On Dec. 28, the IRS issued Notice 2016-4 extending the due dates for new health care information reporting forms in 2016. Insurers, self-insuring employers, other coverage providers, and applicable large employers now have additional time to provide health coverage information for 2015 to individual taxpayers and the IRS. Providers and certain employers must now furnish individuals with either Form 1095-B or 1095-C by March 31, 2016. The due dates for issuers filing these forms and the associated Form 1094 with the IRS are May 31, 2016 for paper filers and June 30, 2016 for electronic filers. Individual taxpayers will generally not be affected by this extension and should file their tax returns as they normally would.

NALP issued the followed call-to-action regarding S. 1140 (Federal Water Quality Protection Act):

Please take a few minutes to once again send a letter to your Representatives related to Waters of the United States rule promulgated by EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

This week, the House of Representatives is expected to take up S. J. Resolution 22, to disapprove the WOTUS rule using the authority of the Congressional Review Act (CRA). The Senate passed this measure in November. The resolution would nullify the WOTUS rule. 

While President Obama will veto the measure, the fact that both the House and Senate passed the resolution will send yet another strong message to the Administration about opposition to the rule. More importantly, a strong vote by Congress could be raised in the various legal challenges to the rule to demonstrate that EPA and the Corps’ action is an example of regulatory overreach. 

Earlier this year, United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit recently issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prevents EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) from implementing the rule while the court reviews the various legal matters raised in the lawsuit. The legal maneuverings in that case and others continue. 

Thank you for your engagement on this important issue. 

Previously on the LAB:
WOTUS Resolution Passes Senate, Moves to House
Clean water rule injunction extended nationwide
What is a WOTUS?

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The following was posted today on the US Department of Labor Web site regarding the H-2B visa program:

The US Department of Labor issued emergency guidance on implementing the 2016 DOL Appropriations Act. Download the guidance at this link.

According to the guidance:

1) DOL will not approve PWDs based on wage surveys until a notice of action is issued by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

2) DOL will not issue final certification determinations until OMB approves changes to the form. Until a new form is approved, employers may continue to use the old form.

We lost a truck a few years ago when a 100-mile-per-hour wind gust pushed our truck against the guard rail at a major freeway interchange. The truck – along with the 10,000 lb. skid on the trailer behind it – rolled three times.

In the season of giving, there are many opportunities to help others – sometimes planned, and sometimes not. In the aftermath of the blizzard the week before Thanksgiving, arborist Patrick O’Meara, High Country Landscape, gave a spontaneous “YES!” to a cry for help and set out to do a dangerous night climb and rescue.

President Obama has signed into law an omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2016 that includes important H-2B relief. According to the H-2B Workforce Coalition, this bill does the following: 

It’s only a few more months until the petunia season, and designers will be planning annual displays before that. If you need fresh ideas for containers and annual beds, take inspiration from the top choices from the Hardy Boy annual trials, held in August. Among the top 5 plants were 3 flowers and two coleus.

Attendees at ProGreen 2016 will have two opportunities to view a powerful documentary about water issues in Colorado. “The Great Divide,” a feature-length documentary film from the Emmy award winning team of Havey Productions, in association with Colorado Humanities, will screen on Tuesday, February 9 at 11:15 AM and Thursday, February 11 at 3:00 PM at ProGreen EXPO at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver.

The following fact sheet has been released by the H-2B Workforce Coalition. You can download the full fact sheet here.

The H-2B Program: Myths Vs. Facts

Do H-2B workers take jobs away from Americans?
No, H-2B workers actually support American jobs and the U.S. economy. The H-2B program provides an opportunity for seasonal businesses to operate at a greater capacity, retain their full-time workers and contribute to their local economies. Seasonal workers help support many upstream and downstream jobs. Every H-2B worker is estimated to create and sustain 4.64 American jobs, according to an American Enterprise Institute study, Immigration and American Jobs. If the H-2B program did not exist, many seasonal businesses would go out of business. Those that could survive would operate at a lower capacity. These companies would also purchase fewer vehicles, computers, office supplies, seed, fertilizer, machinery and other items. Sadly, this economic reality has been realized time and time again by numerous businesses who were unable to find American workers to take seasonal jobs and who were unable to hire H-2B workers due to the limiting 66,000 annual cap on the number of H-2B workers admitted into the United States.