HR Forum

Want happy employees? Promote public transportation

Help the environment and help your employees out at the pump by encouraging them not to go to the pump at all. Some U.S. employers are starting to offer employee incentives for using public transportation instead of driving to work.

In Miami, where I-95 is jam-packed with cars almost 24 hours a day, companies are telling employees to take the train. The city of North Miami is offering large discounts to employees who buy passes for the commuter rail. A month pass that would normally cost $75 is now only $15.

The initiative, part of the Miami-Dade Transit Corporate Incentive Program, hopes to reduce toxic emissions and help ease the pain at the gas pump. About 9,000 people have already signed up.

If your employees live in a city where public transportation is limited or employees are uncomfortable using public services, encourage carpooling. You can offer incentives to carpooling in the same way you would subsidize public transit costs. Christian Mullins at Credit Union Potential has devised a framework and formula to follow when calculating car pool subsidies.

According to Mullins, offering an incentive program to use public transportation or carpooling will help employees manage gas prices and establish your company as an environmental activist.

Studies have shown that employees are happier when working for environmentally-friendly companies. Even if they don’t act on your offer, they’ll appreciate it.

The Chief Happiness Officer, Alexander Kjerulf, is also a believer that promoting a “green” workplace makes for happier employees. Here are his five reasons why “going green” creates happy and more profitable companies:

It’s the right thing to do.
You’re making a positive difference.
It boosts employee engagement and encourages personal action.
It creates a stronger bond with the company.
It gives everyone a sense of pride.

The positive and powerful side of office gossip

Gossip on the job is an inevitable part of corporate culture. No matter how hard supervisors and HR try to squelch it, gossip will find a way to live on. While hurtful gossip can be detrimental to company culture and may negatively alter coworkers’ perceptions of each other, new research is showing that a little bit of harmless gossip can actually be a good thing.

A recent SHRM article reviewed academic research revealing that women who engage in office gossip are seen as more powerful and as possessing more masculine traits than their other female coworkers.

The studies out of Albright College focused on women and the perceived relationship between gossip and power in an organization. Big gossipers are seen as “significantly more powerful, more masculine and less feminine than low gossipers.” They’re also seen as more controlling and less emotionally warm, even around friends, according to the Albright studies.

People who gossip in the office are perceived as more dominant and aggressive, as gatekeepers of information and "in the know." Those office gatekeepers will often use gossip to “reaffirm their own power within the organization."

Gossip may not always be a bad thing in the office. According to Pat Farrell at WebMD, it may help create group norms and strengthens bonds among those in a group.

It helps us to learn the “rules” of the office and eases the transition into a new corporate culture if one is new to a job.

Just like how a coffee break can help renew your energy level at work and de-stress, a few minutes of chatting about the latest gossip floating around the office “may be just what the doctor ordered,” Farrell says.

The incredible shrinking employee 401(k)

401(k)s are performing worse than they have in more than five years.

In a recent Workforce article, the Mercer consulting firm reported losses in every equity category posting during the first quarter.

The median large-cap growth fund tracked by Mercer fell 11.6 percent during the first quarter. Large-cap core and large-cap value funds dropped by more than 9 percent.

The good news is that the second quarter is off to a stronger start. The S&P 500 posted a 4.9 percent gain for the month of April, ending a streak of five consecutive negative months.

Not only are employee 401(k)s shrinking, but one in four employees will withdraw funds from their retirement account early, according to a May SHRM article.

The experts advise that employees only borrow against their 401(k)s when it is their absolute last resort. HR managers should educate employees on the impact borrowing against retirement funds will have on the long-term growth of their money, and also on the penalties employees may face if loans are not paid back.

A 2008 Wall Street Journal Online with Harris Interactive Personal Finance poll found that:

About 25% of American adults have withdrawn retirement funds early, citing the most common reason as a family member losing a job and the cost of a down payment on a home.
Almost 33% of those who have withdrawn funds early from retirement accounts cannot pay them back
People between 45 and 54 are more likely to be unable to payback retirement withdrawals.

Read the full SHRM article for more detailed information on the poll.

Laurie Ruettimann, former HR professional and outspoken blogger, shared a story yesterday about a company she once worked for who allowed employees to take loans against their retirement investments during a period of reconstruction. During the reconstruction, many employees lost their jobs and were forced to pay back their 401(k) loans in full within the 90 day period after termination date, or the loan would be treated like a cash withdrawal.

Ruettimann’s advice:
1. Don’t take a loan against your 401(k).
2. Don’t do it.
3. Just don’t.

State Supreme Court upholds ruling in workplace bullying case

In what may be the first workplace bullying case of it’s kind, the Indiana Supreme Court has upheld a $325,000 verdict in a bullying case against a heart surgeon.

A hospital operating room perfusionist (person who operates the heart/lung machine during open heart surgeries) filed suit against the doctor for assault.

While no physical harm was done, assault in Indiana can be committed when a person acts with intent to cause harm to another person and the victim feels reasonably afraid that the contact will occur.

The victim in the case alleged that the doctor aggressively charged him “with clenched fists, piercing eyes, beet-red face, popping veins, and screaming and swearing at him.” The victim backed up against a wall, protecting his face with his hands in fear that the doctor would hit him. Read the full case report.

For more information on workplace bullying, read a past blog post on the issue or search articles from our News & Info section.

Recycle your way to a ‘green’ workplace

At home you may always do your best to reduce waste by recycling, but walking through the office doors transforms you into a “triplicate-printing, paper-cup-squashing, run-our-computers-all-night-so-
the-boss-thinks-we're-working earth befouler.”

Each year, U.S. workplaces are responsible for:

10, 000 pieces of copier paper per employee
40% of carbon dioxide emissions due to heating, cooling and power
70% of the country’s total electricity usage.
1.3 billion tons of CO2 from employee commutes
$1 billion worth of electricity to keep office computers running

Other than printing less paper and working by candlelight, there’s one simple way to do your part to go ‘green’ at the office - recycle.

Here are eight easy steps to recycle your way to a ‘green’ workplace:

1. Set up a ‘green’ committee. Form a group of employees interested in environmental issues to organize recycling efforts at work.

2. Perform a waste-audit. Take inventory of the amount and types of trash your office produces including printing paper, catalogs, newspapers, soda cans, plastic water bottles and printer cartridges.

3. Contact your local recycling company or find a drop-off location. Get price estimates for dumpsters and pick-up services. If recycling can’t come to you, find a location where you can drop off recyclables.

4. Coordinate the collection effort. Place recycle bins in the proper locations around the office, including the lunchroom, printing areas and warehouses. Give employees their own small bins for scrap paper around their work areas.

5. Promote the effort. Promote the recycling program throughout the office with informational fliers and posters. Show employees where recycle bins are located around the office and what should go in each bin.

6. Plan fun events to support the effort. Set up a competition to see which department can recycle the most to encourage participation.

7. Share your goodwill efforts. Add an article to your employee or industry newsletter communicating your ‘green’ efforts. Write and distribute press releases on how your company is helping the environment.

8. Keep up the good work. Evaluate the program’s progress on a regular basis. Remind employees about their efforts and to keep recycling. Come up with more ideas on how to go ‘green’ at the office.

Governor signs New Jersey Paid Family Leave Bill

On Friday May 2, the New Jersey governor signed a bill that will give employees in the state up to six weeks of paid leave per year after the birth or adoption of a child or to care for an ailing relative.

The law will go into effect next year, allowing parents to take paid leave within the first year after the child’s birth or adoption. The New Jersey Paid Family Leave Bill also extends to allow paid time off to care for a seriously ill immediate family member.

Governor Jon Corzine’s decision to sign the bill was influenced by a traumatic car crash just more than a year ago that ended with Corzine in the hospital. The Governor said his family’s strong support was a major part of his recovery, but not everyone is as fortunate to have family able to be at the hospital everyday.

New Jersey joins California and Washington as the only states to offer similar family leave benefits.

A state fund will replace up to two-thirds of salary for a person on leave, no more than $524 per week. Family leave benefits will be funded through employee payroll deductions, with a maximum contribution of $33 per employee each year.

There will be a seven day waiting period for those who apply for paid family leave before they can collect benefits. Employers can require employees to use up to two weeks of unused vacation time before receiving paid family leave. One of those vacation weeks will is meant to cover the waiting period.

Employee contributions are set to being January 1, 2009, with benefits available starting July 1, 2009.

Read a past post on this topic and the fully story from the Ashbury Park Press.

Build employee morale during good times and bad

Everyday, more and more industries are facing layoffs and major downsizing. Paired with a looming recession, employees are more stressed than ever.

Keeping employee morale high during times like these can be tough, but those at Harvard Business Online say good leaders should be able to inspire no matter what.

“Good morale does not require people to be happy.” Instead, the definition of good morale is that individuals’ emotions contribute to the unit as a whole in order to achieve goals. A leader’s job is building team focus and dedication, according to the author.

This can be achieved if you hold on to four truths:

Employee efforts contribute to making someone else’s life better. People work their hardest when they know they are making a difference in another person’s life. Show your employees the good work they’re doing with examples. Something as small as a positive customer review can make an employee feel proud of what they do.

The company depends on their ideas. After downsizing, it is usually a company’s top performers who are left to keep the business moving. Let these employees know that their ideas are crucial to the company’s success and be open to listening to new ideas.

Bad times will end soon. Most of the time, employee layoffs happen before a company is in financial trouble, and used as a means to cut costs before profits plummet. Let your employees know that the downsizing is only temporary and when you foresee an end to the job cuts.

Good times are just around the corner. During a downsizing, employees may take on roles and responsibilities they may not have had under any other circumstances. When good times roll back around, managers will notice how these employees have stepped up and possible promotions may follow.

Gas prices take a bite out of employment relationships

In the past, employees could justify a long commute if the work was worth it. Now, more than just a long commute, employees are feeling the burden of the highest gas prices our country has ever seen.

It’s predicted that by 2012, American gas prices could reach $7 per gallon. At that rate, a 2008 Toyota Corolla with a 13.2 gallon gas tank would cost $92.40 to fill up (pre tax). Depending on how many times you fill up, how long your commute is, that number takes a big chunk out of most paychecks.

An article by WorldatWork editor Bob King examines how gas prices are affecting employment relationships. Employers can actually help “ease the pain at the pump” and use it as a chance to gain employee appreciation and loyalty.

“Organizations that can efficiently and effectively respond to the needs of employees in scheduling have an advantage over their competitors,” Tom McMullen U.S. Reward Practice Leader for Hay Group, said in the article.

Rose Stanley, WorldatWork practice leader suggests companies should look into ways they can help alleviate the burden of high gas prices, including:

Transit subsidies
Car pooling/van pooling
Flexible scheduling
Teleworking for part of the week

King advises companies to first try to mitigate employee gas prices with the examples above before boosting employees’ base pay. Increasing employee base pay would be a quick fix to a continuing problem. What if you increase pay this month and next month gas prices are up again?

For the full details read the WorldatWork article. Also, visit Compensation Force for more discussion on this topic and others affecting employee performance.

This issue will continue to grow as long as gas prices continue to rise. How have increasing gas prices affected your employment relationships?

Update: Genetic discrimination bill through Congress onto President

The House passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act on May 1. The Senate unanimously passed the same measure on April 24. The bill now goes to President Bush, who is expected to sign it.

The measure will prevent employers and insurance companies from discriminating against individuals on the basis of genetic information. It will prohibit employers from making personnel decisions based on an employee's predisposal to disease and insurers will be prohibited from denying coverage or increasing premium costs based on an individual's genetic information.

“We are currently monitoring the bill’s status very closely,” said Lillian Mojica, G.Neil Managing Research Attorney. “If and when the President signs the bill into law, we will be here to keep you informed about how this legislation will affect your business.”

Read a previous post on this topic.

Hiring teens for summer jobs? Make sure you follow the rules

Last week, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, presented the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Teen Summer Job Safety Campaign in downtown New York City.

The job safety campaign is part of OSHA’s Young Worker Initiative to reduce work-related injuries among teen employees by teaching them proper on-the-job safety techniques. OSHA’s goal is to reach more than three million teens in hopes that lessons learned now will be carried throughout young workers' careers.

The Young Worker Initiative site is full of information and helpful resources for teens, parents, employers and educators for all to help young summer employees have a safe and rewarding work experience.

The Teen Summer Job Safety Campaign kicks off just in time as teens begin their search for summer work. Be sure you know the laws regarding child labor and safety before hiring any underage employees.

Two major areas to be concerned with are the Fair Labor Standards Act and OSHA.

OSHA. Depending on where you do business and in what industry, you must comply with certain hazard-specific job safety and health standards. OSHA is the federal department in charge of setting and enforcing safety and health standards in the workplace. All employees, including teen workers should be trained on how to stay safe while on-the-job.

Visit the OSHA Teen Workers site and your local Employment Standards Office for help with questions.

FLSA. The FLSA was set in place to protect minors’ educational opportunities and prohibit work that is harmful to their health and safety. For employees under the age of 18 there are rules regarding compensation, occupations and industries they may work in, as well as the hours they may work. Each state also has a set of child labor standards to abide by.

Visit the Department of Labor for more information on the FLSA and also be sure to check with your local state offices on specific standards in your state.

G.Neil carries an entire line of labor law compliance solutions to help you understand both the FLSA and OSHA, before hiring teens for the summer. Take a look and be sure you know the right way to hire and manage teen employees this summer and all year round.

Senate passes genetic nondiscrimination bill

Anti-discrimination legislation is on the move that would protect employees’ jobs and health insurance coverage against decisions made on the basis of genetic information.

On April 24, 2008, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, or GINA.

GINA will:

prohibit the use of genetic information to deny employment or insurance coverage,
ensure genetic test results are kept private,
and prevent insurance companies from making eligibility or premium decisions based on genetic information.

The act will now go back to the House of Representatives for final approval. It is then on to President Bush’s desk, who is expected to sign the bill as early as next week. The bill's effective date will be 18 months after the President signs.

Check back often for updates on the status of GINA and whether there will be posting changes once the bill is signed into law.

Read the full Associated Press article.

Workplace bullying: More than just a tough boss

Workplace bullying is repeated, health-harming mistreatment in the form of verbal abuse and offensive conduct or behaviors, according to the Workplace Bullying Institute. The wounds from bullying can run deep, even deeper than sexual harassment in the workplace.

Results from a 2007 Workplace Bullying Institute survey of American workers found that:

37% have been a victim of bullying
49% have experienced or witnessed bullying at work
32% occurs behind closed doors
50% and more involves targets being publicly humiliated

Another survey by Zogby International discovered that women account for 40 percent of workplace bullies. Over 70 percent of the time, women bullies will target other women.

Researchers also found that workplace bullies tend to be supervisors, but just because a boss is tough, doesn’t always make them a bully.

A tough boss will motivate an employee through constructive criticism and will challenge their teams to work harder in order to achieve goals. A bully would belittle a worker by constantly reminding them of mistakes and insult their work.

Currently there are no anti-bullying state laws protecting workers, it is left up to the businesses to combat workplace bullying before it ever begins.

One public relations firm in Chicago has strict rules prohibiting office gossip. The boss has fired three employees who failed to follow the rules of not talking behind the backs of clients or coworkers, inside or outside of the workplace.

The first step to prevent workplace bullying is to develop a policy that outlines unacceptable behavior and the consequences of bullying behavior. Every company is different and should adopt bullying policies and procedures that fit their unique culture.

Workplace smoking policies: When employees lie

Whirlpool suspended 39 workers for lying on insurance paperwork about their smoking habits, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

The suspended employees all claimed they do not use tobacco products, but were caught in the act on the Evansville, Indiana, factory property smoking or chewing tobacco. Some accused workers may even lose their jobs because of the lies.

Whirlpool uses a financial incentive program to encourage workers and their families to not smoke. Workers at the Evansville factory who smoke are charged an extra $500 in annual health insurance premiums.

Whirlpool’s actions show one difficulty companies encounter when enforcing wellness programs based on the honor system.

"Employers have been using the honor system ever since wellness programs started, and you have to be a little naive to think that people are going to admit they smoke when they know they're going to be penalized."

Enforcing smoke-free workplace policies can be tough, especially if employees are untruthful about their smoking habits.

With rising healthcare costs and the dangers of second-hand smoke, some companies are completely snuffing out smoking on company property.

“No Smokers in the Workplace: The New Controversy,” from G.Neil’s News & Info section, examines how some workers are fighting back against smoke-free policies with legal action. Some workers’ rights groups claim the policies violate one’s right of free expression.

State no-smoking laws can stir up confusion when determining if your company should enact a smoke-free policy. For help on how to sort through related legal issues, read the full article at G.Neil.com.

MySpace and hiring: Convenient, but risky

Tempted to use MySpace or Facebook to do a little research on a potential job candidate? You may want to think twice.

Some experts advise using extreme caution when using social networking sites to learn background information on a candidate. Others recommend staying away from the sites completely.

On anyone’s MySpace profile you can usually find out that person’s gender, relationship status, sexual preference, home town, age, religion and how many children they have. The problem is that all of these topics should be off-limits during the interview process.

Making a hiring decision based on any of the topics just mentioned would be considered discriminatory and could potentially land your company in some legal hot water.

The California Labor & Employment Defense Blog has a full run down of legal issues to be aware of when using the Internet to research job candidates and current employees. Here’s a summary of just a few:

Invasion of privacy. Some social networking state in their terms of service agreements that it is unlawful to use profile information for employment decisions.

State protected privacy. California and New York currently have statutes prohibiting employers from interfering with employees’ private lives outside of work.

Discrimination. Even if an employer came across the information unintentionally, it is unlawful to deny employment based on protected topics such as age and gender.

Take a look at the full post for a complete overview.

Suspected FMLA leave abuse top HR concern

Employee abuse of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is the top concern for human resource professionals regarding the law, according to a WorldatWork survey earlier this year.

WorldatWork administered the survey in response to the Department of Labor’s proposed changes to the FMLA regulations. The proposed changes are aimed at resolving tough issues employers face when administering the law.

Under FMLA, employers must provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected leave during a 12 month period. Reasons for FMLA leave include the birth or adoption of a child, caring for a seriously ill immediate family member or for the employee’s own serious illness.

Of 450 human resource professionals surveyed:

42% said the potential for or suspicion of abuse by employees causes “extreme difficulty” in administering intermittent FMLA leave.
38% reported inadequate notification prior to an absence.
28% reported difficulties tracking intermittent leave.

When asked what changes to the FMLA they support:

72% strongly agree with requiring workers to notify employers in advance of taking non-emergency, foreseeable leave.
61% strongly agree with requiring annual medical certification from employers when conditions last more than one year.
60% strongly agree with requiring a fitness-for-duty certificate after return from intermittent leave to jobs that could endanger the employee or others, or that the worker may be unable to perform.

A full copy of the survey is available at WorldatWork.org/research.

New Jersey set to offer paid family leave

A New Jersey bill that would provide paid family leave benefits for workers caring for sick family members and newborn children received final legislative approval from the New Jersey Senate this month. It is now up to the state governor to sign the bill, which he previously announced would happen.

The bill would authorize up to six weeks of employee-paid family leave during any 12 month period. Under the bill, employees may take up to six weeks of paid family leave during any 12 month period in order to care for a sick family member, or a newborn or recently adopted child. Employees would receive two-thirds of their weekly salary, no more than $524 each week.

Once the governor signs the bill, New Jersey will be the third state after California and Washington to require paid family and medical leave.

Read the full article in the Asbury Park Press.

'Bring your guns to work' bill passes Florida senate

To follow up on a topic we reported on last month, the Florida senate approved a bill on April 9, that would allow employees and customers with concealed weapons permits to bring a firearm onto company property. The bill, familiarly known as the “bring your guns to work” bill allows firearms to be kept in locked vehicles in company parking lots.

The bill now goes on to the governor, who will likely sign it into law, according to a recent SHRM article.

The bill prohibits employers from asking if an employee or customer is carrying a gun and from searching that person’s vehicle for a firearm. In addition, the bill will make it illegal to deny employment because the applicant has a concealed weapons permit. Also, employers may not fire an individual for keeping a licensed weapon in their vehicle.

Against the bill - The Florida Chamber of Commerce

The Florida Chamber of Commerce is against the bill, claiming that it would “undermine the property rights of Florida businesses and could endanger workers.” Whether an employee is able to bring their gun to work was previously determined by the property owner. Passage of the bill will deny employers of that right.

They also claim the bill could lead to increased workplace violence. Additionally, the chamber is against the bill because it would give gun owners the same discrimination rights as victims of sexual harassment and racism.

For the bill - The National Rifle Association

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is pushing for the governor’s signature on the bill, under the belief that it will help protect employees as they travel to and from work.

They also claim that businesses violate constitutional rights of individuals by having the power to search private vehicles and by banning an individual’s right to legally carry a gun.

We would like to hear your opinion. How do you feel about a coworker or customer being legally able to possess a firearm on company property? What’s your stance on the bill?

Internships: To pay or not to pay?

As you interview and start to fill summer internship positions with energetic, young college students, think about how you plan on compensating their work.

To pay or not to pay? - The big internship question.

Many businesses pay interns well for their work, but unpaid internships do still exist across non-profit and for-profit organizations alike.

A new study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) found that college students can make a decent hourly salary if they land the right internship. The 311 employers who participated in the survey reported offering their undergraduate interns $16.33 an hour on average and almost $25 for interns with Masters’ degrees.

Many factors can impact intern salaries, including the student’s degree level, year in school, field of study and organization’s industry and location, according to NACE.

Ann Bares at the Compensation Force blog notes that students in the NACE survey report less satisfactory experiences with unpaid internships, often citing lack of pay as a major reason for dissatisfaction.

She offers some “food for thought” while you fill internship spots for this summer:

“My guess is that, while the lack of pay may indeed be a dissatisfier, there is probably an interplay of factors at work here: organizations that are not paying their interns may be less motivated to invest in creating the support and structure necessary for a worthwhile experience - for both parties.”

Veterans return to tough job market

Finding a job in the U.S. amidst talks of recession and the weakening dollar is tough for many Americans, even harder for returning veterans.

Compared to civilians of similar age and education, veterans have less of a chance of being hired.

Eighteen percent of the veterans recently back from overseas tours of duty are unemployed. Of employed veterans, 25 percent earn less than $21,840 a year, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The data was compiled from a survey of 1,941 veterans who left the military between December 2004 and January 2006. The survey matches up with Census Bureau and other data showing employment rates and wages are lower for troops returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones than their civilian peers. Read the full article in the Washington Post.

With soldiers returning to work, there are federal laws businesses must abide by. Particularly, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, most commonly known as USERRA.

Recently, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart to defend the employment rights of an Air Force veteran.

The Air Force veteran claims that Wal-Mart denied him of his civilian employment position as a cashier in Orange City, FL. Subject to certain limitations, USERRA requires that individuals who leave their jobs to serve in the military be reemployed by their civilian employers in the same position that they would have held had they not left to serve.

Read the full Department of Justice press release.

Workplace weight discrimination rivals racial bias

Discrimination against overweight and obese people is as common as racial discrimination, according to a study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University.

Overweight women, in particular, report weight discrimination twice as often than overweight men in the workplace.

“These results show the need to treat weight discrimination as a legitimate form of prejudice, comparable to other characteristics like race or gender that already receive legal protection,” said Rebecca Puhl, research scientist and lead author of the study, which appears in the March 4, 2008 issue of the International Journal of Obesity.

The study compared self-reported weight discrimination to experiences of discrimination based on race and gender among a nationally representative sample of adults between 25 and 74-years-old.

Findings also reveal that women are twice as likely as men to report weight discrimination. Women also reported that weight discrimination in the workplace and interpersonal mistreatment due to obesity is common.

Currently, Michigan is the only state that includes weight and height in its anti-discrimination law.

Without any specific protections in state law, people claiming discrimination must show in court that their obesity is a type of disability, protected under state anti-discrimination law, according to Lillian Mojica, G.Neil Research Attorney.

Family issues top reason for “Mental Health” days

Some wise words from Michael Scott, the boss at Dunder Mifflin (from NBC’s The Office):

“Society teaches us that, having feelings and crying is bad and wrong. Well, that's baloney, because grief isn't wrong. There's such a thing as good grief. Just ask Charlie Brown.”

Well, there may not be such a thing as “good grief,” but grief and family issues do have an impact on employees in the workplace.

Just like calling in sick with the flu, many employees use unplanned absences for mental health days, according to a recent survey by ComPsych.

What exactly is a mental health day? When “you have no physical ailment but you know you can’t focus on the job” and need a day to re-energize, according to David Campbell, senior VP of quality and customers at ComPsych.

Generally, mental health days are unplanned and in response to a crisis at home or to prevent burnout at work.

Campbell advises employers to create a culture where it’s acceptable and encouraged to take vacations and unplug from work. Employees with too many vacation days saved up should raise a red flag and that the employee may not be taking needed time off.

“If you take regularly scheduled time off … it’s going to keep you sharp all the time,” Campbell said. “Take more than a day [at a time]; take those vacations on a routine, regular basis.”

Remember that having a healthy workplace environment includes mental health. Not all workplaces are the same, and you should implement policies and practices regarding mental health days that fit your situation.

What is your opinion on mental health days? Do you think it’s a legitimate excuse to take time off work, or just baloney?

Employee 401(k) loans on the rise

Increasingly more employees are damaging their financial futures by borrowing against their 401(k) plans. Retirement plan participants are taking out loans on their investments at an accelerated rate, as reported in Workforce Management.

Researchers from Boston College expect that the trend will continue and companies should expect to see more employee 401(k) loans this year.

With our country’s credit crisis and poor housing market, if they need the money, why shouldn’t employees take out a loan on their 401(k)?

The author of the Retirement Plan Blog explains why it’s a bad idea:

They’re losing the earnings on their accounts since there’s less money to invest.
The tax shelter advantage is lost since the loan is paid back with after-tax dollars.
The interest paid on the loan is not deductible since it’s considered regular consumer debt.
If the participant terminates employment prior to paying off the loan, the loan has to be repaid or it’s considered a taxable distribution with a 10% penalty tax if the participant is under age 59 1/2.

Some employees don’t even have the benefit of taking out a loan against their 401(k). Less than 50 percent of the workforce, ages 25 to 64, has any kind of defined benefit or defined contribution plan, according to the director of the Boston College Center for Retirement Research.

According to the research, of those eligible to participate in defined contribution plans:

89% do not contribute the maximum
20% to 25% do not contribute at all
45% do not rollover their investment when changing jobs

In companies that have automatic 401(k) enrollment, 86 percent of employees participate.

Automatic enrollment may not always be enough. Participants generally fail to increase the amount of their default contributions over time. According to the research, 61 percent do not increase their contributions above the default.

Educate your employees on why they should contribute to the company's 401(k) plan and coach them on how to effectively manage their money.

Free product and service listings at TrainingTime.com

TrainingTime.com, a new vertical search and shopping website, is offering free advertising opportunities for employee training and development solutions providers through September 1, 2008.

TrainingTime.com provides a one-stop resource for businesses to find, compare and select different types of employee training and employee motivational products within an intuitive, easy shopping experience. It also gives providers of training products and human resource seminars a highly targeted, engaged audience of professionals ready to buy.

“TrainingTime.com lets you shop for training products, classes for training consultants and employees, and the best business seminars the same way you’d shop for the latest electronics on familiar sites like PriceGrabber and Shopzilla.”

In addition to training providers, TrainingTime.com welcomes training consultants, professional speakers and meeting planners to promote their services — allowing them to explore new, faster ways to reach a more targeted audience.

Read the full press release here.

Alcoholism in the workplace

Excessive alcohol use and alcoholism costs U.S. employers an estimated $134 billion in lost productivity. On average, nine percent of workers have drinking habits that contribute to absenteeism, higher health care costs and lost productivity.

Hospitality, construction and wholesale industries have significantly higher alcohol abuse rates and cases of alcoholism in the workplace, according to a recent report.

The findings are from a report on alcohol abuse by Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems at the George Washington University Medical Center.

Younger employees are also at risk. More than 18 percent of young workers between the ages of 18 and 25 have an alcohol-related problem, compared to just seven percent of workers older than 25.

Alcohol abuse poses a difficult challenge in the workplace because it is often hidden. With a small investment in effective prevention and treatment for alcohol problems, employers can reduce costs and help employees, according to Ensuring Solutions.

Ensuring Solutions has created a helpful calculator to help employers estimate the impact of alcohol problems and the potential cost savings to be gained through screening and intervention.

What can you do to help employees with alcohol problems at your office?

Teach the difference between safe and risky drinking.
Screen for alcohol problems.
Cover treatment through health insurance.
Support treatment and recovery.

Friday HR Humor - HIPAA/HIPPA

HIPAA - One of the most misspelled acronyms in the HR vocabulary.

What it stands for (if you don’t know already): Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

HIPAA or HIPPA? You say tomato, I say tomahto? Potato, potahto?

Instead of calling the whole thing off, here’s some ideas for what HIPPA could stand for:

For bureaucrats:

Help in Paper Proliferation Acceleration

Help Incompetents Push Paper Around

For cautious optimists:

Hopefully Inclusive Patient Protection Act

For realists:

Hopelessly Incomplete Patient Protection Act

For health care big business:

Healthy Individuals Push Profits Away

For the rest of us:

Hospitals Inspire Patently Pitiful Appetites

How is Paperwork Protecting Anybody

Hell’s Infernal Paperwork Proliferation Act

How Intelligent People Prevaricate Administratively

Possible jail time for noncompliant recruiting practices

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy can put recruiters in jail for workplace immigration law violations, as reported in a recent Workforce article.

Employers who have not fully trained their recruiters in new state regulations and federal I-9 compliance could be looking at stiff penalties and possible jail time, according to the article.

Until new federal legislation is enacted, recruiters are being caught up in the nationwide crackdown on undocumented workers.

The current Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy allows for criminal arrests for workplace immigration law violations. In 2007, ICE made 863 work-site criminal arrests of corporate officers, managers and contractors, and 4077 administrative arrests.

“ICE commonly stage raids at the workplace and then move straight to corporate headquarters.”

As of December 26, 2007, employers must be using the updated Form I-9 that was released by the Department of Homeland Security in November. Read previous HR Forum posts regarding the updated I-9 form.

Read our new Form I-9 FAQ for more information on the revisions.

The right to bear arms ... at work?

The “bring your guns to work” bill (H.B. 503/S.B. 1130), has resurfaced in the Florida legislature, and appears headed toward passage. The bill would make it illegal for businesses and other private property owners to have policies prohibiting firearms on their private property.

It would make it unlawful for an employer to “discriminate against” an employee for exercising their constitutional rights to bear arms and of self defense, when the gun is used only in a lawful, defensive way. The legislation protects customers, employees and anyone invited on the property.

Florida is not the only state to consider this type of legislation. There was a bill pending in Georgia and a bill is currently pending in Tennessee.

Like always, we’ll keep watching this and other bills that could affect your business. Keep coming back for updates.

For more detail on the “bring your guns to work” bill, read the full article.

Going green at the office? Start with your printers

If you can’t make the leap to a fully paperless office, start with printing less paper.

GreenPrint is a new software program to help you take the first few steps to going green at the office. The program is designed to analyze what you send to the printer, eliminating blank pages or pages with only a few lines of text.

“Saving money today, trees tomorrow,” according to the GreenPrint site.

Along with saving paper, you’re also saving on expensive toner. GreenPrint also allows users to exclude images from a print job, cutting back on ink costs. It can even turn documents in to PDFs, eliminating printing all together.

The best part, the software will track the amount of pages printed and money saved.

It could be one small way offices around the world can do their part to waste less and go green.

High OSHA violations? You've been warned

Earlier this month the Occupational Safety and Health Administration notified 14,000 employers across the country that their injury and illness rates were considerably higher than the national average.

The notifications come as a proactive step to encourage employers to take action now to reduce and improve safety and health conditions in their workplaces. Read the full OSHA press release.

“A high injury and illness rate is costly to employees and employers in both personal and financial terms,” said OSHA Assistant Secretary Foulke. “Our goal is to make them aware of their high injury and illness rates and to get them to focus on eliminating hazards in their workplace.”

As reported in a previous post, the top OSHA violations in 2007 included:

Scaffolding
Hazard Communication
Fall Protection
Respiratory Protection
Lockout/Tagout
Powered Industrial Trucks
Electrical - Wiring
Ladders
Machine Guarding
Electrical - General

HR Legal Outlook: Hottest bills

Last week, HR professionals came together to hear the Society for Human Resource Management’s analysis of the hottest bills before Congress at SHRM’s 2008 Employment Law and Legislative Conference in Washington D.C. (Read the full article).

The key issues to watch, according to Michael P. Aitken, SHRM Director of Governement Affairs, are:

Employment eligibility verification
FMLA military leave
Proposed FMLA regulations
ADA restoration

A brief overview of the issues:

Employment eligibility verification - A new bill would make the current electronic verification system for employment, E-Verify, the permanent system for use by employers. If passed, employers would have to check each new employee’s work eligibility using E-Verify within three days of hire. Employers would have to verify work eligibility of previously hired employees within four years of the bill’s enactment.

Another bill on the same topic would create a new electronic verification system for employment within three years of enactment.

FMLA military leave - Signed into law in January, The National Defense Authorization Act expanded the FMLA act, allowing eligible employees to use leave when an immediate family member is called for active duty in the military or is injured in the line duty. (Read a previous HR Forum post on this topic)

Proposed FMLA regulations - The proposed regulations address questions regarding notice requirements for employers and employees, medical certification requirements, privacy interest in health information, intermittent leave, medical certification, and what constitutes a "serious health condition" under the FMLA.

ADA restoration - the ADA Restoration Act of 2007 aims to redefine the term “disability” in the ADA to eliminate the requirement of “substantial limitation” of a major life activity. Under the proposed amendment, an ADA-qualifying “disability” would simply be a “mental or physical impairment.” Any impairment, regardless of how temporary, intermittent, or minor would be covered - including health conditions not previously covered. The proposed changes to the ADA would impact not just hiring, but all terms and conditions of employment, including healthcare plans.

(Read the full article here for more detail)

We'll keep watching these topics as they move through legislation. Visit the HR Forum often for updates.

March Madness Counterpoint: Team building

In order to keep the game fair, we must look at the counterpoint to a post from last week regarding how awful the March Madness basketball tournament is for employee productivity. Within reason, March Madness may actually benefit an office.

It’s important that employees work in enjoyable work environments. Office pools, and all the “my team is better” conversations can help build positive work relationships. As long as it doesn’t get too much in the way of work, you may just want to let March Madness run it’s course.

In a Workforce Management post this week, the author claims productivity lost to March Madness is just another urban legend.

“All of this talk about lost productivity because of March Madness is nonsense. I haven’t seen any credible research that supports the premise, and the ‘data’ that is used to make the point is soft and suspect.”

After covering the same topic last year, readers wrote to the author telling him that March Madness boosted employee bonding and office morale.

“There is no more evidence of workplace productivity losses because of March Madness than there is evidence of alligators in the sewers, Elvis living with aliens, or the Loch Ness Monster. I like fairy tales, but March Madness as a workplace problem is ridiculous.”

Workplace bullying more harmful than sexual harassment

Workplace bullying may inflict more harm on employees than on-the-job sexual harassment, according to a recent research study. Researchers presented their findings earlier this month at the Seventh International Conference on Work, Stress and Health.

Bullying includes persistently criticizing employees’ work, yelling, repeatedly reminding employees of mistakes, spreading gossip or lies, ignoring or excluding workers, and insulting employees’ habits, attitudes or private life.

Both sexual harassment and bullying will create negative environments at work, but bullying may create the most negative of the two. Employees who experienced bullying were more likely to quit their jobs, have lower well-being, be less satisfied with their jobs and have less satisfying relations with their bosses than employees who were sexually harassed, according to the researchers.

Bullied employees also reported more job stress, less job commitment and higher levels of anger and anxiety.

“Bullying is often more subtle, and may include behaviors that do not appear obvious to others," said lead author M. Sandy Hershcovis, PhD, of the University of Manitoba. “For instance, how does an employee report to their boss that they have been excluded from lunch? Or that they are being ignored by a coworker? The insidious nature of these behaviors makes them difficult to deal with and sanction.”

How do you deal with and document harassment in the workplace? The “Ask an HR Expert” section of G.Neil.com answers the question.

First, take a preventative stance and have a strong “zero-tolerance” harassment policy. Train managers and employees on the specifics of your policy. If harassment does occur, start an investigation immediately.

See the full entry.

Workplace harassment and civil rights, comply or pay

Last week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced the settlement of a race and national origin harassment lawsuit for $1.9 million against Allied Aviation Services, Inc. The lawsuit was on behalf of African American and Hispanic workers who were targets of racial slurs, graffiti, cartoons, and hangman’s nooses at a the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport. Read the full press release.

According to the EEOC’s charges, African American and Hispanic employees of Allied were verbally harassed in a racially hostile work environment on a daily basis. The harassment included racial graffiti, clearly visible on fuel tanks, employee restrooms and written on aircrafts. A manager kept an offensive cartoon, belittling a Hispanic worker, under glass on their desk for months. In addition to those offenses, an employee in a mixed race marriage was subjected to racial abuse.

“It is appalling that racial harassment remains a persistent problem at some job sites across the country in the 21st century, more than 40 years after passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act,” said EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp. “Employers must be more vigilant and make clear that race discrimination, whether verbal or behavioral, has no place in the contemporary workplace.”

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bans discrimination in any aspect of employment because of a person’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It covers employers with fifteen or more employees, but many states have comparable laws covering companies with fewer employees.

In “Workplace Danger: Harassment,” the rules regarding Title VII are explained further along with ways to stop harassment now in your workplace.

G. Neil in the News

G. Neil's very own compliance attorney, Ashley Kaplan, was quoted today in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article.

A Pennsylvania company recently settled with the state's Attorney General's office for fraudulent marketing practices. After confusing companies into thinking it was a government agency, Mandatory Poster Agency Inc. has agreed to pay $10,000 in civil penalties, another $10,000 toward future protection and will offer refunds to more than 400 companies that bought its food service compliance posters.

Posting compliance in the service industry may sometimes be confusing because of changing laws in the industry.

Ms. Kaplan's advice [when buying labor law posters] is that employers should make sure they are dealing with a reputable firm, which they can check with the Better Business Bureau. They also should make sure the company from which they are buying posters has attorneys on staff to research the posting requirements and they should make sure the posters they put up meet the requirements in terms of font size and colors.

Read the full article.

Please also read our recent post regarding the temporary FMLA poster and fraudulent claims.

Do English-only workplaces discriminate?

Are English-only workplace policies discrimination? An article on SHRM today examines the issue.

Many U.S. employers support English-only rules as a way to ensure good employee relations and a safe work environment. But recently such rules have become a political lightning rod.

Some employee advocates have accused employers of enacting English-only policies to discriminate against immigrants.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal rules associated with this issue. The Commission allows U.S. employers to require English in the workplace, but the policy can not be in response to a certain group and must be for a specific business-related reason.

“Prohibiting people from speaking their primary language at all times can create an atmosphere of intimidation and inferiority,” according to an EEOC spokesman.

The article points out situations that would justify an English-only rule:

Communications with customers, co-workers or supervisors who speak only English.
Emergencies or other situations in which workers must speak a common language to promote safety.
Cooperative work assignments in which the English-only rule is needed to promote efficiency.
To enable a supervisor who speaks only English to monitor the performance of an employee whose job duties require communication with co-workers or customers.

The EEOC recommends that before employers adopt an English-only rule, weigh business justifications against all possible discriminatory effects of the rule.

Does your company have a workplace language policy? Do you think English-only policies are discriminatory or unfair?

Internet monitoring "Madness"

March 16 is Selection Sunday for the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. You may be wondering what is this post doing on a blog for HR topics? There’s good reason, keep reading ...

This year CBS has made it easier than ever for your employees to watch games from the comfort of their desk chairs. If you’re the owner of a small or midsized company, you should be concerned with more than just employees slacking off. When a large number of employees are streaming live video of the basketball games, they will slow or even crash your computer networks.

Starting next Tuesday, all but one of the 63 tournament games will be available online for the first time. First-round games fall on Thursday and Friday during business hours. CBS is setting up links to the games from more than 200 websites, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports and Facebook.

We all trust that employees will remember to record the games on their TiVos and hold back from watching basketball at work. But, if you’re worried about high bandwith use and low employee productivity, maybe it’s time to invest in filtering technology for your network.

We would like to hear your feedback on this present and growing workplace issue regarding employee internet monitoring and filtering.

What’s your opinion on internet filtering at work? How does your company handle inappropriate internet use by employees?

Mental Health Parity Bill passes House, on to negotiations

On March 5 the House of Representatives approved a bill designed to boost mental health benefits, called the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007. The legislation now moves to House-Senate negotiations to decide on a final bill.

The proposed bill would require group health plans offering benefits for the treatment of mental health and substance addiction disorders to provide the same level of benefits for those conditions as they do for physical illnesses.

The bill also includes provisions for the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007, passed in April 2007, that would ban discrimination by employers and health insurers against employees on the basis of genetic information, and would prohibit insurers from requiring genetic tests.

On the same day the bill passed the House, the Bush Administration issued a statement indicating its opposition to the mental health and addiction act. The Administration said the act would “effectively mandate coverage of a broad range of diseases and conditions and would have a negative effect on the accessibility and affordability of employer-provided health benefits and would undermine the uniform administration of employee benefit plans.”

Check our blog frequently for further news as the bill travels through the legislative process.

For more information read this article on SHRM.

401(k) Education: Taking plays from the NFL

Three weeks after joining the NFL, young recruits are sent for training off the football field and in the classroom. Each year, over 100 NFL players participate in college-level programs on various business topics. The programs are designed to teach players how to manage their money so they can still live comfortably once their football career is over.

“It's a way for the league to help ensure financial stability for these players beyond their primes,” according to a recent Forbes article.

While employees at corporations across the US generally make a small fraction of the money a NFL player would, it’s just as important they know what to do with their money. Automatic enrollment in the company’s 401(k) plan isn’t enough anymore.

In 2007, 34 percent of large employers offered automatic 401(k) enrollment. The average employee contributed 4.5 percent of their salary to a plan, which may not be enough for a comfortable retirement.

Some of your employees may need a little extra coaching when it comes to a retirement plan. Strongly encourage your employees to contact the financial organization that handles your plan for advice. If you’re up to the challenge, hold your own workshops during to educate employees on the best way to manage their money.

Don’t just assume your employees know exactly what to do with their 401(k). Many employees would be surprised to know how much more they would retire with if they contributed a slightly higher salary percentage than leaving it at the automatic level. You signed them up for the program, now show them how to use it.

Take a lesson from the NFL playbook and educate your employees on how successfully managing their 401(k) will score a touchdown when their prime is over.

Get ready for Diabetes Alert Day - March 25, 2008

Here’s a chance to kick-off or jump-start your employee wellness program - the American Diabetes Association’s 20th Annual American Diabetes Alert Day is Tuesday, March 25, 2008.

The Association created the “one-day wake-up call” to motivate the country to take the initial steps to finding out if they are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. They even offer free, downloadable materials on their site to help you promote the event at your workplace.

Diabetes is only one of many health issues facing our employees today. With the direction health care costs have been moving in recent years, it’s time for companies to step in and help their employees.

Improve your employees’ overall health and you may cut down on your health care costs. Invest just a small amount of resources into an office wellness program and they will pay you back.

Surveys have proven that when offered, wellness programs are popular with workers. And, experts in the health care industry suggest that companies that implement wellness programs are showing returns on their investments, mainly in the form of lower health care costs.

You won’t see the money in your pocket tomorrow, but stick with a workplace wellness program. Over time you may find that you’re spending less on health care and those who matter the most, your employees, will cash in on the greatest benefit - their health.

DOL Issues Temporary FMLA Poster - Beware of Fraudulent Claims

On February 11, 2008, the Department of Labor issued a temporary poster containing the guidelines of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) expansion to be displayed along side the existing FMLA poster. The G.Neil legal team has confirmed with the Department of Labor that the temporary FMLA poster is recommended and employers will not be fined for not posting it.

Please be aware that you may receive messages from other labor law poster providers classifying the temporary FMLA poster as a required poster. You can be confident that our team of attorneys is continually monitoring for news regarding the posting requirements for the FMLA expansion and we will communicate any new information as we receive it.

To learn more about the FMLA expansions visit our FMLA FAQ page.

- Gabe Cox
G.Neil Poster Guard Team

President Signed FMLA Expansion Bill Yesterday

Yesterday, President Bush signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (H.R. 4986), which includes two provisions that expand the benefits of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to assist service members and their families.

The military family leave provisions included in H.R. 4986 is the first expansion of the FMLA since the law was first enacted in 1993.

Read our FMLA FAQ to learn more about how these changes could affect you.

Check out TrainingTime.com!

For 20 years, we have provided businesses like yours with practical tools to help meet your HR and employee management needs. But, we realize that G.Neil may not always have the perfect product that solves your specific need - in which case, we'd still like to help out by letting you know about other valuable resources to find your solutions.

Training and development has been repeatedly identified as one of your biggest challenges, largely due to the time it takes to do it effectively. Feedback from people like you is the driving force behind the launch of TrainingTime.com.

We introduced you to the catalog and now we'd like to introduce you to the new shopping portal. In partnership with G.Neil, TrainingTime.com was created to bring buyers and sellers together to help you find, compare and select the right training solutions for your business — without all the clutter of the general search engines.

Whether your company is a local mini-mart or a global corporation, TrainingTime.com makes it easier to find your training solutions...and lose the excuses that hold you back from keeping your employees skilled, well-informed and productive.

Whereas before, a business owner or supervisor would have to search a variety of different sources to find the right training tool, TrainingTime.com offers a one-stop source for everything you need. Multiple providers offer their products and services on both the site, so all you have to do is click their links to get what you need, directly from them.

The site covers the full range of timely topics in today’s training world, new technologies, ideas and information, tips and tools. You'll find products, seminars, industry events, custom providers, articles and whitepapers, and more.

Vendors, consultants and other unaffiliated companies can call 888-883-0988 or visit TrainingTime.com to learn more about featuring their business on the site, and start promoting their products and services.

Ongoing site enhancements based on user feedback are anticipated throughout 2008, as well as a more comprehensive catalog. The goal is to ensure TrainingTime.com provides a valuable experience for all those tasked with business training and development, regardless of their current expertise.

FMLA for Military Families Passes Congress

As expected, the Senate moved quickly on January 22, 2008 to approve a bill with provisions to expand the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to include family members of U.S. soldiers.

The proposed expansion of the FMLA would allow eligible employees to use leave when an immediate family member is called for active duty in the military or is injured in the line duty.

The legislation now moves on to the White House, where officials have indicated that President Bush will sign the bill into law quickly. Specifically, the new legislation will require businesses to offer up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave to employees who are providing care to U.S. soldiers wounded in the line of duty. The measure also will require employers to provide 12 weeks of FMLA leave to the immediate family members (spouses, children or parents) of military personnel and reservists who have a "qualifying exigency." The Department of Labor will define "qualifying exigency."

The military family leave provisions included in the bill will be the first expansion of the FMLA since the law was first enacted in 1993.

House Introduces Working Family Flexibility Act

On December 6, 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the Working Family Flexibility Act (H.R. 4301), which will give working Americans the right to request flexible work options in order to balance the demands of their jobs and home life. The legislation is patterned on similar laws in Europe that have been implemented with great success.

Under this legislation:

An employee may request to modify his or her hours, schedule, or work location.
Employees and employers will engage in an interactive process to discuss the employee's needs and how to address them with no or minimal disruption to the employer’s business.
Employers who deny a request must explain the grounds for the denial.
Employees who make requests are protected from retaliation.
Small businesses are exempt from the law.
The Department of Labor will develop regulations to smoothly administer the process, while ensuring the protection of employees' legal rights.

"Between trying to make ends meet and carving out time to care for their young children and aging relatives, parents across America are often stretched thin and need flexibility at work," Senator Clinton said, "I'm pleased to join Senator Kennedy in introducing this important piece of legislation to support our nation's working families."

DHS Requires Employers to Begin Using the New Form I-9 No Later Than 12/26/07

On 11/7/07, the Department of Homeland Security released a new Form I-9, the form employers must fill out for every new hire to verify identity and eligibility for employment in the United States under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). The new Form I-9 reduces the number of documents employers may accept from newly hired employees during the employment eligibility verification process.

The DHS expected employers to begin using the new Form I-9 for new hires and for any reverifications immediately upon release. However, to give employers time to transition to the new form, on 11/26/07 it announced a 30-day grace period during which no fines will be levied for using the previous version. This grace period ends 12/26/07.

After 12/26/07, noncompliance with these new Form I-9 requirements may result in hefty legal and financial consequences in the case of an audit, the risk of which has increased greatly due to the government's renewed emphasis on illegal immigration.

Order your updated forms here.

Form I-9 in a nutshell - What you need to know…

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a revised form I-9 on November 7, 2007. The most significant change to the form was a reduction in the number of documents that employees may present to establish their identity and work eligibility (also known as "List A" of the List of Acceptable Documents on the back of the Form I-9).

All new employees, including U.S. citizens, must verify work eligibility with a Form I-9 when they are hired. Completed forms do not need to be submitted to the government, but employers must hold on to them. Employers are required by law to keep on file a hard copy or electronic version of the Form I-9 for three years after the employee's date of hire or for one year after the date the employee leaves the company (whichever date is later).

The new acceptable List A documents are:

U.S. passport (unexpired or expired)
Permanent Resident Card or Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-551)
An unexpired foreign passport with a temporary I-551 stamp
An unexpired Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I-766, I-688, I-688A or I-688B)
An unexpired foreign passport with an unexpired Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94, bearing the same name as the passport and containing an endorsement of the alien’s nonimmigrant status, if that status authorizes the alien to work for the employer

You can no longer accept:

A Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
A Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
An Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151)
An unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327) or
An unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)

The new form must be used starting 11/7/07.

Order your updated forms.

Updated Form I-9 Q & A

The federal government has released the new Form I-9. Among the mandatory revisions, the new Form I-9 reduces the number of documents that employers can accept to confirm the identity and work eligibility of their employees. The new form must be used starting 11/7/07. The following are some common questions and answers regarding the Form I-9.

Q: What is the difference between the revised Form I-9 and the old one?

A: Five documents have been removed from List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:

Certificate of U.S. Citizenship (Form N-560 or N-561)
Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570)
Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151
Unexpired Reentry Permit (Form I-327)
Unexpired Refugee Travel Document (Form I-571)

One document was added to List A of the List of Acceptable Documents:

Unexpired Employment Authorization Document (I-766)

All the Employment Authorization Documents with photographs that are in circulation are now included as one item on List A:

I-688, I-688A, I-688B, I-766

Instructions regarding Section 1 of Form I-9 now indicate that the employee is not obliged to provide the Social Security Number in Section 1 of Form I-9, unless he or she is employed by an employer who participates in E-Verify. The section on Photocopying and Retaining Form I-9 now includes information about electronically signing and retaining I-9 forms.

The estimated reporting burden under the Paperwork Reduction Act has changed to reflect the latest estimates and, finally, the format, font, organization, and grammar of the text have been improved to make Form I-9 more readable and user-friendly.

Q: Can I accept documents that used to be on the Form I-9 but aren’t now?

A: No. Employers may only accept documents listed on the List of Acceptable Documents on Form I-9. When re-verifying employees, employers should ensure that they use the new Form I-9 with its updated list of acceptable documents.

Q: Are there any changes in the way the new Form I-9 is completed?

No. The updated form should be completed exactly the same way as the old one was. The only difference is the types of documents that employers may accept in Section 2.

Q: Is the Form I-9 available in different languages?

A: The Form I-9 is available in English and Spanish. However, only employers in Puerto Rico may have employees complete the Spanish version for their records. Employers in the 50 states and other U.S. territories may use the Spanish version as a translation guide for Spanish-speaking employees, but must complete the English version and kept it in the employer’s records. Employees may also use or ask for a translator/preparer to assist them in completing the form.

Q: Are employers in Puerto Rico required to use the Spanish version of Form I-9?

A: No. Employers in Puerto Rico may use either the Spanish or the English version of the new Form I-9 to verify employees. Employers in Puerto Rico may not use the expired 1988 Spanish or English edition of Form I-9.

Q: What versions of Form I-9 are valid for use?

A: As of November 7, 2007, the Form I-9 with a revision date of June 5, 2007 is the only version of the form that is valid for use. The revision date is printed on the lower right corner of the form and states “(Rev. 06/05/07)N”. All previous versions of Form I-9, in English or Spanish, are no longer valid. The 1988 version of Form I-9 in Spanish expired in 1991.

Q: When should employers begin using the version of Form I-9 marked with a revision date of “(Rev. 06/05/07)N”?

A: Employers must use the amended Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N for all individuals hired on or after November 7, 2007. However, DHS recognizes that employers should be afforded a period of time to transition to the amended Form I-9. DHS will publish a Notice in the Federal Register announcing that it will not seek penalties against an employer for using a previous version of the Form I-9 during a 30 day transition period that begins on date of publication of the Notice. After the transition period, employers who fail to use Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N may be subject to all applicable penalties under section 274A of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1324a, as enforced by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Q: Do I need to complete the new version of Form I-9 for all my employees or just the new ones?

A: Employers only need to complete the new version of Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N for new employees. Employers do not need to complete new forms for existing employees. However, employers must use the Form I-9 (Rev. 06/05/07)N when their employees require re-verification.

Order your updated I-9 forms.

New Form I-9 Just Released

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that a revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form (better known as the Form I-9) is now available for use. All employers are required by law to complete a Form I-9 for each employee hired in the United States.

The new form is effective immediately, however, there will be a grace period for companies not yet in compliance.

The document was revised to reflect a reduction of the number of documents an employer can accept to confirm the identity and work eligibility of their employees.

Order updated forms today.

Top 10 OSHA Violations in 2007

We still have two months to go until the new year, but the Director of OSHA's Directorate of Enforcement Programs, Richard Fairfax, decided to preview the top OSHA violations for 2007 a little early. Fairfax presented the list on October 16 at the National Safety Council's 2007 Congress and Expo.

Most violations follow the same trends as previous years. The top 10 OSHA violations for 2007 are:

Scaffolding - 7,592 violations
Hazard Communication - 5,099 violations
Fall Protection - 5,095 violations
Respiratory Protection - 3,145 violations
Lockout/Tagout - 2,973 violations
Powered Industrial Trucks - 2,577 violations
Electrical - Wiring - 2,412 violations
Ladders - 2,113 violations
Machine Guarding - 2,054 violations
Electrical General - 1,848 violations

G. Neil's OSHA solutions help you understand and comply with OSHA, and also assist in training your employees on various OSHA standards.

Celebrate Halloween at Work

BOO! Halloween is right around the corner (next Wednesday, 10/31). This widely celebrated holiday is no longer just for the kids. Many businesses across the country, including our G.Neil team, will celebrate Halloween at work this year.

Holiday celebrations at work can be great occasions to promote teamwork, improve morale, and add some old-fashioned fun to the workday. Celebrating the holidays also can foster a positive company culture in which employees look forward to and enjoy their time at work.

Here are some ways we celebrate Halloween at work:

Best decorated workspace and costume contest. In the past, departments have transformed into Latin nightclubs, Italian neighborhoods and hospital emergency rooms.
Department pumpkin-carving competition. Each department receives a pumpkin and carving set. Team members work together to come up with funny, scary and some downright disgusting designs.
During lunchtime, we set up a "Goodies Table" in the main lunchroom with Halloween-themed treats for all to enjoy.
Senior management judges all contests and awards prizes to the lucky winners.

Don't be afraid to get creative and have some fun at the office this Halloween!

New Recruitment Trend: Video

Do you agonize over writing job descriptions? Struggle to find the right words to attract the perfect applicant?

Why not show them how great you are? - make a video.

Popular recruiting sites are joining the YouTube revolution by incorporating video into online recruitment ads. Writing job descriptions may be a thing of the past.

Recently, the online job network Monster.com began offering video-hosting services. Along with written advertisements, companies can post a video to show job candidates what they can offer.

Another site, CareerTV, allows companies to entertain while recruiting job candidates. Google, Disney, BMW and even the FBI have posted videos to grab the attention of promising applicants.

And it works both ways. Job seekers also can post video resumes. All videos are open to the public to rate on a 1-5 scale. Videos can be viewed by highest-rated, most viewed, and how recently they were posted.

