|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Join our mailing list
-
Pressure from employer groups and members of Congress, caused the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to delay the required posting that tells employees how to join a union and file an unfair labor charge against management. The new date of posting is 4/30.
Stay tuned for future updates on the NLRB and posters.
-
Do you remember when the IRS was advertising that they were your "friend"?
Now the IRS and the Department of Labor (DOL) have teamed up to find companies that previously classified employees as contractors to avoid paying federal employer taxes.
The Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) was created to allow companies to reclassify contractors to permanent employees without all the fines.
Under the VCSP, employers are able to pay a reduced tax liability for the misclassification of employees as contractors without all of the penalties.
Talk with your accountant as you will need to meet certain requirements to be eligible for the program.
Expect the DOL and IRS to continue looking for companies that do not have employees.
-
Effective November 14, 2011 the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) requires all employers, both union and non-union, to have a new poster in place for employees to read. The poster is to be displayed with other required information posters.
In addition, if your company posts information on the company web-site or electronic bulletin board, the new poster is to be there also.
The new poster informs employees:
- of their right to form, organize and join a union
- how to assist unions in signing up new members
- how to file an unfair labor practice charges against their employer
- provides examples of unfair labor practices
- how to contact the NLRB about questions and complaints
The poster explains only the union position and does not mention an employee's right to not join a union or have a union de-certified.
The poster needs to be in English and if 20% or more of your workforce is not fluent in the English language you must provide the poster in their language. (Only posters in English are available at this time.)
No company should feel safe from organizing at this time and the reasons are simple:
- Large employers such as GM, and Boeing, along with groups of employees like teachers and most telephone and utility workers are already organized
- With the loss of jobs over the past several years, the unions have taken a hit in the number of employees covered by contracts
- Less members means less dues coming in to the union coffers
- Unions have been targeting and winning elections at small companies, especially companies that do not have pro-active management and human resources
Another pro-union change is coming by the end of 2011 that will speed up organizing. This will be another problem for employers trying to stay non-union.
The change will permit unions to have recognition elections within 7 days of filing a petition and being certified as a bargaining unit representative by the NLRB. Currently elections are typically held 30+ days after certification.
The problem for employers with the 7 days until election is that most employers typically are not prepared and don't know what to do. It often takes a week or more to get prepared for an anti-union campaign.
When these processes are in place, your ability to communicate with your employees about the realities of unions will be drastically reduced.
Increased union organizing is expected as long as they have a friend in the White House.
Keep in mind that union organizing can be going on without your knowledge. It is not unusual for unions to have signed authorization cards before the company even suspects organizing is going on.
First and second line managers are important in staying non-union. If the working relationship with employees and managers is good, unions have a hard time winning elections.
To remain non-union, you do not have to be the highest paid or provide the best benefits. What is most important is that your management team treat employees with respect and are fair about enforcing company policies.
Employers need to begin preparing for these changes now. Companies should conduct an internal audit to determine weaknesses that could cause employees to consider union representation.
The audit should consider matters as wage and benefits compared to comparable businesses in the area and industry. Communications between management and employees is important in areas such as benefits, performance evaluations and discipline, along with the consistent and fair application of company policies.
Now is a good time to learn how to legally express your views about unions and collective bargaining. Unions can and do promise anything to get members, but you the employer, are limited in what you can say and do.
Be careful to not promise better pay, more holidays or other benefits if you learn of any organizing activities.
Be pro-active and at least learn the basics of staying legal during an organizing drive. When in doubt of what to do, call a certified H.R. adviser or get advice from a law firm that specializes in “Employment and Labor Law”.
(I have the poster so if you want a copy, email me and let me know if you want it on 8.5 X 17 or 8.5 X 11 format to print.)
-
OSHA requires that businesses with more than 10 employees post their form 300A from February 1 to April 30.
This is a listing of work related injuries, illness and fatalities in your location(s) during the previous year. Even if there was nothing to report, a zero goes in the "total" space. The form must be posted along with other announcements.
