labor lawAdivision of labor law center

With layoffs and wage reductions mounting, many employers are besieged by pleas from help from employees and former employees. It is enough to touch the heart of even the most hard-nosed small business owner. Employer’s resources are strained to the limit, and often Human Resource pros just don’t have any more to offer.

 

As severance packages shrink, employees are increasingly demanding more from their former employers.

 

That’s why it is important for Human Resource professionals to know about a new resource they can direct workers to.

 

The federal government recently expanded GovBenefits, a program to provide information about government assistance and benefit programs.

 

GovBenefits is available at www.govbenefits.gov. The website is an excellent source on a number of resources for employees including: 

• Expanded unemployment insurance
• Continued health benefits
• COBRA premium reductions
• Federal training programs
• Disaster relief funds
• Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF)
• Food stamps
• Affordable housing
• Career Development 

GovBenefits recently launched a Twitter account to provide continuous updates about government resources available to workers and their families. The tweets will address new site content, and new government benefits programs. They will also provide tips on how unemployed workers can use the site more effectively, to locate resources in their area.

 

The latest tweets can be viewed at  http://twitter.com/GovBenefitsGOV.

 

“GovBenefits.gov’s mission is to provide citizens with increasingly improved access to information about government benefits programs,” said Ed Hugler, the U.S. Department of Labor acting assistant secretary for administration and management.

 

Hugler added, “Since the website’s launch in 2002, millions of people have visited the site and received information about benefits for which they may be eligible based on their individual circumstances and needs. Our goal is to make the site as far-reaching and useful as possible.”

 

The federal government has maintained GovBenefits since April 2002. Since that time, more than 31 million consumers have visited the resource, viewing 25 million pages of benefit information. The site has provided 8.4 million referrals to government resources to unemployed workers and their families.

 

Seventeen different federal agencies banded together to produce GovBenefits, which is managed by the U.S. Department of Labor. Participating agencies include the federal departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, and Treasury.

The Small Business Administration and the Social Security Administration also participate. 

 

The site includes a questionnaire for visitors to identify benefit and assistance programs that could help them.

 

 

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1. Posted by: Faye Landry

   Message
   Need to know what the law is on how long payroll and personnel records have to be kept…would appreciate a quick answer….thanks

2. Posted by: Amelia

   Hi Faye! Under the FLSA or federal Fair Labor Standards Act, employers must keep accurate payroll records including hours worked for 3 years. This would include time cards, records of checks issued, etc. Some other personnel records including hire/fire should be kept for 7 to 9 years.
   However, earlier this year the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law. Ledbetter permits an employee to sue for pay discrimination many years later. (Usually, pay discrimination based on sex.) So you may very well want to keep records on how much employees are paid and why for up to 20 years, and longer if the employee is still working for you. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia