labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced a National Emergency Grant of $660,000 to assist unemployed workers in South Dakota in recovery from recent tornadoes and flooding. This is just the latest in a series of recovery efforts by the U.S. Department of Labor, FEMA, and the IRS.

Under the current grant, the funds will be used to create 50 new jobs to assist in cleanup and recovery efforts in those areas most severely affected by storms, tornadoes and flooding. Residents who are unemployed due to the flooding, or who have been unemployed long-term, will receive preference for the new jobs.

The grant, awarded to the South Dakota Department of Labor, will also be used for temporary employment on projects that provide food, clothing, shelter and other supportive services for disaster victims. Workers eligible to apply for these jobs include those dislocated as a result of the storms, tornadoes and flooding, and other dislocated workers, as well as the long-term unemployed.

“Several counties in South Dakota were affected by these storms and need help to clean up and repair damage,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. “This grant will offer workers who lost their jobs an opportunity to lend assistance to damaged areas while earning a steady paycheck.”

On May 4 and 5, 2007, a major tornado outbreak in parts of Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas and South Dakota spawned 83 reported twisters. Damage was exacerbated by severe storms and flooding over the next few days.

On May 22 2007, FEMA –the Federal Emergency Management Agency — declared the following South Dakota counties eligible for public assistance: Aurora, Beadle, Bon Homme, Brown, Brule, Buffalo, Clark, Day, Hanson, Hutchinson, Jackson, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Marshall, McCook, Miner, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink, Tripp and Yankton. Also declared eligible were the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Crow Creek Indian Reservation and those portions of the Sisseton Wahpeton Indian Oyate which lie within the designated counties.

State and federal officials have approved almost $11 million in disaster grants and low-interest loans for South Dakota homeowners, renters and business owners who sustained damages resulting from the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding.In just a few weeks, more than 3,546 South Dakotans applied for disaster assistance by calling the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  The agency reacted quickly, with more than $4.7 million in grants to 2,234 households approved for temporary home repairs and alternate housing. So far, individuals and families have received more than $322,000 in assistance for other needs from FEMA. This includes funds for medical expenses, transportation, and reimbursement for personal property not covered by insurance or other aid programs. Of these funds, FEMA will underwrite 75% while the state will pay the remaining 25%.

A total of 266 low-interest disaster loans totaling $5.68 million have already been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to help businesses and non-profits of all sizes. The funds will be used for repairs or rebuilding efforts, and to cover the cost of replacing lost or destroyed property. These disaster funds are in addition to any payments by insurance companies, to compensate for losses not covered by other sources.

By late May, the state of South Dakota had provided $578,000 in emergency disaster aid to nearly 600 people in the form of vouchers for food and clothing, and help with prescription drugs. A total of 3,628 South Dakotans visited Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) in the days after the disaster. The centers provide information about various disaster recovery programs including state-based services, individual and household assistance, disaster unemployment benefits, SBA low-interest disaster loans, and guidance on rebuilding wisely.

In another move to aid the South Dakota disaster victims, the Internal Revenue Service announced tax relief for South Dakota taxpayers in the Presidential Disaster Area. Under a new procedure, the IRS computer system now automatically identifies taxpayers in the affected area and applies automatic filing and payment relief. Taxpayers no longer need to identify themselves by noting their status on the tax return, or by using the disaster designation in tax software.  
Deadlines for affected taxpayers to file returns, pay taxes and perform other time-sensitive acts falling between May 3, 2007 and July 23, 2007 have been postponed to July 23, 2007.

Any affected taxpayer, who receives a penalty notice from the IRS, should call the number on the notice to have the IRS abate any interest and any late filing or late payment penalties that would otherwise apply.

Errors, absenteeism, and accidents are just a few of the costs associated with drug and alcohol abuse in the workplace.

Not as obvious, but also costly, are lower employee morale and a higher rate of illness.

OSHA, or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, says drug and alcohol abuse account for many deaths on the job.

Employers can educate workers about the hazards of drug and alcohol use. They can encourage employees who have abuse issues to seek professional help. They can initiate random drug testing, and they can pre-screen job applicants.

The South Dakota Drug Free Workplace Alliance can offer help as well. The program was expanded recently in a ceremony attended by Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. Representatives of 5 labor unions and 5 contractors’ associations attended the ceremony at the U.S. Census Bureau.

The U.S. Labor Department developed the new alliance to heighten awareness of the costs, both to workers and to industry, of drug and alcohol abuse. The alliance also serves as an outlet for information about setting up drug free workplace plans. Through the alliance, workforce development professionals can obtain information about guiding employees with drug and alcohol abuse issues. The latest agreement demonstrates Secretary Chao’s personal commitment to keeping up a working relationship with both the unions and the contractors’ associations.

Contractors attending the ceremony with Secretary Chao were the National Asphalt Pavement Association, NEA – The Association of Union Constructors, the Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association, the Associated General Contractors, and the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.

