Law & Advocacy

The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement has issued revised answers to frequently asked questions about, and a revised model wage notice form for complying with, a law that requires employers to provide certain wage and other information to employees at the time of hire. The new law took effect Jan. 1. It’s the second time the state DLSE has revised the FAQs and notice form. More ›

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in California, has ruled that a former employee of a search and placement firm, who persuaded the firm’s current employees to access its computer data for the purpose of helping him set up a competing business, could not be criminally prosecuted under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. More ›

The city of Washington, DC, and the state of Oregon recently enacted laws that prohibit employers and employment agencies from discriminating against job applicants based on their status as unemployed. New Jersey had previously enacted such a law, and similar legislation is pending in Arizona, Illinois, Nebraska, New York, and Michigan. More ›

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is seeking public comments on proposed revisions to its Form I-9. Because of ambiguity with respect to several proposed language changes, ASA will submit comments to confirm that staffing firms can continue to complete the Form I-9 at the time a candidate consents to be included in the staffing firm’s roster of temporary employees, irrespective of the time the individual actually begins work. Public comments are due May 29. More ›

A revised version of House Bill 1393 was passed out of the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Labor and Work Force Development. As originally drafted, HB 1393 would have prohibited staffing firms from charging permanent placement and conversion fees with respect to certain employees, potentially required in-state offices, and potentially prohibited staffing firms from sending candidate résumés to clients for purposes of generating client interest and job orders. More ›

In an unpublished opinion issued Mar. 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied class certification in a case brought on behalf of Aerotek recruiters who claimed that they were misclassified as exempt administrative employees and thus entitled to overtime pay under California wage and hour law, Delodder, et al, v. Aerotek, Case 10-56755. The court upheld the district court’s ruling that the recruiters were not similarly situated and thus could not comprise a proper class for the class action. More ›

On Mar. 12, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, issued guidance stating that staffing firms can sponsor H1-B workers if they can establish a valid employer relationship with the assigned worker, or “beneficiary.” The H-1B program is used by U.S. businesses to employ college-educated foreign workers with highly specialized knowledge, such as engineers and computer programmers. More ›

Employers’ ability to perform criminal background checks during the hiring process is essential to ensure safety in the workplace. Recent activity at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suggests that the manner in which employers access and use criminal background checks may be limited through forthcoming agency guidance. More ›

ASA has been waging a two-year battle with the state workers’ compensation rating agency in Pennsylvania to allow staffing firms that operate in the state to use their clients’ classification codes to workers’ compensation insurance determine rates. Yesterday, ASA and the Mid-Atlantic Staffing Association, an ASA-affiliated chapter, filed an appeal urging the state insurance commissioner to direct the agency to change the system and requesting a hearing for the purpose of presenting the industry’s arguments. More ›

President Obama signed a payroll tax cut extension into law that includes some significant unemployment insurance reforms that were strongly supported by ASA. Meanwhile, as states continue to battle budget shortfalls, some have started to look at tax increases as a way to raise more revenue. More ›