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December 27th, 2011 by Valiant

Court Finds Immigration Status of Undocumented Workers Irrelevant to Overtime Claims

The issue of immigration, both legal and otherwise, will not go away anytime soon. It continually comes up in local, state and national politics, and it also impacts employers. In fact, a United States District Court Judge in New York has recently issued a ruling regarding the immigration status of undocumented workers that has repercussions for employers nationwide.

The case is Solis v. Cindy’s Total Care, Inc., and the ruling is as follows: The immigration status of undocumented workers is irrelevant to claims of unpaid overtime and illegal pay practices.

December 12th, 2011 by Valiant

Holiday Pay Questions

Payroll No Comments

We’re officially in the holiday season. If you are like most employers, you may be dealing with holiday pay issues. Payscale.com has answered several common holiday pay questions.

Do I have to provide paid holidays?
Federal law does not require you to pay nonexempt employees for holidays that they do not work, but most organizations offer a limited number of paid holidays to create employee goodwill. According to a recent survey, 97% of responding employers say they provide paid holidays to their employees.

April 19th, 2011 by Valiant

Valiant Partners with TaxBreak, a division of neon Workforce Technologies, Inc., to Expand 'Return on Investment' Platform

Authors, Finance, Gov Con, Payroll, Recruiting No Comments

Valiant’s existing and future clients remain top consideration when choosing the best products and services to offer within our ‘Return on Investment’ platform, and we continuously strives to provide value-added services for opportunities to maximize returns. One in five new hires may qualify a business for up to $9000 in tax credits. We have joined forces with TaxBreak, the industry’s leading tax credit provider, to ensure every credit opportunity is captured for each of our clients. By capturing these lucrative tax credits, our clients are able to maximize their returns on the unavoidable costs of hiring, increase cash flow and reduce income tax liability. A custom unique integration with TaxBreak offers a program that allows us to pre-screen applicants and identify every credit opportunity, including those with multi-location employees. Focused ONLY on tax credits and business incentives, TaxBreak holds the secret to simplifying the process and maximizing tax credit potential through compliance, which is optimized through their industry-leading software and technology.

April 8th, 2011 by Valiant

Preparing for a Government Shutdown: How Government Contractors Should Prepare and What Remedies Are Available

Authors, Gov Con, Legal, Legislation, Payroll, Scheduling No Comments

As the funding standoff for the federal government continues between Congress and the Obama Administration, it appears increasingly likely that some form of government shutdown could occur, perhaps as early as April 9, 2011. Given that possibility, it is appropriate for federal contractors, and those companies whose contract payments are otherwise dependent on the flow of funds from the U.S. government, to prepare themselves immediately for a shutdown. Dickstein Shapiro is well-versed in a range of issues related to government contracting and offers within this alert guidance on how to prepare for the possibility of a shutdown.

March 8th, 2011 by Mike Lehner

Overcapitalization & New Insurers Keeping Business Insurance Market Soft: Report

Authors, Finance, Payroll, Scheduling, Security No Comments

The property/casualty insurance market is overcapitalized to the tune of $74 billion and will remain in the soft market phase of the pricing cycle until that difference between supply and demand is brought into balance, according to a new report from Advisen Ltd.

The overcapitalization largely is the result of the growth of policyholders’ surplus as stock markets rebounded from the financial crisis, along with reduced demand for insurance capacity resulting from the Great Recession as business activity decreased and property values fell.

"One unprecedented mega-catastrophe, or several very large catastrophes in close succession, could destroy the excess capacity and trigger a turn in the market," the Advisen report said. But, the consulting firm said, a more likely course is a "slow, painful hemorrhaging of capital as deeply eroded rate levels take their toll."

While property/casualty insurers’ recent results have been bolstered by the release of prior-year reserves, their ability to do so going forward has been diminished, Advisen noted. Meanwhile, the low-interest-rate environment will put additional pressure on insurers’ results, Advisen said.

How does this relate to the Security Guard, Investigation and Electronic Security Industries? Workers Compensation Rates continue to rise because of state rate increases largely associated with increases in loss costs or claim expense. Primary liability, Employment Practices, Crime, Property and Business Auto Liability are trending downward in 2011 only for firms who’s claim experience and operational profile justify a cost reduction. The crystal ball is unclear on 2012 or 2013. Bottom Line; Expect workers compensation rate increases of between 2 and 17% depending on your state while seeing up to a 5% decreases in insurance cost on other lines only if claim experience and operational platform justify the decrease.

