Carnival of HR: The Christmas Edition

I don't know about sugar plums, but there are some "sweet plums of knowledge" in the Carnival of HR today. April Dowling of PseudoHR edited and published this list between working and her bouts of Christmas shopping. I hope she gets my gift to me on time. Actually I jest. My gift was being include in this Carnival. So go take a seat on Santa's lap and read her very creative poem that incorporates all the selected submissions. I will swear it is a great one. (See if you get that joke.)
You can find April here: Carnival of HR- 'Twas The Night Before.

And stay tuned for tomorrow's HR Observation where I tell you about the problems of Santa's HR Manager.

D'oh Guess We Should Have Thought of That: A Lesson in Unintended Consequences

I am not sure where this falls really... lack of foresight, the bigger picture was more important, guess we should have read those 2000 pages more carefully... I decided to use Homer Simpson's "D'oh" as the best expression. I am sure you are wonder what the hell I am talking about. Well this is it.. a news headline that read "Citing health overhaul, AARP hikes employee costs". The article then starts off

"AARP's endorsement helped secure passage of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Now the seniors' lobby is telling its employees their insurance costs will rise partly as a result of the law....In an e-mail to employees, AARP says health care premiums will increase by 8 percent to 13 percent next year because of rapidly rising medical costs.....And AARP adds that it's changing copayments and deductibles to avoid a 40 percent tax on high-cost health plans that takes effect in 2018 under the law...Shifting costs to employees lowers the value of a health care plan and acts like an escape hatch from the tax."

This is AARP's attempt to avoid being classified as a "Cadillac Plan". As writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar of the AP states in the article "...employers are already beginning to assess their potential exposure because it is hefty: at 40 percent of the value above $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for a family plan. The tax is intended as a savings measure, to prod employers and workers into more cost-efficient plans."

David Certner, the legislative affairs director for AARP, said that they make public policy decisions without regard to the effect it might have on their own employees. So the employees are going to be getting an 8% to 13% increase in their insurance costs and more will be coming.

Hmmm... I wonder what the enthusiasm for healthcare reform is now with those employees and how do they feel about the organization pushing public policy without regard to their well being?

An alternative seniors group to AARP, the Seniors League, says that Health Care Reform Legislation Could Hurt Seniors. They make two points about healthcare: 1. Shaky Medicare Financing: The bill will not shore up Medicare’s financing, despite claims to the contrary; and  2. Reduced Access to Care: Seniors may have reduced access to medical care as providers experience cuts and go out of business.

With the mid-term elections having changed the power structure in Congress it will be interesting to see what happends with healthcare reform. I just hope whatever is done they look at what the "unintended consequences" could potentially be of either allowing the bill to go unchanged or by changing the bill.
 
Sometimes I think we often miss that part of thinking.

The HREvolution: An Interview with Trisha McFarlane- Part I

On May 7th and 8th a group of Human Resources and Recruiting "thought leaders" will meet in Chicago to discuss the future of the profession of Human Resources. This will not be an academic conference with names like Ulrich in attendance. This meeting is billed at an "Un-conference" and includes names like McFarlane, Eubanks and Ruettimann. The second meeting of HREvolution will be made up mostly of HR bloggers, tweeters and practioners who are interested in discussing how HR can fundamentally progress from the current state of the field.

I had the opportunity to interview "Thought Meister" Trish McFarlane who was the creator of the idea of HREvolution and I asked her some questions about the why and wherefor of HREvolution. This is Part I and Part II will appear tomorrow.

MH: You are the creator of HRevolution, so when people ask you what is HRevolution, what do you tell them?

TM: You know, we have this great description online that sounds all “official”. Here’s what HRevolution means to me personally. HRevolution is for ME, it’s for YOU. It’s an event that brings together not just like-minded HR and recruiting professionals, it also brings us closer to those people who do not think like us. It’s true purpose is networking and collaborating with some of the thought leaders in our industry. And the real beauty of it for me is that no one is excluded. Everyone pays their own way from the planning committee to speakers to participants. We’re all the same. That is how I know that people really come for the right reason. It’s not about collecting swag from a booth. It’s about making connections and friendships with people you respect. And, the participants are the most generous you’ll find. We have so many people paying for others who are out of work just so they can come and network too. It’s about being part of the HR/ Recruiting family.

MH: What was the genesis of HRevolution?
TM: The idea came out of the frustration of working (at the time) for a company that would not pay for conferences. Most conferences cost thousands of dollars to get in, then you have hotel, food, and travel costs on top of that. I wanted to attend one so badly, but didn’t have the money. So, I tweeted out:

“Think we should plan a #HR blogger conference. 1 day. Blog specific learning/sharing. @beneubanks @theredrecruiter @stelzner @lruettimann”

From there, Ben Eubanks came up with the name of HRevolution and we were on our way. We quickly added Steve Boese, Mike Owcarz, and Crystal Peterson to the planning committee. Mike eventually had to step out when he and his wife welcomed a new baby, but he was there in spirit. It was great to see what strangers could come together to create based solely on the trusting relationships we developed on Twitter and through blogging.

MH: What is the nature of the discussions at HRE? Does it look like a SHRM conference?
TM: That’s a great question. Many of us, including me, are SHRM members, but it is not like a SHRM conference. You’ll find the venues we choose are meant to be really comfortable, almost like you’re coming over to a friend’s house for a dinner party. BUT, the discussions are the key. You will find some serious discussions on every possible topic that affects HR and recruiting. Some sessions become quite heated, there may be debating, there may be a lot of agreement. We just never know. What I can promise is that you will not sit through even one PowerPoint presentation. You WILL be part of the conversation on the topics you choose. I left the last HRevolution feeling like I learned more in one day than I had in years.

