Leading People. Leading Organizations. D D HR PUBLIC POLICY / WASHINGTON UPDATE & OUTLOOK 113TH CONGRESS SHRM CLA Webinar May 1, 2013

Leading People. Leading Organizations.

D


HR PUBLIC POLICY / WASHINGTON UPDATE & OUTLOOK

113TH CONGRESS

SHRM CLA WebinarMay 1, 2013

Leading People. Leading Organizations.2


2

Workplace Flexibility: Efforts on “comp time” legislation expected in the House in May.

Immigration Reform: President named “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” as one of his top

five priorities. Bipartisan groups working on reform in both the House and the Senate.

HR Public Policy Issues



3

H.R. 1406, the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013

Lisa HornSenior Government Affairs Advisor

Co-Leader, SHRM Workplace Flexibility Initiative



4

H.R. 1406, the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013, sponsored by Representative Martha Roby (R-AL), amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to give private-sector employers the OPTION to provide comp time CHOICE to non-exempt employees

Requires an employee to have worked a minimum of 1,000 hours within the last 12 months to be eligible for comp time

Allows employees to accrue up to 160 hours of compensatory time a year and to “cash out” unused comp time within specified periods of time

Employees are permitted to use the accrued comp time within a reasonable time after request as long as use of the comp time does not unduly disrupt the operations of the employer



5

Employers can elect to offer a comp time program if 1.) it is part of a collective bargaining agreement or 2.) the employer and employee voluntarily agree in writing to the program prior to the performance of work

Employers are required to cash-out unused comp time at the higher of the regular rate at which time was earned or the final regular rate

SHRM is leading the effort in support of H.R., 1406, the Working Families Flexibility Act

H.R. 1406 was approved by the House Education and Workforce Committee on April 17, by a vote of 23 to 14

The full House is expected to vote on H.R. 1406 in early May

Comp Time Bill/ Labor-Management



6

– Rep. Illeana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL-27) - Miami area– Rep. David McKinley (R- WV-01) -Wheeling, Morgantown, Martinsburg– Rep. Peter King (R-NY-02) - Massapequa Park– Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY-11) -Staten Island, Brooklyn– Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY-19) -Saratoga Springs, Kinderhook, Glen Falls,

Delhi– Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA-06) -Exton, Wyomissing, Trappe– Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-07-PA) -Springfield– Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-08-PA) -Langhorne– Rep. Tim Murphay (R-PA-18) -Pittsburgh, Greensburg– Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ-02) - Mays Landing– Rep. Jon Runyan (R-NJ-03) -Mount Laurel, Toms River– Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ-04) -Hamilton, Whiting– Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL-18) -Peoria, Springfield, Jacksonville– Rep. Don Young (R-AK-At Large) -Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau. Kenai

– Democrats Rep. Barrow (GA-12), Peterson (MN-07), Cooper (TN-05), McIntyre (NC-07), Matheson (UT-04), Cuellar (TX-28)



7

Questions on the Comp Time Bill?



8

Take Action!

Chatrane BirbalSHRM’s Senior Associate of Member Advocacy



9

As of last week, The Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 (H.R. 1406) has 158 Co-sponsors.

H.R. 1406 is expected to be considered by the full House of Representatives THIS MONTH!

Urge your House Members to support H.R. 1406:

Email your House Member via the SHRM Policy Action Center at http://bit.ly/shrmcomptime

Call or visit your House member’s district office http://bit.ly/shrmlegislatorlookup (Congress is in recess through this Friday, May 3)

Tweet at #shrmcomptime

Take Action - Comp Time Bill

http://bit.ly/shrmcomptime

http://bit.ly/shrmcomptime

http://bit.ly/shrmlegislatorlookup

http://bit.ly/shrmlegislatorlookup



10

Immigration Reform

Mike AitkenSHRM’s Vice President of Government Affairs



11

Immigration Reform

President Obama stated during the campaign that comprehensive reform was one of his five top priorities if re-elected and outlined his “vision” for comprehensive reform during the State of the Union on February 12.

Senate “Gang of Eight” introduced their legislation on April 16. Bipartisan group of Representatives in the House also meeting to come up with a comprehensive bill.

Current timeline is a legislative “push” in late Spring/early Summer.

The SHRM/ACIP partnership is part of the dialogue and advocacy effort.



12

SHRM/ACIP Principles for Immigration Reform SHRM/ACIP

Priorities President Obama’s Principles Senate Gang of 8 Principles

Meets SHRM/ACIP’s

PrioritiesCreate a secure federal employment-verification system that pre-empts the growing patchwork of state laws

Not sure on preemption Includes basic preemption provision

??

Provide an integrated electronic verification system that incorporates the E-Verify system with an attestation system that eliminates the paper Form I-9 and that prevents identity theft through identity authentication

Mandates an electronic verification system but keeps paper-based system . Does set-up a pilot system to explore ways to authenticate identity

Mandates E-verify and includes a photo tool system

Needs improvement

Ensure a “safe harbor” from liability for good-faith program users and apply employment verification only to new hires

Not sure on safe harbor Not sure on safe harbor ???

