June 2011 Newsletter
A number of years ago, I attended an HR conference and Bill Cosby was the speaker. His talk was quite humorous as he put into perspective the first employees, Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had a short employee handbook; all it said was "don't eat the apple". It didn't have a disciplinary process, at-will employment, social networking rules, and it clearly didn't have a dress code. Of course, they couldn't follow that "one little rule" and they were fired by their employer "the almighty". Adam and Eve weren't given a warning, no allowance for "The snake made me do it" and both were fired for the deeds of one.
Of course, in the real world, employee handbooks aren't and can't be quite that simple. Also, since the profession of law (probably) didn't exist, there was no fear of a law suit, so it is highly unlikely that the "handbook" was reviewed by an outside expert on handbooks.
Should your employee handbook be simple? Yes and no. I'm not a big fan of handbooks that describe in extreme detail things like "use of company chairs" or "appropriate ink color", those details are best documented in a "procedures manual" (if at all). However, many times companies "borrow" handbooks from other companies, and "modify" them. The world has become much more complex, and the original company from where the handbook came may have been a different size, in a different industry, a different geographic location and may even be unionized. All of which have an impact on what is included in your handbook. It is also unknown when the handbook was written, who wrote it and who reviewed the document. A number of laws have significantly changed over the past few years, so a handbook written 10 years ago would be out of date and not provide the necessary guidance a company and its employees need. So by taking what seems like a "simple" approach, many companies are creating handbook nightmares!
What should you do? Contact The HR Team of course!
DOL Timesheet Application Makes It Easy for Employees to File Wage and Hour Claims
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the launch of its first application for smartphones, a timesheet to help employees independently track the hours they work and determine the wages they are owed. Available in English and Spanish, users can track regular work hours, break time and any overtime hours for one or more employers. This new technology is significant because, instead of relying on their employers' records, workers now can keep their own records. This information could prove invaluable during a Wage and Hour Division investigation when an employer has failed to maintain accurate employment records.
The free app is currently compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch. The Labor Department will explore updates that could enable similar versions for other smartphone platforms, such as Android and BlackBerry, and other pay features not currently provided for, such as tips, commissions, bonuses, deductions, holiday pay, pay for weekends, shift differentials and pay for regular days of rest.
For workers without a smartphone, the Wage and Hour Division has a printable work hours calendar in English and Spanish to track rate of pay, work start and stop times, and arrival and departure times. The calendar also includes easy-to-understand information about workers' rights and how to file a wage violation complaint.
Tech Sector Hiring Bodes Well For the Economy
Established technology companies and start-ups are courting possible recruits and hiring aggressively. The competition is intense.
Nationally, 148,000 tech jobs are expected to be added by the end of 2011. Economists at Moody's Analytics say the tech increases are good news for the economy in general.
California added nearly 100,000 jobs in February, many of which were in the technology sector.
HR Has Colorful Origins, Roles
It was 1901 when National Cash Register faced a major strike. While they won out in the end, the company president decided to set up a department to improve employee relations, according to the article HR Comes of Age, by the Society for Human Resources Management. It was the first such effort and the beginning of human resources departments as we know them today.
In 1920, anthropologist George Elton Mayo discovered that it doesn't matter how you train people, just training boosts productivity. By the 1940s, human resources or personnel departments had a solid role in union relations. They either negotiated with unions or tried to keep them out of the company. HR was placed in the position of serving management while trying to keep workers satisfied.
Patrick Wright, professor of HR studies at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, says HR's condensing of the English language started in the 1960s when it was forced to become a government compliance arm.
It was HR's job to ensure compliance with equal opportunity laws, occupational safety laws, and other government regulations. Thus began the huge trend toward abbreviations and acronyms. One on-line HR resource lists the definitions for 117 acronyms such as FICA, ERISA, and ISO.
Today, HR people are responsible for the orientation and team-building games we play, not to mention insurance programs, education, training programs, and more.
Edging Back: 401(k) Matches
In 2006 some 76 percent of large employers were offering their workers 401(k) matches.
With the recession in progress, that percentage fell to 67 percent in 2009.
In 2010, companies were gradually returning to matches with 69 percent of large employers offering them, according to Charles Schwab.
Top 5 Office Dressing Errors
One Gallup poll shows 43 percent of workers say they wear business casual attire at the office every day. But many don't know what business casual is. They think it means "anything goes."
Kids coming out of college don't understand that what Lady Gaga wears won't fly in the office, says an image consultant quoted in Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Her top five office faux pas:
1. Call girl earrings, man studs. Women: Skip long, dangly earrings. Men: No ear studs. Both: No visible piercings.
2. Unbuttoned shirts. How many buttons can you unbutton? The neck button.
3. Exposed bra straps. Keep straps under wraps.
4. Tattoos. Cover them up.
5. Exposed toes. Toes are a kind of cleavage. Don't wear sandals or heels that expose the front of your foot.
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