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A recent opinion letter issued by the Oklahoma Attorney General allows employers to require wage payment by direct deposit but not by payroll debit card.

This opinion letter overturns a former ruling, that Oklahoma employers could not require payment by direct deposit.

An Oklahoma employer may require that an employee accept payment of wages by direct deposit, under this new ruling. However, the employer cannot require that the employee use a certain bank for wage payment. The employee must be free to use a bank of his or her choice for payroll deposits.

If an Oklahoma employer had a policy allowing employees to receive (more…)

The Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, or VETS, published final regulations on priority hiring of veterans and eligible spouses. The new rules appeared in the December 19 Federal Register.

VETS is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The new regulations apply to “any workforce preparation, development or delivery program or service that is directly funded, in whole or in part, by the [U.S.] Department of Labor” as provided by the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002.

This is especially important since most state departments of labor are funded at least in part by the U.S. Department of Labor. 

“Priority of service is an important acknowledgment of the sacrifices of the men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces,” said Charles Ciccolella, assistant secretary of labor for VETS. “The department’s strategic vision for priority of service honors veterans and eligible spouses of veterans as our heroes at home, and envisions that the employment and training programs funded by the department, including the workforce investment system, will identify, inform and deliver comprehensive services to veterans and eligible spouses as part of their strategic workforce development activities across the country.”

According to experts at the U.S. Department of Labor, The Veterans’ Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 followed up on the (more…)

 A new law will primarily affect larger employers in Kansas.

The state Department of Labor recently introduced regulations that require large employers to file their quarterly unemployment tax contributions online. While online filing has been an option for several years, until recently employers could choose not to use it. Now, it is mandatory.

The Kansas Department of Labor bills the online system as simple, quick and secure, and few employers report problems with it.

“If they’re not doing so already, we want Kansas employers to (more…)

Employers should be aware that the U.S. Department of Labor recently announced a new audit of permanent labor certification applications. The department is initially targeting employers who used the law firm Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP. The DOL has uncovered evidence of improprieties in a number of cases involving this firm. As a result, they are scrutinizing every visa the firm has been involved in.

According to sources at the US DOL who prefer not to be named, (more…)