Rhode Island Governor Repeals E-Verify

January 26th, 2011 Posted by Amelia

State contractors in are no longer required to use E-Verify under an executive order signed by new governor Lincoln Chafee on his first day in office.

 

Chaffee, an Independent, said, “This repeal of all parts of the Executive Order on E-Verify will effectively turn the clock back to March 26, 2008, the day before then- Carcieri signed it into .” Chafee added, “This re-set will allow us to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with our immigrant communities, law enforcement agencies and all interested parties. This is an opportunity to reach a consensus on how best to enforce the law.”

 

The new executive order means that companies holding contracts with the state of Rhode Island are no longer required to use E-Verify when hiring new employees. It is still lawful for the companies to use E-Verify, but they are not required to do so.

 

Branches of the state government are not required to use E-Verify for newly hired employees under the new executive order, and there is every indication that they will stop doing so.

 

In March 2008, Republican Governor Donald Carcieri issued an executive order that required all state agencies in the executive branch, and state contractors, to use E-Verify to ensure that they were not hiring undocumented workers.

 

This action is in contrast to a trend among states to more strongly enforce employment laws during a recession with high unemployment. In Florida, for example, the newly elected governor (more…)

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Rhode Island Drug Testing Update

October 13th, 2010 Posted by Cara

The Rhode Island Superior Court has ruled that employers cannot conduct drug tests in the workplace. State statutes permit drug tests, but only when there is a reasonable suspicion that the employee is impaired on the job. The Rhode Island Drug Test statute limits how such tests can be conducted, according to the , the American Civil Liberties Union.

 

The test case involved police matron and court interpreter Romana Ramos, who had worked for the City of Pawtucket for 17 years. is a picturesque city of about 73,000 people, founded in 1671.

 

The city employee benefits coordinator advised Ramos on April 6, 2010 that she must immediately submit to a random urine test to screen for illegal drugs. Ramos objected and was advised by the police chief that if she refused the random , she would be suspended without pay for 30 days. Apparently this course of action was approved by the city attorney.

 

Under duress, Ramos agreed to both a random drug test and a breathalyzer test. Both tests were negative for drugs and alcohol. Ramos sued the employer and the employer agreed to a settlement. The City of Pawtucket issued an apology to Officer Ramos, paid her legal fees and agreed (more…)

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Rhode Island Unemployment Grant

June 11th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

Does your region have an innovative plan to answer the challenge of training its workforce for the highly competitive, evolving global economy? Does that plan offer a way to bring employment to a region that has traditionally suffered from high jobless rates?

If so, it may have a chance at qualifying for a WIRED grant.

A unemployment grant would offer job opportunities for workers, particularly those in regions where high unemployment is the norm. If the grant became a reality, a region might join others in the nation that have garnered WIRED grants – regions like the Delaware Valley, northern California, northern Alabama, the Mississippi/Arkansas Delta region, and northern Indiana.

The U.S. Labor Department distributes the grants. It has announced the third “generation,” or round, of the grants. In the past, it has pumped $260 million into regions throughout the US. So far, 26 such regions of high unemployment have received grant money through WIRED.

WIRED is short for the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development Initiative. As the name suggests, it supports non-traditional methods of tackling high unemployment and bring regional labor pools “up to speed” with the skills needed to compete in the fast-growing global marketplace.

How does a region qualify for a grant? It’s not easy. First, however, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao sends letters out to each in the U.S., announcing the latest generation of grants. The governors in turn pick just 2 proposals out of those submitted by the regions of their states. Each region’s proposal must show other sources of funding, so the Labor Department can complement those funds.

Secretary Chao said, when announcing the earlier, second round of grants, that “Investing in area workforces through this collaborative approach will boost entire regions’ economic vitality.”

According to Emily Stover DeRocco, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, the third generation of the grants is designed to insure that local Workforce Investment Boards become “leaders of a strategic regional partnership.” That, in turn, “can drive economic transformations in regions across the country and improve employment and advancement opportunities for workers.”

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Rhode Island Workers with Disabilities

May 30th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

When it comes to having access to resources, workers with disabilities are about to get a boost. A new collaboration between a large human resource association and a federal agency should give workers greater access to jobs and information.

The alliance is between a federal agency, the US Office of Disability Employment Policy, known as ODEP, and a human resources association, the Society of Human Resource Managers, known as SHRM. These two organizations will be working together, conducting research, making it possible for disabled workers to have greater access to resources, and improving communications between federal agencies and industries.

As Rhode Island workers with disabilities probably know, some disabled workers may have problems finding jobs. The collaboration between ODEP and SHRM should help with recruiting and hiring of workers with disabilities by proving education, research, and access. The alliance will raise national awareness of the situation.

According to Roy Grizzard, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy,

“This alliance formalizes the relationship we have had with SHRM, benefiting SHRM as it serves its membership with the resources ODEP brings to the table and offering ODEP the opportunity for broader contact with human resource professionals.”

The Society for Human Resource Managers brings a lot of resources to partnership. With over 205,000 members and 550 chapters in 100 countries, this organization was formed in 1948. SHRM supplies professionals in the human resources field with necessary resources.

The US Office of Disability Employment Policy was formed in 2001 and works to help the disabled by identifying resources and setting policy. This alliance between ODEP and SHRM is a first and should help disabled workers in many ways by targeting areas such as training and education.

Of course, Rhode Island workers with disabilities will retain access to all the services they currently receive through the Rhode Island Department of Labor. This alliance will provide disabled workers with access to additional resources and opportunities. 

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Rhode Island Workers With Disabilities

May 22nd, 2007 Posted by Amelia

In recent years, workers with disabilities and disabled workers nationwide have seen job opportunities improve in recent years. But they still remain an untapped source of valuable talent.

A new alliance has been formed to tackle that problem. It’s an alliance of the largest affiliation of human resource managers worldwide and a government agency created in the 21st century to provide new opportunities for the new millennium. Together, the two groups should reach out to this untapped talent pool with technical help, education, outreach, and training.

The public agency is the Office of Disability Employment policy, otherwise known as ODEP. The association is the Society of Human Resource Managers, or SHRM.

“This alliance formalizes the relationship we have had with SHRM,” says Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Roy Grizzard, “benefiting SHRM as it serves its membership with the resources ODEP brings to the table and offering ODEP the opportunity for broader contact with human resource professionals.”

The federal Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) is a Labor Department policy agency. It was formed with the purpose of making certain that people with disabilities are fully involved in the 21st century workforce. It was formed in 2001 when Elaine L. Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor, gave the authority and responsibility for the mission to the assistant secretary for disability employment policy.

The partnership should also begin a new national conversation about hiring persons with disabilities.

The Society of Human Resource Managers, or SHRM, dates back to 1948. With its 550 affiliated chapters and more than 205,000 members, it is considered the largest organization in the world dedicated to serving the needs of professionals in the human resource field. It carries out its mission by offering crucial and wide-ranging resources.

The Office of Disability Employment Policy, or ODEP, was formed in 2001 under Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. The plan was to guarantee that the talents of disabled persons would be fully used by the workforce of the new century.

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