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Executive Order Apprenticeship & Workforce On June 15, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order designed to pave the way for expansion of apprenticeship programs. The following is an excerpt from his comments: “In just a few moments, I’ll be signing an executive order to expand apprenticeships and vocational training to help all Americans find a rewarding career, earn a great living, and support themselves and their families, and love going to work in the morning. We will be removing federal restrictions that have prevented many different industries from creating apprenticeship programs. We have regulations on top of regulations. And in history, nobody has gotten rid of so many regulations at the Trump administration. And

Employee

or Sub-contractor??

How to tell the difference— M A Y B E!

Some within the HVACR industry have adopted a sub-contractor relationship with what may otherwise be an employee. According to Fact sheet 13 of the US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, “ workers who are economically dependent on the business of the employer, regardless of skill level, are considered to be employees,”… while “…independent contractors are workers with economic independence who are in business for themselves.” “The Supreme Court has indicated that there is no single rule or test for determining whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor for purposes of the FLSA.” So what are the pseudo tests to determine if your subs can be subs or are actually employees? (1) “The extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business.” This is a tuff one. In the HVACR business you wouldn’t hire anyone unless their labor or service continued on page ??? (taken from WhiteHouse Press Release, “Remarks by President Trump at Signing of an Executive Order on Apprenticeship and Workforce of Tomorrow Initiatives.” June 15, 2017)

that's one of the reasons that you see the jobs and the companies all kicking in so

strongly. I think some very good numbers are going to be announced, by the way, in the very near future as to GDP.

So we're empowering these companies, these unions, industry groups, federal agencies to go out and create new apprenticeships for millions of our citizens. Apprenticeships place students into great jobs without the crippling debt of traditional four-year college degrees. Instead, apprentices earn while they learn -- which is an expression we're using: Earn while you learn….”