Compensation Solutions Blog
Human Resources Outsourcing (HRO PEO ASO)
Job Incentives Bill Passed
The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (H.R. 2847), signed by President Barack Obama on March 18, 2010, is a $17.5B jobs bill intended to spur hiring and help small businesses.
There are two key components to the job incentive portion of the bill. First, businesses who hire a worker out of work for more [...]
Senate Passes Jobless Aid Bill
Last week the Senate approved a measure that would extend unemployment benefits to the end of the year, extend the COBRA subsidy under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), and extend tax cuts, ease corporate pension requirements and do away with cuts in Medicare reimbursements by doctors. It will now go to the House.
The [...]
Unemployment Benefits, COBRA Subsidy Extended for One Month
On March 2, Congress voted to extend unemployment benefits for 30 days, allowing Congress to work on a more comprehensive, longer term extension of benefits that would last through the end of 2010. President Obama signed the legislation on Wednesday.
Roughly 400,000 Americans were scheduled to lose their unemployment benefits as of the end of February. [...]
NJ Governor Introduces Plan to Mitigate UI Burden on Businesses
We reported last week that an unemployment tax is scheduled to be levied on NJ businesses as a result of the underfunding of the state’s unemployment insurance fund. To relieve New Jersey businesses from the burden created by this situation, Governor Christie unveiled a plan to substantially reduce the tax burden on businesses, but would [...]
Jobless Claims Rise Unexpectedly
According to a government report, the number of people filing unemployment claims for the first time rose unexpectedly during the second week in February. The increase followed a drop in claims the previous week. Analysts now think the bad weather in the northeast section of the country hampered the ability of first-time claimants to file [...]
NJ Passes Basic Skills Funding Bill
The New Jersey State legislature passed the New Jersey Basic Skills Training Program for Economic Growth Act. The bill dedicates 13 percent of funds from the “Supplemental Workforce Fund for Basic Skills” to the New Jersey Community College Consortium for Workforce and Economic Development, a part of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, to [...]
No Surprise: Available Workers Outnumber Available Jobs
By the end of November, there were a record-high 6.4 workers available for every job opening in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Compare this number to 1.7 workers for each job opening in December 2007, which is widely considered the beginning of the recession.
Part of the equation is that job [...]
U.S. Unemployment Rate Falls
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 10% in November, a modest decrease from the October rate of 10.2%. The number of Americans out of work dropped by 325,000 to 15.4 million in November. The nation’s workforce lost 11,000 jobs last month, the fewest jobs shed since 2007. This is great news; Wall Street economists expected [...]
Governor Corzine Signs Bill to Cut Employer Taxes and Discourage Raiding of Unemployment Fund
Governor Corzine signed into law a bill which would reduce employer taxes paid to the government when the UI fund’s reserves exceed a certain cap. Employer contributions account for 88% of the fund, but the fund has been tapped from time to time to pay for other government programs and initiatives. As a result, the [...]
New Jersey Proposes Redefinition of “Misconduct” for Unemployment Benefits
The New Jersey Department of Labor is proposing to amend the existing regulatory definition of “misconduct” with the definition given in the leading case on the issue, Beaunit Mills v. Division of Emp. Sec., 43 N.J. Super. 172 (App. Div. 1956). The proposed amendment defines “misconduct” as “an act of wanton or willful disregard of [...]