An executive must sign the form to certify that the information is correct. It is important to comply with the simple posting requirements to show your work force that Safety is Important in your company.
The OSHA Form 300A can be down loaded with instructions on completing the form - it's simple.
http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/new-osha300form1-1-04.pdf
A few industries are exempt and you can see if your type company is exempt from the posting by going to - http://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/ppt1/RK1exempttable.html
-
In fiscal year 2008 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed 37 disability claims on behalf of employees. In fiscal year 2009 there was a105% increase.
Because of increased government spending the EEOC aggressively hired staff, increased enforcement as well as a more active public relations campaign.
The new leadership consists of the former associate Director / Counsel from the NAACP's Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has stated that the Department of Labor DOL is back in the enforcement mode after hiring an additional 200 new enforcement officers.
The DOL will also start using the EO Survey to gather information about personnel activities, compensation data and government contractors affirmative action programs. This information will be used to target enforcement action.
In addition to the above, President Obama has made appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) which could make union organizing a sure thing. Briefly this would allow any company with 3 or more employees to gain union recognition without an election. It will only take 50% plus 1 employee to sign cards to force the company to recognize and bargain with a union.
It is only fair that we mention the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which has started the “Employment Tax National Research Project (NRP). The NRP started earlier this year is an audit type program spanning 3 filing years, 2008, 2009 and 2010.
The intent of the NRP is to identify employers that are avoiding their tax liability by classifying employees as contractors.
Also, the Wage & Hour Division (WHD) of the DOL will be conducting an increased number of employer audits to search out companies that classify employees as exempt (not eligible for over time) when they should be classified as non-exempt and paid over time. The potential liability for employers is huge. (If concerned, email me for details.)
Once the WHD discovers misclassifications and assess it's fines plus back pay plus interest, the IRS will be notified. The IRS and state agencies will then be auditing these employers for back taxes, fines and interest.
The IRS announced that it will also be looking at 500 charities and other tax-exempt organizations for compliance.
Employers should work closely with their CPA's and Human Resources to increase compliance and be ready when the Fed's come knocking.
-
OSHA like other branches of the federal government, has become more pro-active in addressing employer violations of the law. OSHA is looking for more than compliance, there is increased emphasis on prevention. Now when there is a work related fatality, the name of the company is posted at http://osha.gov/dep/fatcat/dep_fatcat.html.
It's not a secret that for some time, Nevada OSHA has not been conducting business as Federal OSHA would have liked.
Recently the Federal OSHA opened an office in Las Vegas and as a result, Nevada employers need to be more alert than ever for the possibility of OSHA inspections. Federal OSHA is using the "general duty" clause in situations where no specific standard is applicable.
There are a number of things a company can do to limit exposure to OSHA:
-
Nevada OSHA requires employers to provide employees with a brochure titled, "Nevada Workplace Safety". Copies are available at the local NV OSHA offices or at http://www.4safenv.state.nv.us/ and go to "Publications" on the left side. You will be able to download the brochure in English and Spanish.
-
Make sure your OSHA form 300 is accurate and current.
-
Do your own safety audit of your facility. OSHA has a list of priorities they look for based on industry type. You should get a copy of their check list (by sic). Some things are very simple such as making sure exits and electrical panels are not blocked, you have a diagram posted showing building exits, and safety posters are properly displayed.
-
Become familiar with ergonomics terms and injuries. OSHA may add a column to the 300 form specifically for musculoskeletal disorders. OSHA is using the General Duty clause as the basis of issuing ergonomic citations.
-
If you have had OSHA audits and problems in the past, check your records for at least the last 5 years. If you find the same or similar problems exist now that were found within 5 years, OSHA may cite you as a repeat offender. (This is where big fines often start.)
-
It is not unusual for employees, vendors or visitors to alert OSHA or other agencies to violations, even if employees are working off site. In the past if you had safety issues and corrected the problems, take credit for improved safety by letting employees know that you care about their safety.
-
Change your company culture and develop a wellness program. This requires more than just a written plan as management and employee participation are necessary to make a wellness program work.
When companies undertake wellness programs that include programs to stop smoking and weight loss, consider using the same employees in an effort to develop and implement safety objectives.
-
-
A recent poll found that 42 percent of office workers between the ages of 18 and 29 discuss work-related issues on blogs and social networking sites.
Various studies show that about 64 percent of surveyed organizations do not have policies on using any of the social media to discuss the company or work-related issues.
The federal trade commission (FTC) not long ago put out “guidelines” that could cause companies to be legally liable for on line misconduct of employees. If employees use any social media to make inappropriate comments about products or services provided by the company, even though companies do not approve the comments, they may be in violation of the new guidelines.
An example might be where an employee writes in a blog or on-line message board, positive comments about a product his/her employer manufactures or sells. If someone buys the product based on the employee's comments and the product is defective, both the employee and employer could be held liable and in violation of the guidelines.
Also, keep in mind that when on the computer, people are not as careful about what they say as they are in an actual conversation. What you say at home at the dinner table may not go any farther than those at the table. When people get on line, what they say can be read by anyone that comes across the blog, message board or other form of social media. Keep in mind that Face Book has one half billion readers!
Employers need to create or update their personnel policy manuals to include proper protection for the company about social media and make sure all employees sign an acknowledgment that they are aware of policy.
If you have any questions about updating your policy on "Social Media", contact me and let's get this off your "to-do list".
Roger
-
A new Federal Law referred to as GINA went into effect on November 21, 2009 and prohibits insurance companies, unions and employers from collecting and sharing information derived from genetic tests.
This sounds simple because most employers believe they do not do any genetic testing data or have access to such information so the law doesn’t apply to them. This belief is mis-leading but if managers are aware of GINA and the implications, this law should not be a major concern to employers.
Insurance companies are prohibited from collecting or requesting genetic information (family history) because of the possibility of increasing insurance premiums based on the results of one person’s genetic info or denying coverage.
a) increase premiums for the group based on the results of one enrollee’s genetic information; deny enrollment; or
b) impose pre-existing condition exclusions; or do other forms of underwriting based on genetic information
For employers, the law prohibits employment decisions to be made based on genetic data or more simply put, family history of mental or medical conditions. (Such hiring decisions could affect the rate employers pay for employee benefit coverage.)
In the case of employers, if physicals are a condition of employment, it is acceptable to ask about a person’s own health but it is not acceptable to ask about the family history. If such information is requested by medical personnel and the employer becomes aware of this information, employment decisions must not take into consideration any genetic data.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is in charge of enforcement and will allow applicants and employees to take their claims to court if the applicant or employee feels an employment decision was based on any genetic information.
ACTION REQUIRED
-
Required Federal posters need to be examined to make sure there is reference to “GINA Information” in the section that explains discrimination. If you would rather use a supplemental poster go to http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/eeoc_gina_supplement.pdf to download and print.
-
Managers need to be aware of the changes that GINA has brought about discussing anything to do with heredity or family history.
-
Personnel files that include any medical reference to “family history” need to be removed from the personnel file if this has not already been done. This type of information should be filed in a separate “medical” file for each employee.
If you are unsure, about anything that has to do with genetic information, you should contact a human resources consultant or an attorney that specializes in Labor and Employment.
The above article is offered as information and should not be considered as legal advice. If you require a legal opinion, contact an attorney that specializes in Employment and Labor.
Roger Bishop is the principal of Applied Human Resources, Inc. which can be found at http://www.appliedhumanresources.com
-
A FREE TOOL TO TRY
Skill Highway is a free tool that allows you to find subject matter experts on a variety of business subjets.
This at least deserves a quick look and a couple of minutes of your time. It's Free - just take a look!
|
Copyright © APPLIED HUMAN RESOURCES, INC.