The Results are in: State-Funded Training Pays Off Big Time!

In a recent report issued by California State University Northridge, Employers Group’s state-funded training program not only earned a superior ranking, but the report’s stats prove that state-funded training brings financial benefits to the companies that offer it –AND their employees who receive it.

The report, entitled Lessons from the Past and New Priorities: A Multi-Method Evaluation of ETP, was commissioned by the State of California Employment Training Panel. It details company experiences with state ETP program through companies contracting directly with the state and through multi-employer consortium contracts, such as the contract Employers Group has with the state.

Great news for Employers Group Members!

“The Employers Group’s training outpaced all 11 other ETP contractors providing similar training,” said Steve Duscha, Executive Director of the Alliance for ETP—a non-profit organization of businesses, trade associations and educational institutions that support the programs of the California Employment Training Panel. “The Employers Group does a great job for their member employers.”

Details of the study

• Analyzed more than 5,000 trainees who participated in training programs, ranging from 40-200 hours.
  
• Compared wage changes from before training began to one year after training ended and two years after training ended.

The results established that

• Employers Group-related trainees comprised more than 40% of the trainees in the study.
  
• Nearly all of Employers Group’s trainees participated in 40 hours of training.
  
• Employers Group (originally a part of the National Alliance of Business contract but now with its own contract), had the largest trainee earnings growth—more than any of the Employers Group’s competitors—one year after training ended.
  
• One year after training ended, an individual trainee’s annual wage increased on average by $3,091. Employers Group-related trainees received a wage increase of $5,373, a 42% difference over the average competitor.
  
• Two years after training ended, Employers Group-related trainees’ annual wage increased by $10,035, whereas the average contractor only saw a two-year wage increase of $2,270: a 77% difference over the average competitor!
  
• Additionally, the study also examined trainees who started but did not complete training (dropped trainees). Trainees who dropped actually earned $2,674 less two years after they started their training.
  

Add to your bottom line with employee training

Standard economic theory holds that employees’ increased income equates to improved productivity, so training does double duty by adding to your company’s bottom line!

Often, human resources and company executives fear that more extensive training programs are an immediate cost and cause disruption to employee and business schedules. They are right in most cases. Training does cause some disruption and there is an in-kind cost by paying employees while they are in training.

Yet, this study proved that there is significant return on a company’s training investment by providing long-term economic growth for companies willing to invest in their employees through more extensive training programs.

Note: If you are a for-profit employer and would like to find out if your company qualifies for state-funded training, please visit www.employersgroup.com or email jhull@employersgroup.com

Consulting FAQ's: Keeping Pay Stubs Correct

Q: What information is required on a pay stub?

A: There are nine things that must be on the pay stub per California Labor Code §226. They are: (1) gross wages, (2) total hours worked by non-exempt employees, (3) number of piece-rate units and rate if applicable, (4) all deductions, (5) net wages, (6) inclusive dates of the pay period, (7) name of the employee and his or her social security number, (8) the name and address of the employer, and (9) all applicable hourly rates in effect during the pay period and the number of hours worked at each hourly rate by the employee.

Q: What will be changing?

A: A new law states that employers have until January 1, 2008 to make sure that entire social security numbers are not shown on pay stubs. You may only show the last four digits of the social security number or use another employee identification number.

Q: What is the penalty for non-compliance?

A: Intentional failure to comply with the pay stub rule can result in civil penalties of $250 per employee per violation for the first citation and $1,000 per employee for each subsequent citation. In addition, employees are entitled to the greater of all actual damages or $50 for the initial pay period in which a violation occurs and $100 for each violation in a subsequent pay period -- not exceeding $4,000. The employee is also entitled to an award of costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The Labor Commissioner has discretion to not penalize an employer for a first violation when that violation was due to a clerical error or inadvertent mistake.

More Sexual Harassment Training Classes Added

Due to an overwhelming response to the recent legislation on Sexual Harassment, AB 1825, we have scheduled additional 2005 dates for "Sexual Harassment Prevention." The next dates are:

January 19, EG Orange County Regional Office
January 21, Transamerica Center, downtown Los Angeles

Classes are filling up quickly.......

To register, please contact Member Services at (800) 748-8484, or Click Here.

Domestic Partnerships: How can this affect your company?
Attend a Briefing in your area (see dates and locations below).

Same-sex relationships have received a great deal of national attention over the past several months. Well publicized developments include legislation (e.g., California’s Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003 and Vermont’s civil union law for same-sex couples), court cases (e.g., the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling that it is unconstitutional to prohibit same-gender couples from legally marrying in Massachusetts), and social activity (e.g., San Francisco’s same-sex marriage ceremonies and state-level political initiatives).

