West Virginia Work Status Law

September 22nd, 2010 Posted by Amelia

employers should be aware of a new state law that provides different enforcement powers to the West Virginia Commissioner of Labor.

 

Under the new law, the West Virginia Division of Labor can issue civil citations or tickets to any employer who cannot prove the employment status or of every employee on the workforce. Each ticket will be punishable by a of up to .

 

This law is in contrast to the requirements of the federal I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification system, which requires employers to maintain records proving the legal only of employees who have been hired in the past 3 to 5 years. In fact, many critics argue that the current federal laws permit an employee hired more than 5 years ago to continue to work, even if he or she was not hired legally.

 

The new West Virginia law applies to all employees, even if they have worked for the current employer for 50 years. The employer will be required to maek records (more…)

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Wisconsin $2 Million Worker Training Grant

May 16th, 2008 Posted by Amelia

A Wisconsin community college is the winner of a highly competitive federal training grant for workers totaling nearly $2 million.

 

According to the U. S. Department of Labor, 69 institutions in 38 states were awarded $125 million in grants.

 

Northcentral Technical College was awarded $1,998,522 to implement programs to produce highly skilled workers for nearby employers in the advanced manufacturing industry.

 

The school is located in Wausau, Wisconsin, a city that has been affected in recent years by mass layoffs and plant closures and more are planned.

 

These grants are available due to the President’s Community Based Job Training Grants Initiative, which awards money to community colleges and training facilities in areas where industries need skilled workers. The program was established in 2005 and awarded 72 grants. The second round of awards in 2006 gave out 70 grants.

  (more…)

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West Virginia Unemployment Grant

June 7th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

A new unemployment grant could go straight to the heart of the economic problems of some regions in the state. They’re the regions traditionally suffering from high jobless rates, and the grant that would give them the help they need is called “WIRED.”

“This regional economic development strategy,” said Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao when she was announcing the second generation of the grants, “transcends political boundaries to better leverage a region’s assets to help workers succeed in the 21st century worldwide economy.”

Now the U.S. Labor Department has announced the third generation of the grants. They’re highly competitive. First, the governor of every state gets a letter from Secretary Chao announcing the competition. Then each governor may submit only two proposals. The grants may be for a maximum of $5 million each, and the regions competing must show where they’re receiving other sources of funding, so the Labor Department grant can complement those funds.

WIRED stands for the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development Initiative. Thanks to WIRED, the Labor Department has granted 26 regions around the U.S. a total of $260 million to create high-paying, highly-skilled jobs for U.S. workers in those regions where the economy has remained stagnant despite general growth. Some of the regions receiving WIRED grants are northern California, the Mississippi/Arkansas Delta northern Alabama, northern Indiana, and the Delaware Valley.

“The Third Generation of WIRED,” said Emily Stover DeRocco, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training, “is designed to position local Workforce Investment Boards as leaders of a strategic regional partnership.” She said that the grants could facilitate economic transformation in regions around the U.S. She said it involves talent development strategies and what she called “integration with regional development.” The result is a partnership that can “improve employment and advancement opportunities for workers.”

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

The purpose of WIRED, as the name suggests, is to reward “innovative” solutions to regional joblessness.

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West Virginia Workers with Disabilities

May 30th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

workers with disabilities should benefit from a new collaboration between the US Office of Disability Employment Policy and the Society of Human Resource Managers. By collaborating, these two agencies bring more attention to the problems of disabled workers. Working together, these organizations should help facilitate communication across federal agencies, promote research, and give disabled workers greater access to education, training, and resources.

The West Virginia Department of Labor will still provide benefits to West Virginia workers with disabilities, but this new collaboration will make more resources available to these workers. Disabled workers aren’t utilized in the workforce as well as they should be, even though the employment situation has improved over the past few years.

This partnership hopefully will improve this situation. By having a federal agency join forces with a large human resources organization, more attention and dialogue will be focused on educating, training, and hiring disabled workers.

The US Office of Disability Employment Policy, also know as ODEP, was formed in 2001. ODEP identifies resources and sets policy concerning disabled workers. ODEP is a separate agency from the US Department of Labor. Roy Grizzard, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, heads ODEP.

According to Grizzard, “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, also known as SHRM, was formed in 1948. This organization provides necessary resources to human resource professionals. With 205,000 members in 550 chapters across 100 countries, this organization brings substantial resources to help workers with disabilities.

In addition to creating more opportunities for disabled workers, the collaboration between ODEP and SHRM should provide additional services, such as outreach, information, guidance, training, improved communications, and education. Disabled workers should find that this partnership between ODEP and SHRM creates more jobs and opportunities for them. 

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West Virginia Workers With Disabilities

May 22nd, 2007 Posted by Amelia

Training and recruiting for workers with disabilities should be enhanced thanks to a new alliance between the public and private sectors.

While disabled workers have seen more job opportunities come their way in recent years, they remain in many ways a vast field of uncultivated talent. The private-public partnership, between an agency of the U.S. Labor Department and the world’s largest association of human resource professionals, should change that, providing more jobs and preparing people with disabilities to be ready for the 21st century labor market.

The job prospects have improved recently for disabled workers, according to ODEP. Yet they still represent a large talent base that is going unused by the labor market.

Thanks to this new partnership, West Virginia workers with disabilities will find more training, outreach, technical assistance, and education in their futures. Information, access to resources, and guidance should all be enhanced by the new teamup.

“This alliance formalizes the relationship we have had with SHRM,” according to Roy Grizzard, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy, “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.”

What are the two organizations involved, and what are their missions?

A wide range of resources is being brought together through the teamwork between the Labor Department and the human resources managers.  SHRM, founded in 1948, has more than 550 chapters, and counts members in more than 100 countries around the world. With its 205,000 members, it is the largest human resource professionals’ association in the world. ODEP is relatively new, dating back to 2001. Under Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao, authority was delegated and responsibility assigned to the assistant secretary for disability employment policy. It remains part of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Society of Human Resource Professionals (SHRM) was formed in 1948. With 205,000 members, 550 affiliated chapters, and membership in more than 100 countries, it is the world’s largest association of human resource managers. 

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