Progrexion opening operation in Idaho Falls

Keyboards stacked up on partitions as work goes on inside Progrexion's new operation in Idaho Falls.

A routine check at the city of Idaho Falls Building Department office reveals that Progrexion, a Utah-based company with a call center in Rexburg, has filed plans to renovate the building on International Way nearest to Aeromark. The Utah-based company, which has had an operation in Rexburg for several years, is advertising for workers to staff its Idaho Falls center.

The building was first used by Security Connections Inc., then by Century Link, which still has one call center open on International Way, down from three.

Two other buildings on International Way, one that was occupied by Center Partners and the other by Century Link, have been empty parking lots and "For Lease." All these buildings were built in the mid- to late-1990s with aid from local economic development entities Grow Idaho Falls and the Regional Development Alliance.

Progrexion employs more than 2,100 people at locations in Utah, Idaho and Arizona and anticipates hiring 2,000 additional people between now and the end of 2015. Some of the additional new hires will be for the new call center in Idaho Falls. Progrexion has been recognized by Inc. 5000 Magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in America, and by the Post Register as a Top Place to Work in Eastern Idaho. For more information about the company, here is the link to its Web site: http://www.progrexion.com/

Walk-a-thon against childhood cancer set for Saturday

Idaho Falls area residents will team up Saturday with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for a walk-a-thon against childhood cancer.

The walk, which starts at 8 a.m. at Ravsten Stadium, is an opportunity to help support the life-saving mission of one of the world’s premier pediatric cancer research centers. Participants are seeking sponsorships for walking (pledges can be per lap or in a lump sum) and will earn prizes for their donations. The participant who walks the most laps and the participant who raises the most funds will win custom knives made by Robert Martin, owner of www.tearsofthesword.com.

The Rev. Tim Meeks of First Church of the Nazarene said the local goal is to raise $15,000 for St. Judes. It is not too late to register, which can be done by visiting http://fundraising.stjude.org/idahofallswalk.

Since opening in 1962, St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and around the world. No child is denied treatment because of a family’s inability to pay. The hospital’s research has helped push overall survival rates for childhood cancer from less than 20 percent when the institution opened to almost 80 percent today. It is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. But with a daily operating cost of $1.7 million, St. Jude depends mostly on public contributions and fund-raising events, like Saturday's walk.

For information about this event, visit the event's page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/events/1501564770085469. For information on how to host to host a fund-raising event for St. Jude, call 1-800-457-2444 or visit www.stjude.org/stjudewalk.

Misclassification of Independent Contractors = A Rough Road for Employers

FedEx deliveries are exciting, right? From the moment you order or send a package, track its progress and see the final “delivered” status, it is the ultimate adrenaline rush.

OK, perhaps I exaggerate. To be realistic, deliveries these days are pretty streamlined, simple and likely kind of boring. But last month package deliveries got a little more complicated for FedEx in Oregon and California.

How? Most of us would assume a person wearing a FedEx uniform, groomed to FedEx’s standards driving a FedEx truck and delivering packages on FedEx’s schedule would have to be a FedEx employee. But in Oregon and California, the drivers were actually classified by FedEx as independent contractors. Common sense says that wouldn’t be right, and the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agrees. Recently the court rendered a decision holding that the drivers in those states were actually employees.

This is a big deal. In fact, it has been called “an earthquake in the independent misclassification field.”

I can’t tell you what the exact financial effect will be on FedEx in California and Oregon, but can tell you it likely to be dramatic for FedEx and a lot of other companies.

Identifying an individual as an employee or independent contractor is tricky. A solid independent contractor agreement is great to have in place, but it won’t help ward off scrutiny from the IRS, the Department of Labor, and other local, state and federal authorities. There is a lot to consider before entering into a business relationship with someone as an independent contractor.

State laws may differ on who can be classified as an independent contractor, but the IRS has streamlined guidelines to help employers with classification. What should you consider before entering into an independent contractor relationship?

Overall, it is based on the degree of control a company has over an individual and can be broken down into a few areas.

• Does the company tell the individual exactly what to do in delivering the final product or service?
• Does the company determine or provide the equipment that is used how, what to wear on a job site and hours of work?
• Is all work performed on an actual company-provided worksite?
• Does the company provide training and education to perform the work?
• Does the company say where to buy materials needed to perform the work?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, the person is most likely to fall in the employee category.

It’s also important to consider the degree of control that the company has over other jobs or assignments a person can secure. If an individual is restricted or prohibited from taking additional jobs or assignments, or advertising services outside the company, this also would likely lead to employment status.

In a contracting relationship, a company does not have the authority to prohibit or restrict the contractual agreements a person can enter into with others. In any audit, the IRS would also consider how long the relation is in place or whether there was any expectation of the relationship being permanent.

