Are your employees working second jobs?
 One job’s just not enough anymore. The tough economy has driven more and more workers to seek part-time jobs, according to new numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In December 2008, there were 8 million part-time workers in America—a staggering increase of 3.4 million in the last 12 months.
A majority of these workers could be called involuntary part-time workers—people who want full-time jobs but work less than 35 hours due to slack work or the inability to find full-time work. The primary industries for these part-time workers are retail, food service and construction.
How many of your employees work additional part-time jobs? And do they consider you their first or second employer? Make sure you have a clear, written policy on working outside your company. Forbidding outside work might make your staff unhappy, but you do need to make sure your employees aren’t overextending themselves or working for competitors.
Want to learn more about effectively managing employees who moonlight? Click here.
Have you heard about these proposals to change employment law?
People are buzzing about what President Obama’s administration will do for the millions of out-of-work Americans. But what about employers? Here are just a few of the proposed changes to labor laws that employers should keep their eye on in 2009.
- The Patriot Employer Act was introduced by then-Sen. Obama in 2007 as a way to reward companies that hire primarily American workers. This act would give an employer a tax credit for 1 percent of taxable income if that employer: has its headquarters in the United States, pays at least 60% of its employees’ health care premiums; maintains or increases the number of its full-time workers in the United States relative to its full-time workers outside the U.S. (for companies of 50 employees or more); plus other criteria. This bill is currently pending in the Senate Committee on Finance.
- The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act are both aimed at reducing gender-based discrimination in pay. The Ledbetter Act allows women a six-month period after receiving their last paycheck to sue their employer for pay discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act puts in place harsher penalties for employers who engage in gender-based pay discrimination. The House of Representatives passed both acts Jan. 9; they now go to the Senate.
- The Employee Free Choice Act would make it easier for employees to form or join unions. This proposed legislation would amend the National Labor Relations Act to allow employees to form a union by signing cards, instead of mandating a secret-ballot election. This bill failed to pass in the most recent session of Congress but will most likely be reconsidered.
|
