employees have "acquired" the knowledge and skills which they have been trained. 

      The Respiratory Protection standard requires retraining when "inadequacies in the employee's knowledge or use of the respirator indicate that the employee has not retained the requisite understanding or skill".

 

Oregon OSHA Enforcement

 

Oregon OSHA's Safety and/or Health Compliance Officers have a responsibility to check and verify that employers have provided training to employees in a format that the employees being trained could understand.

 

The compliance officer is to determine whether the training provided by the employer meets the requirements and intent of the specific standard, considering the language of the standard and all of the facts and circumstances of the particular workplace.

 

      For example:  The compliance officer emphasis is to look to whether workplace instructions regarding job duties are presented in a manner that employees are capable of understanding and whether the employer already is transmitting information with comprehensibility in mind.

         Note: Compliance officers may look beyond any basic paper documentation; i.e., an employer may have training records but employees may not have been able to understand the elements included in the training.

 

Please contact Selectemp's safety department for additional information or if you would like assistance with auditing your current training methods to ensure that employees receive training so that work will be performed in a safe and healthful manner.

Question of the Day
 

TIMEKEEPING QUESTION

 

Question: The employees at my grocery store are increasingly failing to follow my timekeeping procedures. For example, they often "forget" to punch in or out on the time clock, or they occasionally even have someone else punch in or out for them. They also sometimes work unauthorized overtime despite my clear policy requiring management approval prior to doing so. I am inclined to dock their pay when they violate these policies. Would that be a problem?

 
 
Answer: Yes, that could be a huge problem. In Oregon, employees must be paid for all hours worked unless they fit into certain very narrow exemptions that do not appear to apply in your situation. It is the employer's responsibility to supervise the employees, to keep track of the hours those employees work, and to prevent them to the extent possible from working unauthorized overtime. The failure to do so could result in claims for back pay, interest, penalty wages, civil penalties and even attorneys' fees. You are entitled to strictly enforce your timekeeping policies and procedures, but you must not hold the wages hostage as a means of getting your workers to comply with those policies. Progressive discipline may be quite effective, however. You might first try coaching, use verbal and then written warnings, suspensions, probationary periods, reductions in the rate of pay during such probationary periods (so long as you do not go below minimum wage), transferring offending employees to less desirable shifts, and ultimately even termination. If you are vigilant and consistent, your employees should get the message before long. It is important to document each infraction and each disciplinary measure taken in the employee's personnel file.
 
Question: Am I allowed to "round off" my employees' time to the nearest fifteen minute interval or must I pay them to the minute for all of the time they are working?
 

Answer: The answer is yes to both parts of the question! Federal regulations recognize that employers, particularly those using time clocks, often record time to the nearest five minutes or tenth or quarter of an hour. The presumption is that this eventually averages out so that employees are ultimately paid for all hours they actually work. This practice will be accepted so long as it does not result in an underpayment to employees over time. They must be paid for all hours they actually work. 29 CFR 785.48(b). So long as the rounding works both ways (for and against the employee), increments of no longer than 15 minutes are used, and the employees end up being fully paid for all hours worked, the practice will be allowed. Therefore, it would be prudent to audit the timecards periodically to ensure that an employee who, for example, clocks in 7 minutes early and clocks out 7 minutes late every day is fully paid for all of that time.

If you would like to learn more about this topic, Technical Assistance for Employers will be conducting seminars in Wage and Hour Laws on April 27 in Ontario and on May 6 in Eugene. Please visit www.oregon.gov/BOLI/TA for a full seminar schedule and registration information.

The Toolbox 
 
If you have female employees they should check out becoming a member if NAWIC (Nation Association of Women in Construction). There are three Chapters in Oregon, located in Eugene, Salem and Portland. For additional information you can visit the website www.nawic.org.  You can also contact Cary Kuvaas, Selectemp Eugene/Springfield 541-746-6200 or Denise Torres, Selectemp Salem 503-581-1748 
 

NAWIC  is dedicated to enhancing the success of women in the construction industry by building educations, careers, futures and lives.

 

A Note of Congratulations!  
 
Please join us in congratulating the following employees who have recently celebrated their anniversaries with SELECTEMP!
 
Trina Helfrich, Medford Branch Manager, recently celebrated her 4 year anniversary with Selectemp!
 
Ellen Otani, Selectemp Corporate Claims Manager, recently celebrated her 6 year anniversary with Selectemp! 
 
Karen Chambers, Albany Branch Manager, recently celebrated her 6 year anniversary with Selectemp!
 
Autumn Cummings, Eugene Branch Staffing Assistant, recently celebrated her 6 year anniversary with Selectemp!
 
Leslie Pitts, Selectemp Vice President of Administration, celebrated her 20 year anniversary with Selectemp! Congratulations!
 
Karen Coutts, Selectemp Corporate Payroll Administrator, celebrated her 19 year anniversary with Selectemp!  Fantastic!
 
Holly Wilson, Medford Staffing Manager, recently celebrated her 3 year anniversary with Selectemp!
 
Congratulations to them all!
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In This Issue:
Question of the Day
The Toolbox
Employee of the Month
EMPLOYEE 
 OF THE MONTH:
 Salem Branch

John B. has done an exceptional job for Selectemp since April 2009.  He has NEVER turned down an assignment.  John's assignments have ranged from delivery driving  to construction labor.  Every client we have sent him to has  given him raving reviews. His previous experience was in the printing industry and in cabinetry. 

 

If you are interested in John B. or another quality employee, please contact our Salem branch at:

 503-581-1748.
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Team Selectemp!
  

 Selectemp recently participated  in the Salem Chamber Golf Tournement.

 

Go Team! 

 
 

 

 
 
 
 
SELECTEMP is here to support your staffing needs as the economy continues to recover and our clients experience growth.
 
 
 
 

 

 
 

 

 
  

INCREASING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE CARE

Extending Coverage for Young Adults

Effective for health plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010

Under the new law, young adults will be allowed to stay on their parent's plan until they turn 26 years old. (In the case of existing group health plans, this right does not apply if the young adult is offered insurance at work.) Some insurers began implementing this practice early. Check with your insurance company or employer to see if you qualify. Learn more about the young adults insurance policy.

 
 
 

 

 
 
Joke of the Day...
 
THE YOUNG BUSINESSMAN
 
A young businessman had just started his own firm. He rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wishing to appear the hot shot, the businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working.
 
He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments. Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, "Can I help you?"
 
The man said, "Yeah, I've come to activate your phone lines."