These developments are likely to be just the beginning. All employers, even those who already provide domestic partner benefits, must be prepared to address and respond to these developments.

The following are just some of the many employment-related issues are likely to be raised by these developments:

January 11, 2005 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
University of Phoenix
3880 Murphy Canyon Road
San Diego, CA 92408

January 13, 2005 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
University of Phoenix
301 East Vanderbilt Way
San Bernardino, CA 92626

January 18, 2005 9 a.m.- 11 a.m.
San Francisco Regional Office
120 Montgomery St., Suite 1050
San Francisco, CA 94104

January 20, 2005 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Los Angeles Regional Office
1150 S. Olive Street, H-1177
Los Angeles, CA 90015

January 25, 2005 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Orange County Regional Office
3070 Bristol Street, Suite 640
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

To register, please contact Member Services at (800) 748-8484 or click here.

Protect your Company with an Updated Handbook
Sign up for a “limited time” special handbook promotion

When the Governor signed the revision (SB1809) to SB 796 (aka “Sue Your Boss” or the Bounty Hunter Law”) in August, many employers believed that the onerous provisions were completely rescinded.

They weren’t, and many employers are now starting to see penalties stack up against them. The penalty can be $100.00 per employee and former employees per pay period. Plus, 25% of the penalty money collected goes directly to the employee who reported the violation, which makes it attractive for employees (and their attorneys) to do so.

Don’t let out-dated policies come back to haunt you!

Incorrect, out-dated language in your handbook may become the basis of legal action. It is crucial to have all your documents—and especially your handbook—reviewed annually by an HR Expert.

Since organizations change internal processes frequently, and the laws can change annually, many of the policies in handbooks can become not only outdated but create obligations for the employer where none were intended or do not exist anymore. Also, as companies grow or downsize the laws that affect them may also change and need to be readdressed.

We recommend reviewing your employment practices on a regular basis, but at minimum once a year, to make sure they are in compliance.

Let us help keep your handbook compliant!

For the month of December and January we are offering two (2) “free” written policies (not currently in your handbook) with the purchase of new handbooks and handbook reviews.

Please contact mjackson@employersgroup.com for more details on this limited offer and for a listing of the free policies to choose from.

Terms and Conditions
This offer extends to companies that are current members of the Employers Group or become members through this offering. All proposals must be signed by the member by January 30th for them to be eligible for this discount. The handbook does not have to be completed by January 30t but we should have all handbooks completed within 60 days of the signed proposal unless there are extenuating circumstances that would prevent this.

2005 is Coming! Do you Know Where your Posters are?

During this festive time of year we’re all eager to enjoy the holiday season and looking forward to the New Year. But, don’t let your celebrating keep you from preparing for the inevitable; of course I’m talking about updating your compliance posters.

With all the employment law changes in 2004, many employers still have 2003 or older posters hanging on their walls. Let us remind you that

The good news, Employers Group is here to help.

With almost 40 posters to choose from, we can fill all your poster needs.

Specialty posters and kits are available in both English and Spanish and can be shipped overnight.

* ORDER NOW for 10% Off!
And, through the end of the year you’ll receive 10% off all your posters orders through EG. So don’t delay! Get you posters and get in compliance. To order call our Member Service Center at (800) 748-8484 option #3, or visit the EG Store at www.employersgroup.com.

Put the Best Available Technology to Work for you…

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are you working longer hours and still can’t keep up with all you need to do? Do you need another employee or two to help keep up with all of the Human Resource record keeping, Benefits Management and Payroll issues that need to be managed?

Maybe you don’t need another employee, but what you do need is some new technology that will help you streamline your processes, keep accurate records, let you write reports easily, and overall just work smarter.

Employers Group offers two different solutions that can help streamline the record keeping process, keeping all of your HR, Benefits and Payroll data together, in one database for you to access and report on. Whether you are looking for a web-based, outsource solution like eeAccess, powered by UltiPro, or an in-house solution like Abra, we can help you.

According to Gartner, Inc., a leader in the research and analysis of IT systems, the two HRMS products offered by Employers Group to our members are among the top rated products available in the market today.

For further information, contact Joyce Weldon, HRMS Product Manager, at Employers Group, at 1-213-765-3999 or jweldon@employersgroup.com.

Want to know what's happening when with Surveys?

Click here for a printable PDF of our 2005 Survey Schedule.

This schedule can be used throughout the year for all our surveys.