Provide green cards for the highly educated and entrepreneurs, particularly for foreign nationals graduating with U.S. advanced science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees with STEM skills

Allow foreign students studying STEM to apply for green cards. Also creates a “startup visa” to enable foreign entrepreneurs to start businesses in the U.S

Allow foreign students studying STEM to apply for green cards

Probably yes*

Make visas available by eliminating backlogs and per-country limits Eliminates backlogs Reduces backlogs in family and employment categories

Probably yes

Create a trusted employer program that facilitates visa processing for employers that have a proven record of immigration compliance

Not at this point Not at this point No



13

The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 (S. 744)

Introduced in the Senate by the “Gang of Eight,” the legislation is a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws. The bill includes provisions covering border security, legalization procedures for unauthorized aliens, employment-based legal immigration and enhanced employment verification requirements.

The bill would phase in the requirement over five years for all employers to use an

electronic verification system for employment. Federal Contractors would be required to use the system immediately. The requirement to participate in the system for other employers would be as follows:

employers deemed “critical infrastructure employers,” 1 year after enactment; employers with 5,000 or more employees, 2 years after enactment; employers between 500 and 4,999 employees, 3 years after enactment; and employers between 0 and 499 employees, 4 years after enactment.



14

Employers would attest on a new “form” that they had verified the new hire’s employment and identification status by examining specific documents. The form must be integrated electronically with the verification system and employers would be given the choice of completing the form in a paper format, electronically, or telephonically.

The bill would also require employers to verify the identity of each individual hired using either the “photo tool” program or other identity authentication program.

Employers would be required once the offer of employment is accepted and ending the third business day after the employee has been hired, to verify the employment status of the individual.

The legislation establishes a “good faith defense” of compliance for employers that participate in the system. The defense, however would not apply to employers that have “pattern and practice” violations and for ones that have not used the system.

Immigration Reform



15

The verification system would be required to provide an initial response to an employer within three working days. The process would be required to give the employer a confirmation or non-confirmation of work eligibility.

The legislation also creates a fairly lengthy process of up to six months or longer for an individual to contest a non-confirmation. This process includes a review of the non-confirmation decision by an administrative law judge.

Employers would not be permitted to terminate individuals that had received a non-confirmation until the employee had exhausted the appeal process or the individual chose not to contest the non-confirmation.

The bill clarifies that employers will not be held civilly or criminally liable for any employment action taken in “good-faith reliance” on the information provided through the system.

Immigration Reform



16

The legislation would allow federal immigration law to preempt any state or local law in regard to criminal or civil fines: 1) hiring or continued employment, or 2) status verification for employment eligibility. States could, however, continue to award business license on the basis of compliance with the federal system.

Clears the green card backlogs over a seven-year period after which a new “merit-based system” will provide additional visas for persons with strong prospects in the United States. Points will be awarded based upon family ties, education, employment and other factors.

Increases the H-1B cap to 110,000 visas a year. The cap will adjust up or down each year by up to 10,000 visas, depending upon usage and unemployment, with a maximum of 180,000 visas, and provides 25,000 H-1B visas for U.S. STEM advanced degrees to replace the existing 20,000 U.S. advanced degree cap exemption.

Immigration Reform



17

The legislation places an additional requirement on all employers to recruit U.S. workers by posting a job opening on a Department of Labor website for 30 days and attesting to non-displacement of U.S. workers for 90 days before and after filing of Labor Certification Application.

It also creates a new three-level prevailing wage system for most employers – effectively upwardly adjusting wages. The concern is that under this new proposed prevailing wage system, employers would pay their foreign national workers more than their U.S. workers.

The bill will impose a number of new requirements, prohibitions and fees on dependent employers, particularly those with 30 percent or more of their workforce on an H-1B or L visa.

Immigration Reform



18

Questions on Immigration Reform?



19

Contact Us!

Lisa Horn703-535-6352

[email protected]

Chatrane Birbal703-535-6476

[email protected] Mike Aitken703-535-6027

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]





20

SHRM Government Affairs Director Resources:• Legal Issues & Public Policy

http://www.shrm.org/Advocacy/Pages/default.aspx • A Day Inside the Beltwayhttp://www.shrm.org/Advocacy/GetInvolved/AdvocacyTools/DayInsidetheBeltway/Pages/default.aspx • Health Care Reform

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/Articles/Pages/HealthCareReform.aspx

http://www.shrm.org/Advocacy/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.shrm.org/Advocacy/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.shrm.org/Advocacy/GetInvolved/AdvocacyTools/DayInsidetheBeltway/Pages/default.aspx








Documents

Leading People. Leading Organizations. D D HR PUBLIC POLICY / WASHINGTON UPDATE & OUTLOOK 113TH CONGRESS SHRM CLA Webinar May 1, 2013