Dundee Group Blog

FMLA Changes Signed by President

Yesterday, President Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2647). The new law includes an expansion of the recently-enacted exigency and caregiver leave provisions for military families under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA).

FMLA changes include:

Exigency leave - up to 12 weeks of leave for urgent needs related to a reservist family member's (spouse, son, daughter, or parent) call to active service. H.R. 2647 expands the exigency leave benefits to include family members of active duty service members. Under current law, only family members of National Guard and Reservists are eligible for exigency leave.

Caregiver leave - up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave to an employee to care for a family member (spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin) who is injured while serving on active military duty. H.R. 2647 expands the caregiver leave provision to include veterans who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation or therapy for serious injury or illness that occurred any time during the five years preceding the date of treatment.

Posted by: Tim Ross

Flying in the Face of Adversity

Join us August 6th at 2PM for Flying in the Face of Adversity: Encouraging and Motivating Your Employees During the Economic Recovery

This one-hour Webcast with Sage Abra and Kim Cressell, President of the Cressell Simmons Group, explore how to keep your employees encouraged and motivated in today's economic climate. You'll also learn how to leverage your Sage Abra solution to:

• Build a thriving employee culture
• Cultivate and nurture employee engagement
• Effectively communicate with your employees
• Keep managers informed

Sign up here for the Webcast.  Scroll down the page and click the green "Register" icon next to Flying in the Face of Adversity. Please mention Dundee Group when asked where you heard about the Webcast.

Posted by: Tim Ross

Are you using the new I-9 Form?

The use of the new form was delayed for two months while the Obama administration reviewed the form and the policies for it's use. You should be using the form for employees hired after April 3, 2009.

All U.S. employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. On the form, the employer must examine the employment eligibility and identity document(s) an employee presents to determine whether the document(s) reasonably appear to be genuine and relate to the individual and record the document information on the Form I-9. The list of acceptable documents can be found on the last page of the form.

Remember that in Abra I-9 Verification Status is tracked on the HR Status page.

You can get a copy of the latest form here.

Posted by: Tim Ross

What a New U.S. President and Congress Means for Employers and HR Professionals

Save the date and time! January 22, 2009 at 2:00pm Eastern. Join us for a Sage Lattes-Lunch-n-Learn: "What a New U.S. President and Congress Means for Employers and HR Professionals"

This is a MUST SEE, educational Webcast! This one-hour Webcast will be hosted by one of the top employment and labor law firms in the country, Littler Mendelson, P.C. We will examine what the results of the Presidential election and the new shape of Congress will mean for employers in 2009 and beyond. Plus, if you are a Sage customer and complete the survey at the end of the Webcast, you will receive a free Starbucks Card loaded with $5.

To register click on the Sage Webcast link on our homepage. The webcast is listed on the second page. Please contact me with any questions.

Posted by: Tim Ross

FMLA Expansion Signed into Law

On Monday, January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law an expansion of FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act). Under the new law, two additional events have been added to FMLA.

Family Leave Due to a Call to Active Duty -This benefit provides 12 weeks of FMLA leave due to a spouse, son, daughter or parent being on active duty or having been notified of an impending call or order to active duty in the Armed Forces. Leave may be used for any "qualifying exigency" arising out of the servicemember's current tour of active duty or because the servicemember is notified of an impending call to duty in support of a contingency operation.

Caregiver Leave for an Injured Servicemember -This benefit provides 26 weeks of FMLA leave during a single 12-month period for a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or nearest blood relative caring for a recovering service member. A recovering service member is defined as a member of the Armed Forces who suffered an injury or illness while on active-duty that may render the person unable to perform the duties of the member's office, grade, rank or rating.

The Department of Labor will be issuing regulations to fully implement this law. Click the following DOL FMLA Post for more information.

We will follow up in a future post with more information about how to handle FMLA in Sage Abra Payroll.

Posted by: Tim Ross