Workshops

Industrial Learning Track

Recruiting and hiring non-U.S. citizens can help you solve many domestic staffing needs. U.S. law and regulations provide several visa options for hiring foreign national employees on a temporary basis. Patrick McAlpine, Esq., and Randy Davison will tell you what H-2A and H-2B visas are, explain when they apply to your business, and take you through the two-step process for H-2A and H-2B visa filing.

Learn what information you must file, which forms to use, what the requirements are, and which agencies you have to work with at the state and federal levels. Get specifics on your obligations and those of your clients as they relate to recruitment, wages, housing, and transportation. McAlpine and Davison will help you unscramble the legal requirements and processes necessary so you can discover new opportunities to meet the staffing needs of your clients.

Grow Your Business Through Leadership and Image Promotion
Ric Mercuri, vice president, human resources and organizational development, Labor Ready
Wednesday, 3–5 p.m.

The industrial sector is often misunderstood by clients, communities, and elected officials. Image cannot be enhanced without strong, visionary leadership. The first part of this two-hour section session, designed by your peers on the industrial section policy council, will focus specifically on why leadership matters, and how it can affect your bottom line. Ric Mercuri will define leadership as it pertains to the industrial sector, and help you create leaders within your company. Discover how to use your leadership skills in your communities to protect and grow your business through image promotion.

In the second half of this session, learn how to use resources such as talking points and guidelines for facility tours to enhance the sector's public appearance.

I Spy: A Guide to Workplace Inspections
Joe Smith, CSP, ARM, AIC, executive vice president, RCS Services Inc.
Thursday, 1:45–3 p.m.

Do you know what safety hazards to look for when you go on a site visit or place field employees? Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, covered employers have two general obligations: to provide a safe working environment for their employees, and to comply with the act's rules and regulations, including its record-keeping requirements. Staffing firms are the employers of their temporary and contract employees for purposes of the act.

Join Joe Smith in a game of "I Spy," using photos of common workplace hazards in industrial and manufacturing environments to help you learn what to look for and what your employees may be exposed to when they start work at these types of facilities. If your company conducts walk-throughs of client facilities prior to placing employees, this presentation, coordinated by the ASA industrial section policy council, will assist you in ensuring compliance with OSHA safety laws.

Low Risk, High Rewards
Panel moderated by Dan Struve, CSP, chairman and chief executive officer, Helpmates Staffing Services
Thursday, 4–5:15 p.m.
Also in operations and staff development learning track

Controlling your company's susceptibility to costly insurance claims will help protect your profits. Moderated by ASA past chairman and chairman of the ASA workers' compensation committee Dan Struve, CSP, this panel of insurance professionals will provide an overview of the current insurance marketplace and strategies for a sound risk management program, including what you need to know about errors and omissions insurance. You'll examine hard and soft costs of insurance—from how much a claim actually costs to its impact on profit and loss.

Avoid common mistakes in selecting an insurance broker and preparing a professional submission. Find out about the Workers' Compensation Risk Certification program developed by ASA and Risk Control Services Inc. Gain strategies and learn practices you can integrate in your company to lower costs and increase profits.

Immigration Changes: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
Helen Konrad, Esq., partner, McCandlish Holton PC
Friday, 10:30–11:45 a.m.
Also in technical, IT, and scientific and health care learning tracks

The U.S. Social Security Administration has proposed regulations to deal with Social Security number mismatches. In addition, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently has allowed employers to store I-9 forms electronically.

Do you know how these regulations will affect you and your business? Failure to follow best practices in verifying employment eligibility and in completing the required Form I-9 could result in a costly lawsuit. Protect your staffing company by learning the mistakes most frequently made by staffing firms during the verification process and how to avoid them.

Helen Konrad, Esq., will lead participants in discussions of common immigration documents, questions you can and cannot ask at the recruitment and job offer stages, storing I-9 forms, what to do when you are faced with improper documents, a sensible line-by-line analysis of the I-9 form, and what-if scenarios that could occur during the I-9 process. Learn about the potential changes to the employer verification process pending in Congress and what they could mean to your company.

Konrad will also update you on the current responsibilities of employers and suggest steps to take when you receive Social Security number "no match" letters. The session will also address how staffing firms can digitally complete and store I-9 forms electronically in accordance with federal standards.