Thought Provoking Blogs: Inspiration for the Week

I have been searching around this morning for a topic to post on. I haven't been successful in finding a single topic to post on. Rather I have been successful in finding three good topics to post on. But rather than write about them myself I am going to direct you to the original posts. They are thought provoking and informative. Your week will be off to a major start if you educate yourself by reading these three blog posts.

First up is More Insider HR Tips: What Are HR Pros Saying About You? This was written by Mary the Undercover HR Director. It is base on a session she attended at SHRM 2010 conference and was published on August 24, 2010. It deals with FMLA abuse and the reaction that HR gives those abusers and also the way that non-abusers are treated. It is a very interesting lesson for HR in overeaction.

The second one is also written by Mary the Undercover HR Director. She writes about employee use of the ADA to get accommodation, the interactive process that must be engaged in and the costs associated with an ADA accommodation. (Which by the way is suprisingly low.) Written from an employee perspective, you need to check out How To Request Job Accommodations From Your Boss By Using the ADA.

For the third entry I suggest Mad Men, Madder Women: Have Roles Really Changed in the Workplace? I don't watch the show Mad Men though my daughter has told me I should. And apparently it is favorite of many HR people because it has been the subject of numerous blogs. In this post/article Vivian Dillar talks about the two of the main female characters and their changing roles as a reflection of what was happening in the workplace in that time frame. This is a very thoughtful piece that may very well prompt me to watch the show as fodder for future blogs and, again according to my daughter, just some excellent entertainment.

So there you have it. Some brain jazzing reading to get yourself going on a Monday morning. I needed it, since my day started at 4:30 am and the coffee was not working to its full extent.

Lessons in Ignorance: The Intersection of FMLA and Workers' Comp

I had the good fortune to attend a legal update hosted by the Atlanta Law firm of Drew Eckl & Farnham. The afternoon session on employment law was moderated by attorney Joe Chancey (a very well spoken attorney). Joe used a verison of the Socratic Method and posed several scenarios to the audience and solicited answers from them. He then had a panel attorney give the correct answer. The session was very good, but in listening to the answers that the HR people in the audience give I was dismayed at the lack of knowledge displayed. (Guess that is why they were there for education.) I of course knew all the correct answers. (He says with great humility!)

One scenario posed dealt with a workers' compensation situation and FMLA. There was a lot of confusion about this scenario. Many people did NOT know that you can run Family and Medical Leave time concurrently with someone being out of work for Workers' Comp. Not only can you do that, you SHOULD do that. Otherwise you run the risk of extending considerably the amount of time someone can be away from work. Many audience members thought that Workers' Comp time had to play out entirely before someone could be charged with FMLA time. One audience member was even unaware that FMLA could be used for your PERSONAL illness. She thought it was for family only. (I sighed heavily at that.)

This session pointed out that there is a great deal of lack of education or knowledge in many areas of HR, but particularly in the arena of intersection of FMLA, ADA and Workers' Compensation. I do not have the space here to cover that topic, other than the lesson mentioned above about running concurrent calendars on FMLA and Workers' Comp time. But if you have to deal with this it is critical you understand this. The mistakes can be very expensive. In fact I may develop an E-book on this topic. So stay tuned.

Good Advice: Dealing With H1N1 in the Workplace

The folks over at Benefit Buzz published some good advice and raised alot of questions on dealing with the Swine Flu in your employee population. So I direct you to Flu Prevention: Mostly Common Sense but do your benefit policies support it. Make sure you read the comments as well. Some very good information in there. I raised the issue that this will most likely be a FMLA event for many of you. Are you handling paperwork on a timely basis? Busy time.

Another issue may be your "continuity" plan. Who is in place to do the work? Are people crosstrained? If not how are you going to fill the gaps? All very good things to prepare for.

Stay healthy!

The First 100 Days of Obama: Fistful of Talent Saved Me An Update

The folks over at Fistful of Talent saved me a legislative update. Follow this link to Tough Love: The First 100 Days of the Obama Administration. It is getting very hard to be an employer these days and it is not going to get any easier. So read and learn and prepare. Or be active and contact legislators to express your opinion on the pending legislation.

Change you can believe in.... well you can believe there will be change and more change. Hang on to your hat the rollercoaster is leaving the platform!

Paid Sick Time: Soon To Be Mandated

I don't have a problem with paid sick time. Every place I have ever worked offered it, at least to full time workers. We offer it at our company even though we only have 13 employees. Most of my clients offer it as well. Research has shown that 80% of employers do so. So I am not about to argue against sick time, what I do not like is MANDATED BY THE GOVERNMENT SICK TIME. The House of Representatives has introduced the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 2460).

This new bill will mandate that all employers with 15 or more employees be required to accrue one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked up to 56 hours, or 7 days. This is generally more sick time than most small companies allot, which in my experience is 5 days. So an additional cost to employers. Workers would begin accruing the time immediately and could take it as soon as their 60th day of employment. They can take this time for the following reasons:

• Their own physical or mental illness, injury or medical condition.


• To obtain medical care, including preventive care.


• To care for, or help obtain medical care for, a child, parent, spouse or "any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is equivalent of a family relationship.


• Absences related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, including time needed to get counseling, relocation assistance or pursuing legal action.

So in one fell swoop we have a mini-FMLA, domestic partner, violence against women law all wrapped up in one neat little package that at this time stands a very good chance of passage, at least in the House. After all who is going to argue against this? President Obama has expressed his support for the bill.

Again I am not against sick time. But not all companies can afford this mandate. People have a choice of working or not working for an employer who does not offer sick time or benefits. If you are an employee who needs benefits find an employer who offers them. Rather than forcing employers to offer this I would prefer an incentive approach as opposed to a mandated approach. Reward employers for offering better benefit packages with tax incentives rather than forcing a mandate down everyone's collective throats.

BTW, this will mean more work for the HR administrators, timekeepers, recordkeepers out there. This will have to be coordinated with all the existing laws and benefit coverages already in existance, such as FMLA. You will have to track this separately.

One last note. I believe this will also cover your part-time workers. The threshold is hours worked, not fulltime status. So as a part-timer works they will also accrue sick time.

The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same.

I was reviewing some old files and happened to come across an article on HR Trends for 2002, that appeared in a January 8, 2002 issue of HRNext. This got me focused on the "FUTURE" by looking at the past. I feel it is important for all HR professionals to keep up on trends. You need to be a "futurist" of sorts, and I would like to be one for real. So the next three blog posts will be focused on trends and the future. Today's post will discuss the first half of HRNext's 2002 article and how those trends are playing today. Tomorrow's post will discuss the second half of the article. Then Wednesday I will take my own stab what will be happening in HR after January 1, 2009.

So back to 2002. Here is trend #1 from HRNext.

"HR More Important, Strategic. In the midst of an ongoing recession, companies will need more than ever to pay close attention to the bottom line. As a large portion of any company's expenses is related to personnel, HR departments will be asked to play a more strategic and prominent role in company decisions. HR managers will be asked to closely align HR to company objectives. "

This is an "oh-so-familiar" refrain. I am not sure how successfully we have accomplished this in the past 7 years. We still preach this, we still write articles about this and we all hope that this has occurred but I am not sure we have progressed too much beyond this hope. It is however as important today as it was in a 2002 recession. Hopefully the years of teaching this in class has had an impact and HR is functioning on a strategic level. It certainly does point out the importance of paying attention to the economy as part of environmental scanning. I think I will put Paul Krugman's column on my reading list.

Trend #2

Staff reductions and other cost containment. As companies layoff employees, leave positions unfilled and make other cost reductions to try and stay afloat during the economic recession, it will be up to the HR department to implement the reductions, assist terminated employees and keep the retained workforce motivated and content. HR mangers will be asked to contribute ideas on how the company can continue to minimize expenses.

Well this has not changed! I don't really see this as a trend but as an ongoing duty of HR. I do believe that the recent meltdown will make this permanent part of all managment practices. Keeping staff trimmed yet motivated and retained regardless of how "fat" the times are.

Trend #3

Containing the cost of health care benefits. (I abbreviated this one.)

When will this not be a trend??? "Nuff said."

Trend #4

Workplace security and safety. Everyone is taking this issue very seriously since Sept. 11, as company leaders realize they will need more than a simple evacuation plan in place. HR managers will be developing thorough plans and policies designed to keep employees safe and the workplace secure. Workplace violence will also continue to be a concern.

In the days that followed Sept. 11, 2001 this was a major concern. Today the terrorism aspect of work safety has diminished, but workplace violence and domestic violence spilling into the workplace has increased. This is an area the HR needs to be continually vigilant to. Violence to female employees often comes from their home life and will often have an impact on other employees as well. It points out the importance of a good EAP.

Trend #5

Leave issues. FMLA continues to be a concern to HR managers, as companies try to make do with fewer employees. Also, military leave issues are top-of-mind in many companies, as the war on terrorism continues and more employees are called to serve.

This has not changed much since 2002 either. FMLA continues to be difficult to deal with as the law gets new definitions and amendments. With the loosening of the rules surrounding the ADA there will be an impact on FMLA leaves.

As you can see, 2008 looks alot like 2002. Tomorrow the remaining Trends of 2002.

FMLA Definately Needs To Be Cleared UP!

First let me admit I do not do any FMLA administration. My company is too small and most of my clients are as well. But I do get questions about it occasionally and as a knowledgeable HR professional I should know the answers. Well I got posed a question about the rolling year calculation and I was not sure of the answer, thought I knew but I was "iffy". So I posed the same question to a large group of contacts and got back an array of answers. So this indicates that ALOT of people don't know. I even used a help service and the answer they gave was not conclusive either. However, they gave me a link to an article that does give a definitive answer. You will find the link below.

First, here is the scenario. A company uses a "rolling year" calculation, as is recommended. An employee goes out on FMLA on Dec. 1, 2007 and is off the next 12 weeks, returning then around March 1st or so. The question is, when would this individual be then eligible for leave again? December 1, 2008 or March 1, 2009? The company's policy reads March 1. My answer was December 1. The answers from the group were divided.

Well, I am happy to say, my answer was correct, at least according to this article by the attorneys of Harper Gerlach PL. Here is the link to the article, which appeared in the Florida Employment Law Letter.

SHRM has alot of material available to members on the proposed FMLA regulations and on the front page of my company website, Omega HR Solutions , there is a link for the US DOL comment site. If you wish to comment on the proposed changes I would suggest you read this material.

FMLA obviously is, after 10 years, still a confusing and complicated law. With the changes that have occured with the addition of military provisions it has become even more complicated. So educate yourself!