MSA Happenings
MSA and HRC are excited to announce our 3rd Annual Golf Tournament and Gala! Join us at the Sandy Burr Country Club on Monday, June 24, 2013. Sandy Burr Country Club is an exceptional facility that features beautifully manicured grounds with the areas inest 18-hole course. The tournament will be a scramble format with plenty [...]
Jim Ayraud is the CEO and Founder of Next Level, Inc., a Sales Management Consulting Firm. Jim will be leading three Executive Roundtables for CFO, COO or Business Owners who believe that working on their internal operations is critical to their success and the success of their company. Join a select group CFO, COO or Business [...]
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2013 Best of Staffing
August 11, 2012
2013 Best of Staffing Now Open For the last two years, MSA has partnered with Inavero to learn about our membership satisfaction and ways to improve. As the leading provider of client and talent satisfaction surveys, Inavero does more than any firm worldwide and has served as the American Staffing Association’s exclusive research partner since 2006. Sign [...]
Assurance Staffing E-zine Articles
April 22, 2012
Monthly web magazine of articles related to the staffing industry. Link to the e-zine: http://www.assuranceedgeonline.com/staffing/
Jobless Claims Fall Again
February 10, 2012
Jobless Claims Fall Again Wall Street Journal (02/09/12) Jeff Bater U.S. jobless claims fell by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 358,000 in the week ended Feb. 4, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday. The unexpected decrease that gave further indication the jobs market is improving. The previous week’s figures were revised up, to 373,000 [...]
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Massachusetts Staffing Employee of the Year Announced
October 26, 2012
Kim Madden of The Davis Companies is the 2012 Staffing Employee of the Year Staffing Companies in Massachusetts nominated 11 employees as their nominee for the 2012 Staffing Employee of the Year. All the nominees for this award are winners. They represent their staffing companies with their clients and contribute to the success of the [...]
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Massachusetts Staffing Association Wins National Awards
October 23, 2012
The Massachusetts Staffing Association was honored at Staffing World® 2012, the annual convention and expo of the American Staffing Association, held Oct. 9-11 in Las Vegas. MSA received a Chapter Superior Merit Award for its outstanding programs and chapter efforts, and a Legislative Superior Merit Award for its outstanding legislative efforts during 2011. MSA past [...]
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USCIS Releases New E-Verify Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program Enhancements Employment
September 21, 2012
USCIS Releases New E-Verify Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program Enhancements Employment Screening Resources News (09/17/12) Tom Ahearn U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has released a number of new enhancements for the E-Verify electronic employment eligibility verification program. A new Quick Audit Report will permit businesses to report their E-Verify activity to federal, state, or local [...]
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HB 4304 “An Act Establishing a Temporary Workers Right to Know” passes
ASA Legal Analysis
Massachusetts Staffing Bill Enacted American Staffing Association (08/02/12) Stephen Dwyer
After almost a year of political wrangling, on Monday the Massachusetts state senate passed HB 4304, which requires staffing firms doing business in the state to send temporary employees written notice of each assignment’s wage rate, the starting and end times of the assignment, and the expected duration of the assignment, among other things. The bill also prohibits staffing firms from charging temporary employees for certain items and services and prohibits fraudulent conduct. The bill now goes to Gov. Deval Patrick, who is expected to sign it, and the law will take effect Jan. 31, 2013.
The American Staffing Association and the Massachusetts Staffing Association, an ASA-affiliated chapter, along with lobbyists Roger Donoghue and Tara O’Donnell of Donoghue, Barrett & Singal PC, engaged in prolonged advocacy efforts that resulted in “professional” employees, secretaries, and administrative assistants being exempted from the notice requirements.
The advocacy efforts also resulted in numerous onerous provisions being struck from the bill. As originally drafted, the bill would have prohibited staffing firms from charging reasonable fees for services, including permanent placement fees; prohibited staffing firms from sending candidate résumés to clients to generate jobs; imposed potential rate caps; required staffing firms to provide meals, lodging, and transportation expenses to out-of-state workers whose temporary assignments were cancelled through no fault of the staffing firm; and imposed severe penalties, no matter how small the violation or whether the violation was inadvertent. None of these provisions is included in the bill that passed the legislature.
In the coming months, the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards will propose regulations to implement the law. ASA and MSA plan to meet with the agency to express the industry’s remaining concerns and provide input into the regulatory process.
In the meantime, staffing firms doing business in Massachusetts should become familiar with HB 4304′s requirements and discuss them with their legal counsel so as to be in compliance when the law takes effect. Staffing firms in the state should also continue to meet with their legislators to educate them about their businesses and the staffing industry so as to help prevent future harmful legislation.
Stephen C. Dwyer General Counsel American Staffing Association 277 S. Washington St., Suite 200 Alexandria, VA 22314-3675 703-253-2020 703-253-2037 direct 703-253-2053 fax sdwyer@americanstaffing.net americanstaffing.net