As I’ve mentioned previously in The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog, we’re going to be exploring split placements made in the Network more extensively.  The result is a new series of blog posts—“Split Placement Tales from the Trenches.”

In this series, we’ll get the “story behind the story” when it comes to split placements . . . what happened, how it happened, when it happened, etc., straight from the recruiters who made the split.

So let’s get down to it.  This week’s split placement information is listed below, followed by the placement’s tale, relayed by one of the recruiters involved.

The interesting part of this “Tale” is that it represents one of two split placements made by these recruiters recently.  One (this one) was a contract split placement, and the other was a direct-hire split.

Because of these recruiters’ willingness to communicate with one another, they’re now making multiple split placements and generating more revenue for their recruiting firms.

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Job order recruiter: Larry Baker of Computer Careers

Candidate recruiter: James Compton of Compton & Associates

Job title: OUTDOOR LIGHTING DESIGN ENGINEER

Action causing placement: Regular communication with another Top Echelon Network Preferred Member

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“The Split Placement Tale from the Trenches,” courtesy of James Compton:

“I saw the jobs for Product Design Engineers posted in the Hot Jobs segment on TE.  I gave Larry a call, since I had some experience working in the Lighting field.

“Larry and I reviewed the specifics in detail and why a smaller, privately held company was offering a viable career alternative.  Larry was very open on the company, its history, product line, and why they were hiring for expansion of their product line.

“Over the last couple of months, we’ve had multiple interviews that have resulted in two placements so far.  Because of a unique tax situation in one of the states, the company would not hire our candidate.  We countered with the alternative of bringing the employee on as a contract employee.

“Thanks to Top Echelon Contracting, we had a solution that finally met the needs of the candidate and the company.  So Larry and I have two placements, and we are working on others.  It’s great to work with a Trading Partner who is open and informative.”

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330.455.1433, x125
MDeutsch@TopEchelon.com
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(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

If you have clients who have been misclassifying W-2 employees as independent contractors (ICs), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is providing a way for them to come clean.

Through the agency’s recently launched Voluntary Worker Classification Settlement Program, if employers voluntarily reclassify their ICs as employees, they will only be required to pay a small portion of the back payroll taxes they owe.

To be eligible, the employer must:

• Have consistently treated workers in the past as nonemployees.
• Have filed 1099s on those workers for the previous three years.
• Not currently be undergoing an audit by the IRS, Department of Labor, or any other state agencies.

Employers can apply for the Voluntary Classification Settlement Program by filling out Form 8952.  If accepted, the employer will pay the IRS just around 10 percent of the payroll tax liability that should have been due for the past tax year (equal to about one percent of the wages paid to the workers during that year).

But why wouldn’t an employer just quietly reclassify their workers and pay nothing?  Well, if they participate in the program, the IRS will not audit them on prior payrolls for those workers.  If the past misclassification was found during an IRS audit, not only would the employer have to pay the entire amount of back taxes due, but they would also be subject to penalties and interest.  And, according to The Wall Street Journal, the IRS is planning to be even more diligent about investigating worker misclassification going forward.

You can help make it even easier for clients to fix their misclassification errors by converting their 1099 independent contractors to W-2 employees and outsourcing their employment to a contract staffing back-office, such as Top Echelon Contracting.  That way, your clients can still keep their costs and administrative hassles down, but they can do so legally without the threat of an IRS audit, because all of the required payroll taxes are paid by the back-office.

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888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
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(Editor’s Note: This is the next in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

Working mothers are helping to create a new niche for recruiters—placing parents in flexible work arrangements, according to The Washington Post.

The traditional workplace model has left many mothers passed up for promotions and relegated to less time-sensitive, mundane work.  For some, it has forced them out of the workforce altogether.  According to one survey, 30 percent of mothers with MBA’s have opted out of the workforce.

But many of these women want to continue working and can provide valuable experience and knowledge if allowed to do so on their own schedule.  For example, many parents can achieve the same results by working while their kids are sleeping at hours much earlier in the morning or later at night than the traditional workday.

Some are even willing to take contract assignments with no benefits for this type of flexibility.  (Note: this is not necessary when they take an assignment through a recruiter who uses a contracting back-office, such as Top Echelon Contracting, that provides benefits.)

In light of this emerging need, some recruiting firms are building their business models around placing mothers in positions with fulfilling work that they can complete on their own schedules.  These firms can negotiate contract assignments, consulting arrangements, telecommuting, part-time hours, and other flexible arrangements for those balancing work and family obligations.

