labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Several features of the $780 billion stimulus plan passed this week will affect how Human Resources professionals perform their jobs in 2009 and beyond.

The goal of the law signed by President Barack Obama on February 17, 2009 is to save or create more than 3 million jobs. The bill, H.R. 1, was developed jointly by the House and Senate.

During negotiation, members of the House and Senate removed all mention of the federal government’s E-Verify system. The initial bill passed in the House would have required that any business receiving funds from the federal government under the stimulus bill use that system to verify that all employees are legally authorized to work in the U.S., using that system.

E-Verify is still required by many states and local governments, and is free to all private employers in the country. All federal contractors will be required to implement E-Verify later this year.

In addition, the stimulus bill requires that any employer receiving aid hire U.S. workers who have been laid off before recruiting and hiring workers from other countries on H-1B visas. This measure is expected to have the biggest impact on IT employees. (more…)