MH: Who did you try to get attend HRE?
TM: Well, we may be a grassroots effort with no marketing budget, BUT we exploit social media to do our initial outreach. We use blogs, Twitter, FaceBook, and LinkedIn to spread the word initially. Then, our past participants jumped in and started to tell their networks. This time we also strongly encouraged the people in the online HR and recruiting community to reach out to friends and colleagues in the industry who are not using social media. At this HRevolution, you will begin to see more of a mix in our participant base. Ideally, that will continue.

MH: I believe HRE is filled up, for those of that didn't attend will any material be available from HRE?
TM: For those who cannot attend this time, we are going to be as creative as we can. We have plans to film portions of various sessions and eventually share those on the HRevolution site (http://hrevolution2010.com). Also, you will see many blog posts coming out after the event. We may even have a white paper or case study develop from the event. It really depends on what direction the participants take it. It’s very exciting.

Tomorrow: Part II

Five Steps to Diminish Wage & Hour Problems

First off let me get the disclaimer out of the way. I am NOT an attorney. I am NOT providing legal advice. I am making these statements from the perspective of an HR professional, consultant and HR instructor that has dealt with Wage & Hour issues for a long time. With that said here is my list of things that may help you avoid a wage & hour investigation or, if you have one, may help you come out better as a result.

1. Step 1: Be educated. If you have been in HR for any period of time you have run across FLSA issues. You may think you know them. Hopefully you do. However, my 12 years of teaching has shown is that many people know how their company does things and not what the law says. Many times the "company" way of doing things is NOT correct. Additionally, there are variations on wage & hour issues that vary by states and also muncipalities. There is alot of material out there that will provide you guidance, the only caveat is to make sure you are getting materials published as recently as possible. The FLSA was altered substantially in 2004, so stay away from pre-2004 materials. The USDOL website actually offers materials that will help educate you. You can see their powerpoint by clicking Fair Labor Standards Act.
2. Step 2: Educate your managers and supervisors. The interaction between manager and employee is where the "rubber meets the road" and most of your violations will occur here. Make sure they understand that no one works for "free." Make sure they understand not only the rules but also company policy on how to deal with issues as unauthorized overtime, breaks, meal times, travel time and "donning and doffing" time. Wage and Hour Law (Basic Training for Supervisors) is a guide book you can get from Amazon that provides some good basic training.
3. Step 3: Realize that jobs classified at EXEMPT must truly meet the exemptions standards set forth by the FLSA. Job titles do not reign supreme. You can review these exemptions by viewing this powerpoint on exemptions. If as a result of your review of the exemptions you find it necessary to interview managers and/or employees, the lawyers of Seyfarth Shaw recommend that you involve an attorney in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege. If you engage an outside consultant make sure their work is being directed by an attorney as well in order to safeguard the privilege.
4. Step 4: Create the appropriate policies. This includes a "Safe Harbor" policy to help protect you in case mistakes do get made. This policy needs to prohibit improper deductions, provides a mechanism for employees to complain TO YOU about them, and specifies you will correct the errors and promise to not make those mistakes again. Depending on the nature of your workforce you also need to specify other policies that deal with your employee population and the way they report time, get paid for that time and under what circumstances. These may include some of the things mentioned above, such as meal times, overtime, being fully relieved of work during meal times. But it may also include training time and travel time. You need to be specific to your workforce.
5. Step 5: Train your employees. We covered supervisor training, but rather than having them correct behavior all the time it is easier to explain to employees what correct behavior is and thus avoid wage and hour issues. So once you have the policies written make sure you spend some time educating.

The USDOL has targeted some specific industries, including healthcare, restaurants, janatorial services, day care, car washes, and the temporary help business. But just because you are not on this list does not make you safe. A complaint from an employee or ex-employee may also bring a visit. So hopefully this brief statement may help you avoid some problems. Will it stop all of them? No.. remember the FLSA is 700 pages long. But the more you can do to ward off complaints being filed, the more you can do to keep investigators from visiting, the more you can do to lessen the impact of what they may find if they do visit, the better off you will be.

Tomorrow, stay tuned for what lies in store from OSHA.

Exposing Breasts in the Workplace: Part of Healthcare!

Ok now that I have your attention, get your mind out of the gutter. This has to deal with the Healthcare bill. The Healthcare Bill, officially, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the "fix-it" bill being signed today, contains a broad spectrum of issues to which we must pay attention. The items are diverse and include not just insurance regulations, but also requirements to post caloric values of foods by all fast food restaurants, taxes on medical devices and drugs, taxes on Medicare wages and even a revamping of the Pell Grant program. (Explain the healthcare implications of that one for me!)

One of the little known aspects of the PPACA is the requirement for companies to provide unpaid breastfeeding breaks. This is an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and "....requires employers to provide reasonable, unpaid break time to employees who are nursing mothers to express breast milk for their infants. The Act amends section 207 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and requires an employer to provide a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child's birth each time such employee has need to express the milk. The employer shall also make reasonable efforts to provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk." (Source: Smith Gambrell & Russell, LLC Client Alert, March 25, 2010.)

Employers of fewer than 50 employees are exempt from this amendment if "...such breaks would 'impose an undue hardship by causing the employer significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the employer's business.'" Hmmm... how do you really deny this one regardless of the size of the company?

One challenge here is recording of this time so you can make it non-paid. I think it would cost more to attend to the recording of time than it would be to just allow the mothers the time to perform this act. So a possible solution is just make it paid break time. But of course then you will have to deal with all the whinny men and women who don't get this paid break time. However, it would put them on par with all the smokers who take unathorized breaks to get their fix.

Anyone have a suggestion on what is going to be the best way to deal with this? I am all ears.