» Click here for the full report from Advisen

February 14th, 2011 by Nick Fishman

2011 List of Background Screening Trends

Authors, Industry Thought Leaders, Leadership, Legal, Payroll, Recruiting, Security background Background screening ban the box CFPA checks credit check eeoc Fair Credit Reporting Act hiring HR NAPBS Social Networking No Comments

Insights about hot topics that hiring professionals need to watch in the coming year

Discrimination issues, global screening, contractors, credit checks, social networking and a tsunami of legislation headline the 2011 list of top background screening trends from EmployeeScreenIQ. Since 2007, we’ve developed an annual list for HR professionals and executives; this year’s picks are designed to equip hiring professionals with advance information on crucial screening topics before they become everyday news. Without further adieu, the top nine trends for 2011 include:
1 – EEOC takes aggressive action toward employment background checks. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has increased their scrutiny of hiring practices, exposing employers to a greater risk of discrimination lawsuits. The EEOC is especially targeting “bright line” hiring decisions that automatically exclude candidates with criminal records, arrest Continue Reading…

January 31st, 2011 by Valiant

New Wage Theft Protections Signed into Law

Authors, Legal, Payroll, Scheduling, Security, Training and Education David Paterson Law Pay statement Senate Bill 8380 Theft Wage No Comments

On December 13, former Governor David Paterson signed into law Senate Bill 8380, the Wage Theft Prevention Act, which expands wage notice and recordkeeping requirements for employers, increases penalties for employers that fail to pay full wages due, and expands the state’s enforcement powers.

Effective April 12, 2011, employers must provide a written notice to all employees both at hiring and annually on or before February 1 that includes the rate plus the basis of pay, whether by the hour, shift, day, piece, salary, commission, or other basis; any allowances, such as tips, meals, or lodging, claimed as part of the minimum wage; and the employer’s address, phone number, and any “doing business as” names, among other information.

Employers must obtain Continue Reading…

January 27th, 2011 by Valiant

WHD Intends to Update FLSA Recordkeeping Requirements

Legal, Legislation, Payroll, Time Collection, Training and Education No Comments

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) intends to update the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) recordkeeping requirements, according to the DOL’s Spring Regulatory Agenda. Several of the initiatives the department is considering could have major impacts on employers.

The department is considering a proposed rule that would require covered employers to notify workers of their rights Continue Reading…

December 16th, 2010 by Valiant

Using Biometrics to Stop Buddy Punching

Payroll, Security, Time Collection buddy punching No Comments

Scanning an eye to gain access to a computer or building may seem like a futuristic technology from the latest action movie, but it is very real, and it’s being used all over the world. The process of electronically identifying people using physical measurements of individual human characteristics is called biometrics, or biometry.

A biometric reader uses unique human characteristics that are permanent and able to be scanned. As long as the feature does not change throughout time and can be collected accurately by a sensor, it is can be used as a source of biometric identification. All sorts of individual parts of the body can be used in biometrics, including facial features like irises, fingers, hands, and even veins. The shape and speed of a person’s signature can be used as biometric identification, as well as his or her voice.

Enrollment occurs when biometric readers digitally process representations of individual human measurements in a template. Templates are stored in two ways – either on a smartcard that an employee can possess or a device database. Identification occurs when an employee scans a bodily feature, such as an eye, finger, or hand, and is identified when the biometric reader matches the scan to a stored template. The process of verification occurs when an employee uses a smartcard, token, or login to let the biometric reader compare a previously stored template to a new scan.

Biometrics has a triple role in the workplace. Not only does it eliminate the need for any additional identifying information that is easily lost like a badge, card, code, or password, but it also prevents time fraud, or buddy punching. Buddy punching is the practice of having an employee’s friend swipe him or her in, allowing the employee to arrive late with no consequence. Since a biometric reader uses a pre-stored geometric template of an employee’s finger or hand to validate his or her identity, it renders buddy punching impossible. A biometric reader can also act as a security device, preventing people who are not authorized from entering restricted areas of the workplace.

November 29th, 2010 by Valiant

How to Determine Your Organization's Total Cost of Ownership And Return On Investment

Finance, Payroll Measuring ROI Payroll ROI TCO No Comments

Many entrepreneurs know that keeping up to date with workforce management software and technology is beneficial to their business, but may not be sure exactly how much they are saving as a result. During the process of determining exactly how workforce management investments are benefiting your company, business owners should calculate its Total Cost of Ownership, or TOC, as well as its Return on Investment, or ROI.

An organization’s potential savings can be determined by adding the following:

Reductions in gross payroll + Reductions in payroll management + Business process automation + Payroll related IT costs + Productivity savings + Revenue uplift.

Total Cost of Ownership, or TOC, is determined by adding the following:

License fees + Infrastructure costs + Implementation costs + Maintenance fees + Internal maintenance costs.

In order to determine your organization’s total Return on Investment, divide its potential savings by its TOC, as follows:

Potential Savings/TOC

This formula should give you an accurate depiction of how much workforce investments are saving your business in the long run. It is important to keep in mind, however, that not all workforce management investments provide hard, quantifiable benefits. Many of the advantages of updating and standardizing technology are more general, but equally as significant in leading to overall savings.

Workforce management solutions can reduce absenteeism by allowing your business to record clock-ins and clock-outs, develop reports, and alleviate any attendance issues swiftly at the root of the problem. Employees and supervisors that have better insight into the technology behind the systems that govern their daily workday feel more included and informed in the processes, leading to have higher morale. Higher employee morale leads to less staff turnover, as do clearly accessible fair policy applications, equal equity, and fair overtime distribution.

In combination with less quantifiable workforce management investments, specific metrics reaped by centralized systems allow managers to examine crucial information about the way their business runs. Attendance and payroll data can be closely monitored to ensure complete legal compliance.

The combination of TOC and ROI, specific metrics, and less quantifiable outcomes are essential in determining precisely how workforce management benefits your company.

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