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USCIS Stakeholder Meeting, February 16, 3-4:15pm

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Honolulu invites interested parties to participate in an in-person stakeholder meeting on February 16, 2023, 3-4:15pm, to receive updates from local leadership and ask questions regarding operations at the Hawaii field office. The meeting will be held at 500 Ala Moana Boulevard #2-403, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 in the Ceremony Room […]

Compensable Time for Preliminary and Postliminary Activities Under FLSA

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), hours worked ordinarily includes all the time during which an employee is required to be on the employer’s premises, on duty, or at a prescribed workplace, performing their principal activities (primary duties they were hired for). However, compensable time also includes certain preliminary activities (performed before beginning principal […]

ES&A on HI Now Weekender

Interviewed by HI Now, the HawaiiNewsNow lifestyle show, ES&A Directors Sam Sneed and Bryan Andaya offered the firm’s brand of straight talk and strategy, providing integrated technology and employment advice for business owners and employers.

Attorney-Client Privilege: What Is It and How Do You Protect It?

NIOSH Releases Guidelines for Host Employers of Temporary Workers

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently released new safety and health best practices for employers of temporary workers, defined as those who are paid by a staffing company and assigned to a host employer. NIOSH found that temporary workers are at higher risk for a work-related injury than non-temporary workers due […]

Beware of Scams Disguised as Annual Renewal Notices

Just when you thought the season for scams was over, the State of Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Business Registration Division (BREG) reminds the public to beware of unofficial annual report “alerts” that have been emailed to local Hawaii businesses and the public by third parties not endorsed by BREG. Do not […]

Computer Startup Time May Be Compensable

In a recent ruling in Cadena v. Customer Connexx, LLC, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel held that computer start-up time occurring at the beginning of an employee’s shift may be compensable time under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if the time is integral and indispensable to the employee’s primary duties, and when a […]

Updated MOU Between IRS and USDOL Effective Dec. 14, 2022

Effective December 14, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Wage & Hour Division and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Small Business/Self-Employed Specialty Employment Tax Division have renewed and updated a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for employment tax referrals. The MOU is part of the agencies’ joint effort to combat employee misclassification of employees and […]

2023 W-4 and Guidance on Substitute W-4s Available

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 2023 Form W-4 (Employee’s Withholding Certificate) is now available to download.  Employers receiving substitute submissions (either electronic or paper) of W-4 forms can also refer to the IRS Additional Guidance for Substitute Submissions of Form W-4, as well as its Publication 15-A (Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide) and Publication 15-T (Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods).