February 2010 Compliance and Culture Newsletter

 “Objectives are not fate; they are direction. They are not commands; they are commitments. They do not determine the future; they are means to mobilize the resources and energies of the business for the making of the future.”

- Peter Drucker

This issue discusses:

• Editor’s Column: Asking the Right Questions
• Labor History Quiz
• Diploma Mill Scams
• Beware of Punishing Employees Who Complain About Wages Owed
• Create a Fun Workplace
• Moving Down Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• A Review of the 2008-2009 Supreme Court Term

We have also provided you with the Form of the Month

Editor’s Column: Asking the Right Questions

My years as a litigation attorney provided me with excellent insight into failed business and employment relationships. Here are a few critical questions business owners, managers, and employees can ask themselves to make sure that their thinking is on the right path:

•  Is it in the best interest of the team? There’s no substitute for playing with a win/win attitude. As they say, “A rising tide floats all boats.” Putting the team first does not mean that you have to settle for mediocrity – or that you decide simply on a consensus basis. Putting the team first means that you ask the critical question: “Is this in the best interest of the team (or company, nation, family, etc.)?”
• Will this increase or decrease the level of trust in the environment? I’ve never seen a failed relationship where the parties trusted each other. Trusting partners even dissolve their relationships in an amicable manner. To make a trustworthy decision means that you have the skills or critical thinking necessary to make this decision and that you do so with good intent. That’s what makes anybody trustworthy to me. They have the skills and desires I can trust.
• Is it in alignment with our vision, mission, and goals? Sometimes there can be a true conflict among these outcomes. For example, NASA wanted to launch its shuttles in both a timely and safe manner. When the goal of timeliness overwhelmed the goal of safety, it resulted in an ethical violation – and lost lives. Because it’s very hard to know if you’re in alignment if you haven’t clearly identified your vision, mission, or goals, you might want to throw in values, commitments, and anything else on which you intend to focus.
• How does the approach feel? Often we make poor decisions because we’re running so fast that we can’t feel what’s going on. This is one reason why I often sleep on major decisions, perhaps even for a few days, before making a major decision. If after three or four days it still feels right, I’ll go for it. Unfortunately, when I forget this lesson, I end up paying the price.
• Is it legal? Are you sure or just guessing about it? What further research should you conduct?
• Should I get outside advice? There’s no substitute for professional help when making decisions. People rely on the Worklaw® Network and I try to answer their Hotline calls as part of the HR That Works program. Knock on wood, but from what I can tell, not a single one of these calls has turned out poorly for a client who followed the advice. It’s important to be able to get outside your own head when making critical decisions. 

Conclusion: Follow these steps and you’ll avoid a variety of risk management problems.

Labor History Quiz 

Enjoy this fun and informative quiz on labor history, created by the Alabama Department of Labor.

Diploma Mill Scams

The FTC has issued helpful guidelines to help employers avoid the pitfalls of false degrees.

Click here for more information.

Beware of Punishing Employees Who Complain About Wages Owed

IMPCO Technologies found itself in a no-win situation. Just after having moved over to a new time-clock program, two employees approached their manager, Manuel Barbosa, claiming that they were not paid overtime for a couple of hours. Since their manager was also paid on an hourly rate, he realized that if they hadn’t been paid, neither had he — so he submitted a claim for overtime to human resources. An investigation determined that the employees did not work overtime. When confronted with this finding, the manager maintained his good faith belief that he was entitled to overtime. The company, which, in fact, had paid the overtime, dismissed the manager for intending to defraud the company. He promptly sued for wrongful termination.

When the case made its way to trial, the court ruled that the company had terminated the employee for his dishonesty, not for making a claim for overtime. On appeal, the court ruled that if an employee brings forth a wage and hour complaint in “good faith,” they are thereafter protected from termination even if, in fact, they prove to be wrong. The case was reinstated, with instructions to determine if the manager had acted in good faith.

Lesson to employers: Think twice about firing any employee who complains about anything. If such a situation arises, contact the HR That Works hotline or your attorney before making a decision. Remember that, in general, if the matter complained about affects public policy (health, safety, labor laws, tax laws, etc.) the employee is generally protected from a retaliatory discharge.

To read the case (Barbosa v. IMPCO Technologies), click here.

Create a Fun Workplace

Life is short. There’s absolutely no reason why we can’t have fun while making money every day. What follows are 13 suggestions that you might want to employ at your company.

