Hampton Roads 
 Employment News

from Reliance Staffing & Recruiting
Volume 71           
February 2014 
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In this Issue
ACA Changes Employer Mandate
Hiring Tools for 2014 & Beyond
January 2014 Legal Roundup
Unemployment Rates
 
 Dec 13Nov 13Dec 12
VA4.8%5.0%5.5%
 5.2%*5.4%*5.6%*
*seasonally adjusted
 Dec 13Nov 13Dec 12
US6.5%6.6%7.6%
 6.7%*7.0%*7.9%*
*seasonally adjusted
Worker's Comp: Seasonal Suspicion
 

We employ seasonal workers. There seems to be an increased number of injuries right before the end of the season. We suspect fraud-what can we do? 

 

Attorney David Schmit of Schmit Law says: This is something you need to work on with your workers' compensation carrier. There's no simple answer to this. There are a lot of hard working people who work with pain. At a certain point in time they may choose to declare it. Then there are other flat-out frauds. That's not a discernment that most individuals can make just by looking at the situation. It's a tough thing to call and you can't do it alone.

 

Get your workers' compensation carrier involved in this right away in anticipation of your seasonal layoff. One expensive way of doing it would be (and for seasonal workers, this is out of the question, but we will discuss anyway) pre-employment physical evaluations. While it may not be practical - and may not even be allowed under state law except for specific jobs - it is one option.

Source: hr.blr.com

Reliance in Our Communities
 The Southside and Peninsula Kiwanis clubs held their annual Mid Winter Convention in Smithfield this month. Reliance Staffing & Recruiting sponsored the registration material given to each attendee. During the convention, Key Club and Circle K members made Blessing Bags that included tissues, toothpaste paste, toothbrush, protein bars, small hotel size toiletries and other necessities. 1,000 of these Blessing Bags were donated to various organizations and churches to give to the homeless.

We did it again! Reliance has made the Best of Staffing list for Client Satisfaction for the third year in a row, and the Best of Staffing list for Talent Satisfaction for the second year in a row. Less than 2% of the staffing firms in North America make either list, let alone both, and we're the only independent staffing firm in Hampton Roads to be on either list! For more info, read here.

ACA Changes Employer Mandate... Again

Earlier this month, the US Treasury Department announced two major modifications to the "employer" end of the Affordable Care Act. Some employers will have until 2016 to provide health insurance to their employees, while other businesses will have to offer health insurance to fewer of their employees. Which modification applies to your business?

 

Click to read

Hiring Tools for 2014 & Beyond
Some of the highlights from our president's recent presentation on the future of hiring.
January 2014 Legal Roundup
What do pregnancy, Las Vegas and the definition of "clothes" have in common?
Safety Tip of the Month: Protecting Hearing
Hearing loss affects tens of thousands of workers every year, and is the cause of 14% of occupational illness. Without protection, a 25-year-old carpenter can have the hearing of a 50-year-old. So how do you protect your hearing and that of your workers?

 

  • Know that noises at or above 85 decibels can cause damage. How loud is 85 decibels? It's the noise level of heavy city traffic.
  • Wear earplugs or other protective devices when involved in a loud activity. And don't just use the earplugs you can get at a convenience store before a concert; get the activity-specific earplugs and earmuffs that are available at hardware and sporting goods stores.
  • Have regular hearing tests for your employees who are exposed to noise. This isn't just a nice thing to do; it's smart, because the chance of an accident is greatly increased if one or more of your workers can't hear the others. 
  • Periodically review the configuration of your workers if they work in a high-noise setting. If possible, reorganize working spaces to put space or barriers between workers and loud noises. Also, consider rotating workers with similar jobs around different stations if those stations have differing noise levels.

Oh, and if you are experiencing hearing loss, first check to see if there's a banana in your ear. 'Cause that happens sometimes.

"Do I need to pay overtime?"
Overtime Pay eBook

Do you need to pay your employees overtime? What if they're salaried? What if you've offered them a better pay rate in exchange for overtime and they accepted the offer? 

 

This eBook will show you: 

  • How to determine if an employee is exempt or nonexempt 
  • What the rules are for measuring the correct rate of pay 
  • What the consequences are for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act

 

Visit this page to get your free eBook.

  

Client Comments

 
"Thank you so much for all of your assistance and for sending us such a wonderful young lady! She is truly a gem and we will definitely contact you should we have a future need!"
  

 

Catina Genwright, Patterson Dental