More than just a job description, videos allow insight into a company's culture and can help potential applicants make more informed decisions when job hunting.

Video recruiting is the next big thing for the latest generation of employees, so make a video and show your future employees what you’ve got to offer.

Drug-Free Work Week: Top 5 Affected Industries

Drug abuse is a serious problem in America and especially within our country’s workforce. In 2005, almost 75 percent of drug users in America were employed.* Substance abuse contributes to lower productivity, causes workplace accidents and injuries, and increases health care costs.

The most at-risk industries:

Construction and mining
Food preparation and food service
Arts, design and entertainment
Sales
Installation, maintenance and repair

Small to medium-sized businesses are the most affected by employee drug-use. Smaller businesses are less likely to have an established drug-free workplace program. Without a drug-free policy, businesses seem more attractive to a drug user.

In the spirit of Drug-Free Work Week, why not start a drug-free workplace program of your own? This Drug-Free Workplace Kit helps you get started with eye-catching posters and drug-free policy stickers.

*Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2006)

Healthy Employees Shape-Up Your Bottom Line:
New Methods for Controlling Health Care Costs

It’s always a struggle to keep the rising costs of health care in check. US industry loses $13 billion and 39.3 million workdays every year due to employees’ obesity-related health problems¹. Studies also found that 65 percent of American adults are overweight and spend half their waking hours on the job². With figures like these, companies are looking to new methods for controlling health care costs and improving employees' physical health.

Five easy ways to promote a healthy workplace:

Swap out high fat/high sugar foods in lunchroom snack machines with healthy alternatives. Or, hold a weekly lunchroom fruit-sale. Proceeds can benefit a local charity.

Sponsor a monthly, company-wide event promoting healthy lifestyles. G.Neil employees participate in a monthly "Walk for Wellness," where employees walk as a group around the company’s neighborhood, during company time. When employees return, reward them with healthy snacks, fruit and water.

Team up with a local weight-loss center to hold weekly meetings at the office. We hold weekly, on-site Weight Watchers meetings for our employees. Your local Weight Watchers or similar organization can usually work out agreements to offer employees discounted, or even free memberships.

Contact local gyms and fitness centers to find out if they would give your employees discounts. In return, allow the fitness center to set up a table in the lunchroom to promote their business.

When its time for an office celebration, opt for healthier alternatives as opposed to pizza or donut parties.

¹ Department of Health and Human Services

² Centers for Disease Control

6 simple ways to participate in Drug-Free Work Week (Oct. 14-20)

Mark your calendars: Drug-Free Work Week, an initiative sponsored by the Department of Labor (DOL), takes place nationwide October 14-20. This event helps workplaces reinforce the fact that being drug free is the key to protecting workplace safety and health. Also use this week to encourage employees to seek help for alcohol and drug problems.

Here are 6 simple ways to participate:

1. Launch a drug-free workplace program. If your company doesn’t have one already in place, turn the week into an opportunity to launch a new one.

2. Promote your existing drug-free workplace program. Remind employees about the program, and how it helps keep them safe at work. Use posters, pamphlets or company e-mails to get the word out.

3. Offer your employees free health screenings during company time.

4. Volunteer in a community event promoting drug-free education. Reach out in your community to help inform children about the dangers of drugs and the benefits of following a drug-free lifestyle.

5. Create a drug-free display in a high-traffic area. Use G.Neil's Drug-Free Workplace Poster to send a powerful drug-free workplace message.

6. Organize a social event during company time, such as a bake sale or barbeque celebrating safety and health.

DHS to Step Up Enforcement of Immigration Laws

Fines will increase for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants

Who needs Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill? The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has implemented its own priorities using the laws already on the books. The DHS issued a fact sheet titled "Improving Border Security and Immigration Within Existing Law" on Friday that explains the government's plans.

The fact sheet listed 26 reforms. Some worksite enforcement reforms are detailed below:

The DHS issued "no-match" regulations on Friday that will help employers ensure their workers are legal and help the government identify and crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal workers.
In the coming months, the DHS will publish a regulation that will reduce the number of documents that employers must accept to confirm the identity and work eligibility of their employees on Form I-9.
As a civil counterpart to the DHS's strategy of using criminal investigations to deter illegal employment, the DHS will raise the civil fines imposed on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants by approximately 25 percent.
The DHS will continue to expand criminal investigations against employers who knowingly hire large numbers of illegal aliens.

The entire fact sheet is available at http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1186757867585.shtm.

Work/Life Balance Should Fit Workplace

Work/life balance is a hot topic these days, but whether it's providing dry cleaning, allowing flexible work hours, or encouraging "casual Friday," organizations should be careful and consider the relevance of any perks they are offering employees.

Organizations should consider the following tips before putting together a work/life balance program, according to Ilyse Shapiro, founder of the job search web site MyPartTimePro.com:

Make sure your organization's culture supports work/life initiatives. "Flexibility" shouldn't be just a catchphrase but a concept embraced throughout the organization.
Effective work/life balance programs are nondiscriminatory, available to all employees, male or female, with or without children, regardless of income level, job title, exempt/nonexempt status or marital status.
Career advancement and training opportunities should be offered to those with flexible schedules as well as to those with traditional schedules.

"If your organization is not currently addressing work/life issues, it will soon be losing out, if it isn’t already," Shapiro said in a press release, noting that firms that offer flexible arrangements are better able to retain current employees and attract new ones.

The Impact of the Federal Minimum Wage Increase on States

Most employers nationwide felt barely a blip when the federal minimum wage increased on July 24, 2007 from $5.15 to $5.85 an hour. That’s because most employers run their business out of one of the 30 states and the District of Columbia that already had minimum wage rates higher than $5.85 an hour.

But the number of states with higher minimum wage rates will decline as the new federal minimum wage increases to $6.55 next year and to $7.25 in 2009. Unless states change their minimum wage laws, only around 20 states will be above the federal minimum wage in July 2008 and around 11 will be above in July 2009. (You can pretty much count on a number of states continuing to change their laws over the next couple of years, though).

Many of the states with higher minimum wages increased them in the last couple of years when attempts to raise the federal minimum wage were being held up in Congress. States that currently have a higher minimum wage than the new federal minimum wage of $5.85 an hour are:

Alaska ($7.15); Arizona ($6.75); Arkansas ($6.25); California ($7.50); Colorado ($6.85); Connecticut ($7.65); Delaware ($6.65); District of Columbia ($7.00); Florida ($6.67); Hawaii ($7.25); Illinois ($7.50); Iowa ($6.20); Maine ($6.75 — will increase to $7.00 on October 1, 2007); Maryland ($6.15); Massachusetts ($7.50); Michigan ($7.15); Minnesota ($6.15) (for employers with annual receipts of $625,000 or more; $5.25 for employers with annual receipts of less than $625,000 — if these employers are covered by the FLSA, they must comply with the increased minimum wage rate); Missouri ($6.50); Montana ($6.15) ($4.00 for employers with $110,000 or less in gross annual sales); Nevada ($6.33) (for employers that do not provide health benefits); New Jersey ($7.15); New York ($7.15); bla bla bla, are you still reading this list?; North Carolina ($6.15); Ohio ($6.85); Oregon ($7.80); Pennsylvania ($7.15); Rhode Island ($7.40); Vermont ($7.53); Washington (7.93); West Virginia ($6.55); and Wisconsin ($6.50).

Clearly, more employers will feel the effect of the next two increases scheduled over the next two years, since those rates will be higher than many state minimum wage rates.

Keep in mind, even where you are covered by the state minimum wage because it is higher, if you are an FLSA-covered employer you need to post the new federal minimum wage poster in addition to your state minimum wage poster. This last paragraph brought to you by Poster Guard Compliance Protection.

Federal Minimum Wage Posting Language Released by DOL

The Department of Labor has issued the final language for the required Federal Minimum Wage postings, which reflect the recent minimum wage increases.

Many G.Neil customers at the SHRM Conference & Expo were asking if we had the new Federal Minimum Wage posting yet. We were expecting the release last week, but it finally came through today.

In response to your questions, orders placed for the new Federal EasyPost®, along with replacements covered by Poster Guard™ Compliance Protection, will begin shipping the week of July 9.

We will follow up with more information, but in the meantime, feel free to visit our Federal Minimum Wage Increase Question & Answer page of the G.Neil website.

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