Printing Industries Association of San Diego

Resources for you.

These days, being an employer means you need to be an expert at employee relations. As a PIA/SD member you have access to a wide variety of resources that can help you with any employee relations matter you may encounter. Want to know what the going rate for a pressman? Need a sample employee handbook? Have questions about overtime laws? Let us give you the answers you need.

Occasionally, you may need assistance with a regulation, wage/hour law or with a sticky employee situation. You should call Doug Moore, VP of Human Resources for PIA Southern California. Doug provides employee relations assistance to PIA/SD members (as well as PIA-SC and PI Northern California).

Doug has developed a vast array of resources that you can download for your use. They are located on the PIA-SC Human Resources web page, www.piasc.org.

Click here to see about wage hour law, rest periods, hiring practices, terminations and layoffs, worker’s comp claims, ADA compliance, employee handbooks and many more issues that specifically relate to the printing industry. You can reach Doug at (800) 449-4898 or click here to send Doug an email message.

Latest HR and Governmental Updates

New Hire Document
Effective January 1, 2012, California Labor Code Section 2801.5 requires that private employers add a new document to their new hire packet. You can find that document here or visit http://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSE/ to download the document in languages other than English.

OSHA 300A Form Posting
Most employers, with few exceptions (e.g., 10 or fewer employees during all of the previous year), must post their OSHA 300A log from February 1 to April 30 "in each establishment in a conspicuous place or places where notices to employees are customarily posted. You must ensure that the posted annual summary is not altered, defaced or covered by other material," according to OSHA regulations. Injury and illness recordkeeping forms are maintained on a calendar year basis. They are not sent to OSHA or any other agency. They must be maintained for five years at the establishment and must be available for inspection by representatives of OSHA, or the designated state agency. For more information on the OSHA 300A Form and the complete regulations see here.

To our knowledge, all of the state OSHA-approved plans are using the new federal OSHA 300A form except for California and Michigan.

Editor's Note: The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in conjunction with several states, each year performs a survey of occupational injuries and illnesses among employers. The data collected is not used in any type of enforcement capacity. Federal OSHA also conducts its own survey, and it can be used to develop a "target" list for inspections later. Employers who receive either survey must complete and return within 30 days, even if your company is located in a state with its own OSHA-approved state plan. Both surveys are similar to the OSHA 300A Form.

W2 Health Reporting Advice
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued revised advice about how employers, benefit plan administrators and others should go about applying the new Form W-2 health benefits cost reporting requirements.

The latest guidance, released Tuesday, makes clear that employers can, but are not required to, report contributions to health reimbursement arrangements in calculating health care costs. In addition, the cost of providing coverage through employee assistance programs, wellness programs or on-site medical clinics is not required to be reported if the employer does not charge premiums for the coverage to COBRA beneficiaries.

Employers do have to include the cost of any supplemental health benefits, such as cancer insurance, that they pay for, but they do not have to include the cost of supplemental health benefits that the employees pay for with after-tax dollars, IRS officials say in IRS Notice 2012-9.

Health care cost information will have to be reported on 2012 W-2s, which will be issued in 2013. Under previous IRS guidance, smaller employers-those that distribute fewer than 250 W-2s in 2011 are exempt from this requirement until at least 2014 and possibly longer. The guidance also discusses how to calculate the reportable amount for coverage only a portion of which constitutes coverage under a group health plan.

Editor's Note: Even if an employer does not have to report health benefit costs for 2012 (e.g., less than 250 W-2s filed), it would be wise to discuss the IRS's latest guidance with its health plan adminstrators and payroll provider soon to ensure compliance and to address any potential issues.

Outside Sales Survey
For more than 80 years, printers have been using the Printing Industries of America Ratios to benchmark their financial performance against the rest of the printing industry. The deadline is rapidly approaching!
Remember, participating companies receive a free copy of the survey’s results. This year, the survey forms are available online.

Leadership Training
Members are taking advantage of supervisory classes offered by PIA/SD on the employer's premises. These classes can be scheduled during the workday, evenings or Saturdays. The content of the classes can be based on what the company believes its leadership training needs are at the time and can be tailored to all levels of management including line employees with lead responsibilities. The most popular programs cover team building, motivation, communication, evaluation, conflict management and problem solving skills. The cost of the on-site training is $75 per hour. Call Doug Moore at (800) 449-4898 or click here to send Doug an email message for more information.

State Employment Posters
State labor laws are as numerous and varied as the states themselves. It is the employer's responsibility to display notices of these laws. Posters, provided by the state agency, are the most common and accessible form of notification. However, it is often difficult to find out which posters are required and how to obtain them. Some companies make these posters available for a fee.

To save you time and money, PIA has consolidated information on the posting requirements for all 50 states. Whenever possible, links to the appropriate state agency are provided. In many cases, the posters can be downloaded directly from Printing Industries of America. You can obtain federal employment posters by visiting the Department of Labor's website. For the state poster information, visit the PIA-SC website here

2010 Sample Employee Handbook
PIC has published a revised sample employee handbook for 2011 with language covering basic employment policies. Members have used this language as a guide in creating written policies and procedures covering the company’s employment practices and philosophies. Companies must develop an employee handbook, which reflects the employment practices unique to the company's operation and philosophies. In initiating or revising your company personnel policies or employee handbook, do not hesitate to call Doug Moore, our employee relations resource, for assistance.

Free Listserves
Printing Industries of Americal offers free networking opportunities for management personnel of member firms. These groups include the following:

Human Relations: This email networking forum (or “listserve”) is for management personnel of PIA/GATF member firms with HR responsibilities or oversight. Verification of membership and management responsibility may be required. To join email HRQuestions@printing.org with your name, title, company, address, and phone number. Topics from vacation leave, personnel policies, overtime, hiring and firing issues and more are covered.

Safety: This email networking forum (or “listserve”) for management personnel of Printing Industries of America member firms with Safety and Health responsibilities or oversight. Verification of membership and management responsibility may be required. To join email HRQuestions@printing.org with your name, title, company, address, and phone number. Topics on safety programs and policies and ideas are shared on this listserve.