labor lawAdivision of labor law center

HR professionals or owners are faced with my conflicting HR questions or situations everyday and how to solve the issues can vary depending on who you ask.  Many business owners or HR professionals often ponder the same question, “Is there an agency or source where I can go to get guidance or assistance on these HR issues?”.  Well now there is a solution!  www.HumanResourceBlog.com is now available for any HR professional to come and share their thoughts, questions, or issues and to openly discuss the situation or issue at hand.  Where else would you be able to go to find a community or center that has professionals sharing your same common problems and also having suggestions for you to possibly consider.  Like they say, two brains is better than one.  In this particular case, it’s two professionals better than one! 

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In the state of Louisiana, among the bogs and the cities rebuilding after last year’s Hurricane Katrina, there are two labor laws that require employers to report new hires and re-hires to the state. The first law is called Act 97, signed into effect in 1997, and the second law was the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, or PRWORA, signed in 1996.

The laws give employers in Louisiana 20 days to report hires and re-hires to the state. If not, employers can face civil fines, as much as $25 per person for a newly hired employee. Or, if the state can prove that you and a new hire conspired not to report them to the state, Louisiana can fine you as much as $500 per hiree.

How can the state of Louisiana track down employers who fail to adequately report their new hires? With the help of the federal government, that’s how. Every quarter during the year, the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, or the OCSE, sends out a report on information of employers who aren’t meeting the labor law’s reporting requirements.

The state then uses this report to send out warning letters to the employers on the list. The letters remind employers what the law says about reporting new hires, the letter also tells employers exactly how they can follow the law in the state of Louisiana going forward.

The state officials also track Louisiana employers on their own, to look for patterns of irregular reporting among employers and to flagrant and persistent violations of the new hire labor laws. The state leaves it up to the employer to contact them with any questions or issues about new hire data that the employer may be having, like say that you have incorrectly put the wrong employer federal identification number on one employee’s new hire file.

The Louisiana (LA) Department of Human Resources is a department of our government that we all should be able to turn to any time that we need it. In the last year, the state has seen all types of destruction and quite a vast number of problems to hit it. In the cost of that, there has been a dynamic outreaching hand to help those that need it. This department of our government is often the place to go for the help that is needed so badly. Yet, many do not realize that it is there.

In November of 2005, the unemployment rate in the state was at 12.1 percent. This is one of the highest rates that it has ever been at. Within the last year, it has fallen to 4.6 percent, which is currently below the national unemployment rate at 4.8 percent. Yet, the state has lost jobs and has found itself facing countless problems along the way.

In addition to providing job related services to those that need them, the Department of Human Resources for Louisiana also provides a great deal of help in job training and education. The Job Training and Dislocated Workers Funds programs have brought in 1.2031 billion dollars to help in providing education and training to those that need it. These funds have come in since 2001. They provide the assistance that people need to get the skills they need to get the jobs that they deserve.

In addition, the US Department of Labor has provided the state of Louisiana with 191.1 million dollars in National Emergency Grant to help in creating more jobs for those that are living in the state through clean up programs, recovery programs and to help stabilize businesses within the area. The Louisiana Department of Human Resources has the job and the ability to aid in the redevelopment of a work force in this state.

Louisiana law mandates that every employer must adopt, implement, and maintain a written smoking policy. 

My research shows that any nonsmoking employee may object to his employer about smoke in the workplace. If an objection is placed, the employer must accommodate the non-smoker using already available means of ventilation, separation or partition of office space. However, an employer is not required by law to make any changes that require major expenditures or structural changes to accommodate the preferences of nonsmoking or smoking employees. 

I have read that when an employer prohibits smoking in an office workplace, the area in whichsmoking is prohibited must be clearly marked with signs. 

If there is a change in smoking policy, it must be announced and posted within three months of adoption to all employees working in office workplaces of the employer, and a written copy of the policy must be posted conspicuously in all office workplaces under the employer’s jurisdiction. 

If the workplace is a state, parish, or municipal building where smoking in the office workplace is restricted, an employer may, if allowable under lease provisions and fire or other safety regulations, designate a smoking area in a separate room. Educational and health care facilities are not be required to designate smoking areas. Also exempt are courtrooms, or other areas used by the judicial branch of state government. 

I understand that a poster outlining the Louisiana smoking law must be posted in an employer’s place of business.