Monday, January 31, 2011
New G & J Campaign
Check out our new campaign. We're raising capital so we can shore up our infrastructure which will enable us to take on more of the clients that we're looking for. Currently we're limited by space and time constraints, but this will be a huge help in getting through the next step so please check it out!
Systemic Discrimination - The EEOC's new focus
The EEOC has shifted its focus to employers who practice systemic discrimination and is using a $23 million budget increase (and has asked for an additional $18 million) to get more aggressive in seeking cases to litigate that had formerly flown under the radar.
For example, a practice that many businesses rely on as part of their pre-employment screening is now under close scrutiny. Testing employees for alcohol use is now being litigated by the EEOC. In this particular lawsuit, the EEOC is challenging a steel company’s nationwide policy to subject its employees to alcohol tests during the employee’s 90 day probationary period.
Unlike testing for illegal drugs, the question raised by the EEOC is whether testing for alcohol use, violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) as alcohol testing is consider to be a medical examination. All employee medical examinations are subject to the ADA and must meet the specific conditions set out to allow medical examinations the ADA.
In another example, the EEOC filed suit against a nationwide provider of higher education alleging that the employer routinely discriminated by refusing to hire African-American applicants with poor credit histories. The EEOC asserted that credit checks of applicants in this case, were not job related or justified by business necessity, thus violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Many business routinely utilize these types of screening to select employees, particularly during this time of economic turmoil when a tremendous number of individuals looking for work, and employers are looking to ensure that they are not hiring people with substance abuse issues, etc. Given the push by the EEOC to stop systemic discrimination, it is the best interest of employers to review all of their HR and hiring practices to ensure that they minimize their legal exposure for discriminatory activity which they have inadvertently fallen into, particularly from a much more aggressive EEOC.
With the experience that our consultants have advising clients in the areas of background checking, drug & alcohol testing and general HR practices, G & J Consultants is well equipped to assist your business with this type of review.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Yet another way to keep in touch
In addition to our blog, G & J Consultants LLC now has a presence on that social media juggernaut, Facebook! Check in with us to keep updated on what we're doing, new hires and projects as well as general updates on us!
Snow days = no pays?
Given the weather in Kansas City over the last month, it seems that the question I have been asked most often has been “do I have to pay my employees for the time not worked because I closed the office/business/facility due to the snow?”
I am sure that the situation is very familiar to every manager, business owner and supervisor. Two days prior the weather forecast is for a heavy snowstorm and the employees begin to ask…”If it snows hard, do I need to come in?” or “Will the office be open?” How you answer could have huge implications on your business. Will you have to pay employees who come in? If an employee who comes in during a significant weather event, is involved in an auto accident and gets injured, is the business responsible? Is the business liable if a non employee is injured in an accident with your employee attempting to drive on snow covered and slippery streets?
The answer is not so easy to know. The answers to those types of questions depends on the business and how well prepared it is before the next big storm. The answer to the questions depends on the policies that the business has in place regarding the situation.
The point is that more often than not, small businesses don’t have standard policies which they use to manage the employee/employer relationship. What tends to happen, is a manager makes a decision without a policies and the obvious issue is that different employees are treat differently in similar situations, leading to employee dissatisfaction at a minimum, to litigation by an employee for unequal treatment.
Writing policies is extremely important for a business because a policy can ensure that decisions are uniform, provide management with direction, ensure consistent outcomes, and often prevent (or minimize) lawsuits, unemployment claims, and other forms of liability. If a business consistently follows a policy related to their employees, the employees know what to expect, and know that everyone in the same situation is being treated the same. So, why don’t employers have policies in place? Time, is one reason. Writing a policy that meet all of the needs takes time and effort. The policy not only needs to be well thought out and address all the issues and clearly determine the results the business is looking for, and it needs to meet all the legal obligations. Getting a policy drafted takes time…time that is often used to produce the product, provide the service or otherwise generate the revenue the business needs to continue operations.
Another reason for not having policies is the perceived flexibility that dealing with issues when they come up gives the business management team. A third reason is no one is adept at drafting policies, so they download policies from someone or someplace else and the policies don’t fit the specific needs of the business and so they and the need for them becomes forgotten.
Failing to have policies that are tailored to the specific needs of the business is a sure recipe for unhappy employees, poor employee relations, attempts to unionize, high turnover, and expensive litigation. Writing and enforcing policies for your employees is necessary for the well run business.
When was the last time you looked at the policies used in your business? Do you have someone identified to be responsible for maintaining your policies?
If you did not answer yes, then your business could be at risk!!! If you don’t have the time, resources or ability to create policies, hire someone to do it for you. It could be the best thing that you could do for the future of your business.
BTW, the answer to the questions about time off is determined by the policies in place for leave time, and how you treat employees based on their status as exempt salaried employees versus non-exempt hourly employees. For a specific answer, I need to see your policies.
Glenn Brown is the Co-Founder and Principal of the Kansas City based HR consultant firm, G & J Consultants, LLC. In addition to having directed the HR Department of a health care services company, Glenn is an attorney with 15 years experience assisting businesses of all sizes and industries in complying with employment and labor legal issues. G & J Consultants specializes in providing small and medium sized businesses with traditional HR services as well as compliance with employment laws and regulations.
