If you know anyone looking for extra money this summer have them call us. Students or working adults can plump up their wallets working in the wine country in some of the most beautiful places on earth! Most assignments are on weekends and are typically in Napa or Sonoma counties. Remember, you must have reliable transportation, because most venues are in remote locations.   

If you're interested click here or call (707) 939-2800!  If you know someone who might be, forward this email to them now! 

Unfortunately the confusion resulting from the troubled roll out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) generated misunderstandings regarding employer responsibilities to temporary employees. Recently, I spoke with a client who thought that their company may have to provide medical coverage to temporary employees. While I knew better, it gave me an opportunity to contact the legal people at the American Staffing Association (ASA) to get a definitive statement.

 

Here is the email from ASA's legal people:

 

Regarding your client's inquiry as to whether it might have responsibility for providing ACA benefits to your employees, the answer is generally no.  The great majority of temporary staffing firms should be considered the common law employer and, in such cases, the client will not be the responsible employer.  Moreover, final regulations issued in February make clear that, even in situations where the IRS may view the client as the common law employer (e.g., PEO and similar arrangements such as payrolling) benefits offered by the staffing firm will be viewed as having been offered by the client for purposes of ACA compliance provided certain requirement are met. 

 

We will be publishing a major issue paper on this subject that will be available after our Staffing Law Conference next week.  In the meantime, you could share with your client the article we published in February (see link) that refers to an exhaustively detailed BNABloomberg article on the topic. That BNA article was written before the final regulations were issued but remains accurate.  It is being updated to reflect the provision mentioned above regarding PEO arrangements.          

 

As the Federal government works the kinks out of the ACA, we are bound to hear more speculation about our responsibilities as employers.  However, the confusion breeds rumors that may or may not be based in facts. If you have any questions about your responsibilities in this dynamic area please call us before you take any decisions affecting your BOLT employees. 

Over the past few months BOLT Staffing has been contributing labor and productivity related articles to California City News. You can find copies of all the articles on our blog. The most recent series we've run speaks to the wave of baby boomer retirements that is crashing down in nearly every workplace. We focused our attention on the impact on local governments in the series, but the challenge extends everywhere. Here's a link to the last article. You'll find links to the previous articles on that page.

While we are addressing the public sector in the series, you might find useful ideas as you confront your own succession challenges. Like the public sector, private employers are crawling out from under the recession to find themselves in an entirely different landscape than that of 2007. The massive labor pool of baby boomers who were in the workforce in 2007 is beginning to dry up and will continue to do so.

Some managers are tempted to look around the workplace and decide that they've escaped the problem by already hiring a younger workforce, or having successfully been able to recruit to fill the shoes of retiring boomers. If you're inclined to feel bulletproof, remember that not everyone will be so well off. With a limited marketplace of qualified employees you can be sure that there will be intense competition for employees from other organizations. Labor shortages are very likely to remain a feature of the new business landscape for a long time to come.

The challenge of recruiting top talent will only increase into the future. Let us help you position yourself and your company for success in the coming years, call us today to find out how we can help!

Thank you for the tips for saving water on the job. Our favorite idea was recycling beverage water for the benefit of the office plants.
Have left over coffee in the pot? Let it cool and give the old philodendron a lift!  Along those lines, rather than just tossing the melted ice water in your coolers, why not look for a plant that looks like it could use a drink.

Summer is about to officially begin. This weekend kicks off everyone's favorite time of year.
While most of us know that the holiday is intended to honor members of the nation's military who gave the ultimate sacrifice, we might have forgotten that it wasn't always called "Memorial Day."
In fact it wasn't till 1967 that the day got its official name by an act of Congress.
Although many localities claim to be the first to observe the day, there is no argument that it was a product of the Civil War. In early summer women came to cemeteries to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.
Over the following decades, the custom continued spontaneously in localities throughout America. Initially the day took its name from the act of decorating the graves, and until WWII it was generally known as Decoration Day. The name changed officially in 1967 and in 1968 its date changed from May 31 to the last Monday in May in order to make a three day weekend.
Please take a few minutes this weekend to remember those who made it possible for us to celebrate our American holidays.

We'll be closed Monday, May 26 in observance of the Holiday. Have a safe and happy weekend!