Last of all, an independent contractor is fully responsible for keeping track of business expenses. The company is not involved and bears no responsibility for the individual’s expenses.
Determining the correct employment classification may not be as easy as tracking your FedEx package, but there are a number of resources to help.  For starters, the IRS has a 20-question that is extremely helpful and can be found here.
Monica Bitrick is CEO of Bitrick Consulting Group, an Idaho Falls human resources company.

Smith Honda, Chevrolet open on Sunnyside Road

Stafford Smith inside the new Smith Honda dealership on Pioneer Drive, off Sunnyside Road.

With a lot of kinks still to be ironed out, Smith Chevrolet and Smith Honda are looking at an Oct. 15 soft opening for their new dealerships off Sunnyside Road.

The Honda operation moved from Holmes Avenue to its new facility in late September while the Chevrolet dealership began selling cars and trucks there on Tuesday. The Chevrolet service department is due to open today.

For Stafford Smith and his staff, this represents the culmination of more than a year's worth of work. A few administrative people are still working at the buildings on Holmes, but for all intents and purposes both dealerships are now on 17 acres south of Sunnyside, each in buildings just shy of 30,000 square feet. Smith said he plans to have a grand opening in spring 2015, but is happy to show the place to guests now.

Smith Chevrolet started in 1917, when David Smith set up his dealership with two cars in the lobby of the Hotel Idaho on C Street (now Constitution Way). The dealership was downtown until 1963, when they moved to North Holmes Avenue, which was farmland at the time. They added Honda in 1970, starting with the tiny 600 series cars. The new dealership has been certified with Honda's Environmental Leadership Platinum Award, one of a handful in the United States.

Right now, access to the dealership on Pioneer Drive is closer to the Interstate 15 Exit 116 than Smith or the Idaho Department of Transportation are comfortable with. The address for both dealerships is listed as 3477 S. Pioneer Road, but as it stands now Pioneer Road empties onto Sunnyside just east of Teton Volkswagen and goes nowhere to the south.

Excavation of Bank of Commerce parking lot begins

Excavation work Wednesday at Yellowstone and A Street

Four months after an errant crane broke through the pavement revealing an underground parking structure, repair work has begun at the Bank of Commerce's parking lot at A Street and Yellowstone Avenue.

The incident occurred May 6 when the driver of a 40-ton crane tried to make a wide turn coming out of the alley onto the thoroughfare. Although the existence of the parking structure came as a surprise to many, it's no secret to anyone who has lived here a long time. The bank stands where Dad Clay's Garage used to be. Clay built his garage in 1910 and briefly sold Buicks and Fords before other businessmen acquired exclusive dealership rights.

Bank of Commerce CEO Tom Romrell said the door to the underground parking structure is on the bank's south side. He said that while some city officials claimed after the accident that they might not have been aware of it, it had been inspected as recently as five years ago.

In case you're interested, this week is the 50th anniversary of the Bank of Commerce's downtown branch, which opened in early October 1964. There was an open house that featured a display of federal reserve notes from $1 to $10,000. Who was on the $10,000 bill, you ask? Salmon P. Chase, Abraham Lincoln's treasury secretary.

Large denomination bills were last printed in 1946. Since then, the largest bill you can get at the bank is $100, featuring the picture of my favorite American, Benjamin Franklin.

Since you're dying to know, here's who was on the larger bills, or Gold Certificates, as they were officially called by the Federal Reserve:

$500: William McKinley
$1,000: Grover Cleveland
$5,000: James Madison
$10,000: Salmon P. Chase

The race is on to get foundations poured

The race is on to get foundations poured before the ground freezes, but Mother Nature has not been helping with the 3.5 inches she dumped on eastern Idaho last weekend and another copious storm Tuesday night.

Nevertheless, in between downpours the work is proceeding apace. Freddy's Frozen Custard, on Woodruff Avenue, was having its foundation poured Wednesday while the footings for the Noodles & Co. on Hitt Road, were also being prepared. Preparation for the Home2 Suites at Snake River Landing were also coming along.

A few of you have asked about the backhoes and dirt in between WinCo Foods and Family Dollar on Woodruff. According to Brian Tomsett, our answer man at the Idaho Falls Building Department, it is the result of excavation work in the WinCo parking lot. Fairly extensive soil settling problems forced WinCo to excavate the dirt -- hence the big pile -- and dump in several truckloads of 3/4-inch gravel, 16 inches deep.

stay tuned as we bring you up to date on the west side Walgreen's, Smith Honda and Chevrolet and the new Melaleuca world headquarters, all of which are entering the homestretch.

Idaho Falls Regional Airport posts survey

Do you want to win two airline tickets? The Idaho Falls Regional Airport is seeking input from passengers. Please share your opinions about the airport, its customer service and the amenities it provides. Participants who complete the short online survey (link below) will be entered in a drawing to win two airline tickets. The survey is open until Friday, Oct. 10.

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e9u9scxgi02xodwp/start