Monday, January 10, 2011
2011 HR challenges
At the end of the 2010 a survey of HR professionals was taken to determine what the top challenges facing employers in the area of human resources in the new year of 2011.
Of course, with the U.S. Supreme Court considering a number of employment related cases this year, the list of challenges may change, but it appears that there is a consistency in what will be keeping HR professionals awake at night, and those same issues will serve to trip up the unprepared business owner.
Some of the top items that showed up on the list are not generally under the control of business leaders.
The number on issue on the minds of top level HR professionals: Healthcare Costs and Regulations. While the regulations are still being understood, businesses are struggling to comply with regulations which are confusing and sometimes contradictory. Health benefits are raising the cost of business operations or forcing employers to reduce or even eliminate benefits for their employees. When trying to increase employee engagement and loyalty, such moves can damage the employee/employer relationship.
Second: FMLA and leave administration. More and more cases are being filed in court over leave policies and practices. As the law becomes more confused and court decisions continue to confound HR practitioners, mistakes leading to expensive lawsuits are becoming even more prevalent.
Third: Increasing administrative investigations into complaints by the EEOC, Dept of Labor, OSHA and the IRS.
Fourth: Social media and blogging use by employees. Last week, I discussed this issue in more detail. http://gjconsultants.blogspot.com/2011/01/social-networking-and-business-part-ii.html
And…fifth: FLSA and wage and hour issues, including the classification of employees.
The list is really not a surprise. We have been seeing these issues continue to confound businesses and show up in numerous court cases. With the exception of Healthcare laws and regulations, each of the issues is either controlled by the employer, or mitigated by proactive actions by the business leadership.
I am continually amazed that smaller business owners tend to stick their heads in the sand and hope that employee issues will go away. If anything, ignoring employee issues causes the most employment litigation. If the employees don’t get fed up and attempt to right the “injustice” they believe they have been subjected to, invariably the government will find something during an investigation.
2011 is the year to face the top HR issues head on and not only improve your employee relationship and productivity, armor yourself and your business against preventable fines and penalties being assessed by the government. If you need help, hire professional assistance…assistance which includes HR experience as well as understanding of the legal issues. Your business deserves it, your employees deserve it and most of all you deserve the peace of mind of knowing that your business can withstand any employment challenge.
Glenn Brown is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board and Chief Legal Officer of G & J Consultants, LLC. In addition to having directed the HR Department of a health care services company, Glenn is an attorney with 15 years experience assisting businesses of all sizes and industries in complying with employment and labor legal issues. G & J Consultants specializes in providing small and medium sized businesses with traditional HR services as well as compliance with employment laws and regulations.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Social Networking and Business... part II
Yet again! No matter how many times one this problem is discussed, it seems to re-occur without fail. Just yesterday, the news reported on a nursing student who was suspended from school because of inappropriate use of Facebook. It was another reminder that for all the good social networking can be, it’s also a real opportunity for people to harm their professional lives.
For the current generation social networking is as second nature to them as breathing, it’s how they stay in touch. It’s how they communicate. Unfortunately, employers find social networking as unfamiliar as our parents find the internet. As more and more employers use Facebook and other social networking in a negative way, doing so is becoming extremely dangerous.
In addition to hindering the natural way in which most of the newer and younger workforce communicates, federal regulators are beginning to address social networking as an employment issue and looking to protect employees who use Facebook in the workplace. As an employer, what are you to do? The government is likely going to make disciplining an employee who uses Facebook or other social media to complain about their employer, or disclose confidential information, to their friends, illegal. The National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) prohibits such actions as violating Section 7 of the act. (By the way, Section 7 applies to ALL employers, not just ones with unions).
Despite the warnings, people continue to post unflattering pictures of themselves and bragging about those nights of drinking which cause concern for potential employers, employees continue to use social media to complain about how bad their bosses are, and in more and more cases disclose (inadvertently) confidential information and company trade secrets. How can employers protect themselves when doing so, might subject them to being sued?
It is now, more than ever, when every employer must ensure that they have a policy on social networking in place and communicated to their employers, which make it clear what type of social networking is acceptable and whether it is acceptable to use social media in the workplace, on work provided computers. Developing such policies is often difficult because you have to match legal restrictions with employee productivity.
If we have learned anything, social media is here to stay. Putting our heads in the sand is not the solution. Figuring out a way to integrate social media and networking into our employment processes and operations. Failure to consider this issue could really have a costly impact on your business. The challenge is to use social media in ways to enhance productivity and employee engagement. Professional assistance is available and you should strongly consider utilizing such assistance in crafting your social media policy.
Glenn Brown is the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board and Chief Legal Officer of G & J Consultants, LLC. In addition to having directed the HR Department of a health care services company, Glenn is an attorney with 15 years experience assisting businesses of all sizes and industries in complying with employment and labor legal issues. G & J Consultants specializes in providing small and medium sized businesses with traditional HR services as well as compliance with employment laws and regulations.
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