1. Set up a fun committee. Put some of the “funniest” people at your organization in charge. Give them a budget — maybe $10 per employee per week and see what they can do with it for a couple of months.
2. Have a community service day. Giving back to the community is fun. Whether you coordinate an event for the Boys and Girls Club, a homeless shelter, senior citizen home, a group cleanup project, etc, giving back on a group basis is even more fun.
3. Set a red noses day. Whether you wear red noses, Groucho glasses, or silly hats, it’s fun to have a day like that. You simply can’t take each other seriously when you do (I can hear the chorus now, “But I want to be taken seriously!”).
4. Ask for kids’ pictures. A number of companies have encouraged their employees’ children to produce pictures that they can hang up in a hallway. One company specifically created slot-like frames for 8.5” x 11” paper, which made it very easy for the parents and kids. You can’t stay in a funk very long walking past a bunch of pictures drawn by kids.
5. Bring in a magician. Let them walk around and do some magic tricks for your employees. Sure, they might be distracted for all of five minutes, but they’ll have fun doing it — which is exactly the point!
6. Hold theme days. Whether it’s Country/Western, 60s, 70s, or otherwise, it’s fun to not only dress up employees, but the environment as well. This goes great for St. Patrick’s Day, Fourth of July, Veterans Day, and of course, Halloween.
7. Require people to provide a joke with their résumé. When one CEO told us about this, we thought it was a brilliant idea. He said reading résumés is one of the most boring things you can do. Requiring a joke certainly makes it more fun. Second, if people can’t follow instruction he won’t hire them. And third, you get an idea of what type of sense of humor they have.
8. Run a cartoon caption contest. Get a cartoon, blank out the caption, and then have a contest for your employees to fill in.
9. Hold food events. Eating with your friends and colleagues can be fun. Many companies will have food events around a holiday theme. Encourage people to bring a dish native to their heritage. We’ve tasted some of the best — and most unusual — food at these events.
10. Stage a murder mystery. A body was just found by the water cooler. Who did it? You can easily hire actors who perform these skits in the evening to come into your company and spend an hour or two some afternoon.
11. Throw a sundae party. Bring in a boatload of ice cream, nuts, and cherries and engage in some sugar overload. What could be more fun than that?
12. Have story day. Have folks share a humorous workplace story either at your company or a previous employer. Issue some basic guidelines, such as no obscenities and no ridiculing any current employees, to avoid offending them. Keep a time limit of, say, five minutes.
13. Get out and do something physical together. Whether it’s a ropes course, bowling, or miniature golf, it’s fun to engage in physical activity. Many companies also have softball, soccer, basketball teams, and the like as well.

There are dozens of other ways to have fun, limited only by your imagination!

Moving Down Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The recent Internet Labor Outlook Survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) included a question about the most important aspects of employee job satisfaction. The results, in order, were:

• Job security (63%)
• Benefits (60%)
• Compensation/pay (57%)
• Opportunities to use skills and abilities (55%)
• Feeling safe in the environment (54%)
• Relationship with immediate supervisor (52%)
• Management recognition of employee job performance (52%)
• Communication between employees and senior management (51%)
• The work itself (50%)
• Autonomy and performance (47%)

At the bottom of the list came items such as being in a green workplace, networking opportunities, career development, social responsibility, and so on.

These results show that when we hit tough times, our needs move down the Maslow Hierarchy.

In today’s economy, it’s very difficult to self-actualize when you’ve just been laid off from a job. Survival, security, and belonging are what employees need right now. Their egos are in check — and trying to save the world might have to wait until another day. This is one reason why I continue to support the notion of open-book management. It’s about having an authentic and honest conversation about money (an item in great demand today). Show your employees the black and white of their futures and understand how they can shape it to the benefit of all.

A Review of the 2008-2009 Supreme Court Term

Worklaw Network Member Firm Franczek Radelet’s has provided us with a great summary of recent U.S. Supreme Court cases. Labor and employment-related cases figured prominently in the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently concluded 2008-2009 term. The Court’s conservative Justices continued to play a dominant role, with Justice Kennedy often casting the deciding vote. This trend will probably continue at least through the next term, despite the replacement of Justice Souter by Justice Sotomayor.

During the 2008-2009 term, the Court took these actions: 

• Considered whether an employer’s well-intentioned decision to disregard promotional test results and avoid claims of disparate impact discrimination violated Title VII.
• Held that “mixed motive” jury instructions applicable to cases arising under Title VII may not be given in discrimination cases pursued under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
• Found that a pension plan qualified as a bona fide seniority system and did not violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act by giving less credit for maternity leave taken before that law took effect than for other medical leave in calculating pension benefits.
• Determined that Title VII prohibits retaliation against employees who participate in an employer’s harassment investigation.
• Held that a collective bargaining agreement can waive employee rights under the ADEA.
• Found that a local union’s charge of litigation fees to nonmember employees was constitutional.
• Addressed the constitutionality of a state law that prohibited the use of union dues deducted from public employees’ paychecks for political purposes.
• Adhered to the “plan documents” rule under ERISA requiring that plan administrators follow the express language of plan documents in all but a very few, narrowly defined circumstances.

 Read the entire report here.

Form of the Month 

Independent Contractor Agreement  (PDF) 

If you’re sure you have a proper 1099 arrangement, use this agreement to get it in cement.

(HR That Works Users can access this form in Word format by logging on to the site).

Podcast

Please click here to listen to the February 2010 Podcast.

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