Avoid Costly Mistakes: Your Guide to Compliance
DON’T SET YOURSELF UP FOR DISASTER
When we email you an agreement/profile, as a service we take the information that you provided in the last fiscal year, and prefill the application.
However we do not know if that information is correct.
It is your RESPONSIBILITY to print out the agreement, carefully review each line, phone us if you do not understand something, line out and correct anything that is inaccurate.
We take the information that you provide as fact.
Even the slightest error – such as the start and end day of your work week, and the day you pay your employees – can cost you thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and penalties in case of a full blown Wage and Hour Audit.
It is also critical that you actually review the itinerary, confirming that all of the locations that you are even thinking about performing in are on the itinerary and the dates are correct.
In case of WHD Audit, if you have performed in areas that are not on your route, not only can you be fined, you can be kicked out of the H2B program and you can even be charged with a crime and thrown in jail.
This is serious business.
If you have already returned your agreement for FY25, we have sent back a copy to you. Review it, line out anything incorrect, and send us back the corrected copy.
Likewise with your route.
We can only do so much to protect you.
The rest is up to you.
I am so pleased that our industry leaders, the OABA, IAFE and NICA have recognized the urgency of getting across the finish line and are working together with a viable solution.
We must get this done NOW – the current nexus of political, economic and social issues is unique and may not be present for another 30 years.
Industry leaders, can prepare materials, guidelines, organize and lead the troupes.
But the troupes – YOU and ME – the GRASS ROOTS – are the ones that need to TAKE ACTION to get this done.
In the US House of Representatives, the CARE ACT (HR Bill 1787) and in the US Senate, the RIDE ACT (Senate Bill 4040), two nearly identical bills have been introduced, have been collecting bipartisan (both Democratic and Republican) support.
The bills actually have a chance of passing, of being the lightning bug in the bottle that has alluded us for decades, if we can rally all aspects of our fair, festival, mobile entertainment industry, suppliers and providers, to actively advocate for the CARE ACT and RIDE ACT.
The alternative is unthinkable.
This is a relatively easy lift. It is basically a correction to P-1 immigration language that was passed in 1992 for the circus industry. This bill not only fixes that decades-old Congressional error, but expands the correction to include all legitimate components of the mobile entertainment industry.
The ACT does nothing to address the H-2B cap issues, so the entire H-2B community is not going to get behind this legislation and push for it. It is designed ONLY for the MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY and so it is ours to fight for, get it done, or allow the opportunity to flitter away.
All of the tools that YOU need to get this done, can be found at the OABA Website (CLICK HERE NOW)
AUDITS
As an employer you are always subject to audits and reviews of your employment practices, whether you are an H2B employer or not.
As an H2B employer with additional rules, requirements and responsibilities you are subject to additional audits.
The USCIS has started their audit process of employers who filed for visas in FY24, supplemental visas either Returning Workers or Northern Central American Workers. This audit process typically starts with a phone call from the auditor to the employer. If you receive a phone call, you should tell the auditor you are busy (working or driving) and request that he/she email you the questions in writing. You would forward the email to [email protected] . Our audit/legal team will contact you, collect the documents requested and required, and compile a response based upon the documents received from the employer. Typically there is only a 14-day response window on these audits, and punishment for non-compliance can include revocation of your petition and cancellation of the worker’s visas.
The US DOL is a little bit behind in their audits, and are just now starting to audit those employers who filed for H-2B workers as part of the FY22 second half of the fiscal year supplemental visa rule. Their audit process begins with an email to the employer and the agent of record, and if you receive a Notice of Audit Examination, you should not respond directly to the DOL, but forward the NOAE and any documents that you have that appear to be responsive to the request to [email protected] so that our audit/legal team can assist you in drafting an appropriate response in a timely manner.
Some states have now started their own Audit Process of H-2B employers, so you may be contacted by your State Workforce Commission. If you do email the correspondence to [email protected] . We are working on finding out if the SWA has independent authority to audit, and what the limitations may be on their authority (if any).
Site Visits and Audits by US DOL Wage and Hour Division. Although JKJ Workforce Agency, Inc., is probably more knowledgeable than most attorneys or agents in regards to this process, we do not assist employers in WHD Audits. If you receive anything in the mail, or WHD inspectors show up at your lot, immediately phone our office with your SOS Emergency and let us know what is going on, and we will put you in touch with an Attorney that knows the Mobile Entertainment Industry and the WHD audit process and we urge you to reach out to hire the recommended attorney.
In all of the audits, we have found that Mobile Entertainment Operators have an extremely difficult time, keeping track of hours, paying the correct prevailing wage for that location, providing the required documentation to the workers and also retaining the required documentation. Not doing all of this has caused some employers to rack up serious fines, penalties and even being barred from the H-2B program either permanently or for a number of years.
I have formed a team of bookkeeping and payroll specialists to take this payroll burden off of your shoulders. They understand the regulations and the unique issues in the mobile entertainment industry, and anything they do not completely understand already they are able to learn and consult with myself and other professionals.
I urge new and existing H2B employers to do their due diligence. Contact EzyPayroll today – click here for information: