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The Importance of Workforce in U.S. Expansion

Staffing your organization is a critical element. We can help you to understand and evaluate personnel related items.

Where do you find qualified people? How much will they cost? What about unions? What if you need to let people go? And, what about holidays? Why is Thanksgiving in November, and no one knows what Boxing Day is?

The questions can seem endless. There are a number of state and private agencies all centered on developing, identifying, and getting you in touch with potential workers. These groups will also answer the questions you may have, and guide you through the staffing process.

Labor laws can vary from State to State, and are typically different than labor laws in Canada. Here are just a few of the differences.

• “At Will Employment” exists in the U.S. At will employment means that a worker, generally speaking, can be let go at any time during their employment with good reason.

• In the U.S., vacation and holidays are at the discretion of the employer, not the State or federal government. Generally speaking, if you want a happy workforce you would offer these benefits, but you are not legislated to do so.

• Drug & Alcohol policies are common and permissible in the U.S.  Most jobs in the U.S. now require pre-employment screening, and some require on-going screening. 

• Maternity leave policies. In the U.S., maternity leave is over an unpaid, 12-week timeframe.

Employee Benefits can have a significant financial and administrative impact on your business. Employee benefits, especially Health Insurance, are handled differently than Canadian Health Insurance such as OHIP. Health insurance plans and premiums can vary dramatically from one region of the U.S. to the next.

A few points to consider with regard to Employee Benefits include:

•  Tax and legal aspects.  Many companies in the U.S. require employee contributions to pay for health coverage.  This payment can be made in pre-tax dollars, saving the employee money.

• Also, how to fund employee benefits. As just mentioned, the cost for benefits does not have to be paid for exclusively by the employer.  Most companies offer a range of choices in benefit plans.  These options could range from a fully covered basic plan, to more enhanced plans requiring increased employee participation.

Some of the more common Employer sponsored benefits include Health Insurance, Pension and Retirement plans, and Vacation.

One last point to consider is that of immigration. The L-1 Visa is a visa granted for inter-company transfers, and is a fairly straight-forward process for the Canadian company expanding into the U.S.  The L-1 is a temporary visa with a wide range of eligible uses.  Unlike other types of visas or visas commonly referred to as “green cards”, the L-1 does not have a limit on the number of visas issued each year