Of course, as companies continue to run tighter ships in the wake of the recession, these arrangements can be equally as good for them.  We have written numerous times on how companies are utilizing more contractors because they don’t want to commit to full-time employees and they value the flexibility that contractors offer.

It sounds like these women who are hungry for flexible, challenging work could be the perfect match!

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888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
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“Top Echelon TV” is back after its summer break.  No more leisurely walks along the beach and drinks with umbrellas sticking out of them . . . it’s time to get down to business!  (Editor’s note: he would never, ever drink anything with an umbrella in it, miniature or otherwise.  In case you were wondering.)

And “TV” returns with a hot topic for recruiters right now: background checks.  Checking a candidate’s background can mean the difference between making sure that you present quality candidates to your clients and quite possibly tainting your reputation and losing business.  (Click here for a “crazy recruiting story”) that illustrates this point perfectly.)

For this episode, we invited Jen Grimes of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution, to join us.  Top Echelon Contracting has been conducting background checks on all of their contract candidates since 2004, and Grimes is responsible for coordinating all of the background issues for Top Echelon Contracting.

If you have any additional questions regarding background checks, you can contact TEC at 888.627.3678, or visit the Top Echelon contract staffing solutions website.

(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of guest blog posts about contract staffing, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  Similar posts will appear in future issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.)

The recent practice where employers specifically state in job postings that they will not accept unemployed candidates has ignited a firestorm and has some crying “discrimination.” Some lawmakers are even moving to make banning unemployed job candidates illegal.

In fact, New Jersey has already passed a law forbidding job ads that are found to discriminate against the unemployed, according to The Employer Handbook, a blog by attorney Eric B. Meyer. The law states that job advertisements can’t include provisions stating that current employment is a job qualification, that the company won’t consider applications submitted by unemployed candidates, or that they will only consider applications from currently employed candidates, according to the blog.

On the federal level, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently held a hearing to determine how prevalent banning unemployed candidates is and if it is discriminatory, according to employment attorney Lisa Yankowitz’s weekly Informed Workplace video.  While unemployed individuals are not specifically protected under any federal anti-discrimination laws, these practices could be considered discriminatory if they create a disparate impact against a protected class.

Disparate impact occurs when a policy that seems neutral on its face disproportionately impacts members of protected classes. Considering that certain protected groups, such as African-Americans, Hispanics, and the disabled, have a much higher unemployment rate than the national average, it is quite possible that a company policy against hiring the unemployed could create a disparate impact, Yankowitz says in the video.

According to Yankowitz and the Huffington Post, unemployed individuals will be specifically protected under federal law if Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) has his way.  He has introduced The Fair Employment Act of 2011 which would amend the Civil Rights Act to make it illegal for companies to make hiring decisions based on a candidate’s employment status.

It will be interesting to see where this goes.  Will more states pass laws banning ads discriminating against the unemployed? Or will federal legislators beat them to the punch and make the unemployed a protected class? Either way, it appears this is a topic that will be sticking around for awhile and could result in more legal restrictions for employers.

While most of your clients have probably not published job ads specifically banning the unemployed, chances are you may have encountered situations where a client has told you not to present unemployed candidates.  You may want to make them aware of the growing legal movement against his practice and remind them that there could be very good candidates out there who happen to be unemployed, particularly now in the wake of “The Great Recession.”

And you can offer to let them try your currently unemployed candidates by starting them on a contract basis before they “buy,” or extend the direct-hire offer.  Not only will they keep themselves out of potential legal hot water, but they may also find that some of the best employees are still on the unemployment lines.

For all the latest contracting news and information, subscribe to the Top Echelon Contracting blog!

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888.627.3678
DFledderjohann@TopEchelonContracting.com
Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn.
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For years, The Cornerstone, the newsletter of Top Echelon’s contract staffing recruiters, was sent to the Preferred Members of Top Echelon Network.  The Cornerstone was eventually discontinued in favor of another newsletter, Contracting Corner, which is now published once per quarter.  However, we still run contracting statistics in select issues of The Pinnacle Newsletter Blog.  These statistics include Non-Split Contract Placements, Split Contract Placements, and Non-Recruited Placements, among others.

Many of the Top Producers in the Network have added contract staffing services to their business model and have also taken advantage of the services provided by Top Echelon Contracting, the recruiter’s back-office solution.  For more information about the benefits of contracting and the services that Top Echelon Contracting provides, call (888) 627-3678, Ext. 2.

Below are this month’s contracting statistics, courtesy of Top Echelon Contracting.