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The U. S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently released an updated version of its elaws Advisor regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a federal law that entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified reasons.   The FMLA elaws Advisor was revised to reflect recent statutory changes to the FMLA and corresponding regulatory changes that became effective in January  2009.

On Feb. 21, 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and Employment and Training Administration issued a final rule implementing stricter guidelines regarding the H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker program, a program that allows foreign workers to enter the U.S. on a temporary basis when qualified U.S. workers are not available and when employment of those workers will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers.  The rule will affect H-2B applications filed on or after April 23, 2012.

On March 2, 2012, a federal court in Washington, D.C., upheld most of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) notice posting rule. The posting rule is described here, here, and here.

���ϲ����� is seeking presentations for two of ���ϲ�����’s most sought-after annual conferences, the HR Professionals Conference and the Training, ���ϲ����� and Development (TED) Conference.  For 2012, the conferences will be co-located in San Antonio, TX, Oct. 15-17, with separate tracks for each conference. A federal construction HR workshop will be held Oct. 17-18 in conjunction with the HR Professionals Conference.

On Feb. 9, 2012, the IRS released guidance and forms that employers may use to claim the newly-expanded tax credit for hiring veterans as outlined in the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act of 2011.

���ϲ����� of America’s 93rd Annual Convention will offer several sessions on labor and human resource matters open to all Convention registrants.  The Convention will take place March 13-17, 2012, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

On Feb. 21, 2012, ���ϲ����� submitted comments on the Dec. 9, 2011, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program’s (OFCCP) notice of proposed rulemaking, which would implement significant revisions of the regulations governing affirmative action requirements for direct federal contractors and their subcontractors with respect to individuals with disabilities as required by Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.  ���ϲ����� fully supports OFCCP’s stated overall goal of increasing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities; however, ���ϲ����� believes the requirements of complying with this rule, if implemented, would be extremely burdensome on construction contractors due to the unique nature of the construction industry.  As a result, ���ϲ�����’s comments ask OFCCP to exempt the construction industry from the requirements of the proposed rule, with 125 ���ϲ����� member-companies requesting the same via comments submitted through ���ϲ�����’s online Action Center.

The percentage of construction workers represented by a union rose very slightly in 2011, to 14.9 percent from 13.7 percent in 2010, according to the latest data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  The median weekly earnings of workers in the industry also increased over the year, according to BLS – from $735 to $746.

On Feb. 17, 2012, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that “Self Check,” a free online service of E-Verify that allows individuals to check their own employment eligibility status, is now available nationwide. This announcement expands on the initial launch of Self Check in March 2011, and an expansion to 16 additional states in September of the same year.  

On Feb. 7, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) extended the deadline for interested parties to comment on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the regulations implementing the non-discrimination and affirmative action regulations of section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.  The original comment deadline was Feb. 7.  In a press release about the extension, OFCCP stated that “after receiving several requests for extensions, OFCCP is extending the comment period for this NPRM for 14 days until Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012.”