Unions on hand were the Laborers’ International Union of North America, the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Asbestos Workers, the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada, the International Union of Operating Engineers, and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

“Only by addressing drug and alcohol abuse among the entire workforce can a drug-free American workforce be achieved,” said a spokesperson for the Labor Department. That includes both those employed and those seeking employment.

Most people don’t think of the flu as a workplace hazard, but a recent South Dakota OSHA alert makes it clear it is. When you think about influenza, or the flu, you probably think about the seasonal disease that appears each fall and winter. We associate the flu with annoying, uncomfortable symptoms. Many don’t consider it a threat to anyone except infants, seniors, and people whose immune systems are compromised.

But the flu can be more than a seasonal annoyance as this South Dakota OSHA alert points out. Even though most people have or develop a certain level of immunity to the common forms of the flu virus, the potential for an influenza pandemic exists.

Consider the facts. If a new form of influenza were to develop, no one would have built up immunity to it. The flu virus could then spread quickly, taking a toll on human life before a vaccine could be developed.

This concern isn’t just theory. Influenza pandemics have happened before. The last pandemic was in 1957. This flu killed 1 million people around the world. This influenza pandemic was contained quickly. The Spanish Flu of 1918 killed 25 million people in only 25 weeks. Moreover, approximately 20% of the world’s population contracted this disease.

A pandemic, such as the one of 1918, not only can result in a high death toll, it can disrupt society and cause havoc with the economy worldwide. OSHA feel employers and employees alike should prepare in case of a pandemic.

Currently, no pandemic exists, but a concern is the avian influenza. This virus, also known as the bird flu, has spread from wild birds to domestic birds, such as chicken and turkeys. A few cases exist where the flu spread from birds to humans. The concern is if the virus mutates so it can transmit easily between people, a pandemic could occur.

To put the impact of an influenza pandemic in perspective, consider that the AIDS virus has killed 25 million people in 25 years. The Spanish Flu killed the same number of people in just 25 weeks.

Even with the worst winter weather behind us, cold still still pose a threat to South Dakota worker safety. According to a recently issued OSHA alert, when the human body gets cold, the blood flow shifts to focus on the internal organs. This adds stress to the outer skin and extremities as they rapidly cool due to the lack of blood flow. Lack of blood flow means the body doesn’t heat as effectively and starts to experience cold stress.

You may be amazed to learn that cold stress can occur at temperatures as warm as 50 degrees, if the conditions are right. If the blood flow is inhibited badly enough, cold stress leads to hypothermia. Inhibited blood flow to the hands, feet, arms, and legs can also lead to the tissues freezing. Tissue freezing, also called frostbite, can lead to limb amputation if severe enough.

These are a few of the concerns regarding South Dakota worker safety for individuals who work outdoors. Outdoor workers include emergency staff, and those who work in landscaping, construction, agriculture, roadwork or forestry.

Workers with high blood pressure and those who take certain medications are at a greater risk of experiencing cold stress or getting frostbite. Medications like anti-depressants, tranquilizers, and sedatives interfere with the body’s ability to heat itself. High blood pressure affects the efficiency of the body’s natural heating system.

Other individuals at a greater risk of experiencing cold stress are older workers. The natural aging process everyone experiences causes the body to heat less efficiently. An inefficient internal heating system means that an individual can get colder faster.

The level of cold stress an individual experiences is affected by four factors:

• dampness
• contact with chilly surfaces or cold water
• cold air temperatures
• wind

Wind has a greater impact on the level of cold stress than many people realize. Wind can cause moderate temperatures to become bone-chillingly cold. The higher the speed of the wind, the colder it will be outside, regardless of the air temperature.

Cold stress can be avoided by dressing appropriately. Head coverings are important since the body looses a lot of heat through the head. Keep clothing dry and drink warm non-alcoholic and caffeine-free beverages to keep the internal temperature even.

South Dakota would like all of its employers to know of an important rule change that occurred in 2006, and if you already know about it, I would assume then that a reminder is just good enough. The South Dakota legislature in 2006 passed a new law, called Senate Bill 108, that changes the way that tax status is decided for certain employers for unemployment insurance taxes.

More specifically, the law changes the way that payments are handled that go to IRS qualified retirement plans, like a 401k or similar type programs such as 403b plans and 408K plans. Any payments to these retirements plan will henceforth—in fact, since July 2006—no longer be considered wages when it comes to unemployment insurance tax calculations.

That means, South Dakota employers, when you get about to your quarterly wage earnings reports to the South Dakota unemployment system, you no longer have to report money that goes to these retirement investment accounts in your Quarterly Contribution, Investment Fee and Wage Reports. The first quarter that employers could make this de facto deduction was the third quarter of 2006.

Normally, under South Dakota labor law, wages are meant to include monies that your employee makes in service for you. But it doesn’t include now any payment for services or goods performed for you by an employee that are then redirected by the employee into a 401k plan, 403b plan, or a 408K plan.

Does this mean that you could save money on your taxes? Possibly, if you had been counting your contributions to your employees’ retirement funds as part of their income, then you could save on taxes now that you don’t have to report that money. But it will also require even more precise and careful bookkeeping and personnel records on your part.