We might not talk about this enough…background checks

From worldlink.com

Question: Should I do a background check before hiring an employee and if so, how do I do that?

Answer: No, it’s not required, but, yes, do some form of background check on potential employees to ensure you are getting a person who will be a good fit for the business.

The cost of hiring and training employees is too high not to at least call references, the easiest form of background check. That can be as simple as calling references and previous employers, checking criminal records or doing a full investigative consumer report. Care needs to be taken not to violate privacy rights, so it’s important to know the rules beforehand. Information on what is allowable and what is not can be found at www.privacyrights.org, www.business.gov/business-law/employment/hiring/pre-employment.html, or by contacting your business attorney.

Many companies use outside agencies for a thorough pre-employment background check. This is definitely an option, but be sure to check on the credibility of the agency. What experience does it have? What resources does it use? Is it a reputable business?

Here are some questions to ask the screening company:

• Do you follow Federal Credit Reporting Act and applicable state and federal laws?

• Will you provide guidance about the proper use of the screening information?

• Will you provide the proper forms and seek the required permission from job applicants?

• How will you investigate any inaccurate information or handle a complaint by a job applicant?

Due to the complexity of human resources issues, legal requirements, time needed to process payroll and the tax reporting requirements for employers, many small businesses choose to use an employee leasing agency, payroll processing company or temporary employment agency to handle hiring, background checks, payroll processing and tax reporting.

Hiring good employees is worth the effort to do some form of background check, even if you just call references and previous employers.

(Arlene M. Soto is the director of the Southwestern Business Development Center. To ask a question call 541-756-6445, e-mail asoto@socc.edu, or write 2455 Maple Leaf, North Bend, OR 97459. For more information, visit www.bizcenter.org.)

Posted March 9th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

Some Cool Safety FAQ’s

Regarding your injured workers…here are some things you might not know…

What happens if an injury is not reported immediately?

1. It raises significant questions in claim administrators’ minds as to the legitimacy of a workers comp claim.
2. It deters CBR’s ability to help the injured employee to the most beneficial degree.
3. The claim is far more likely to be litigated, thus increasing the cost of the claim dramatically.

Injuries should be reported immediately to CBR, even if it doesn’t appear medical treatment is necessary.  If medical treatment is not required, the claim will not be reported to ICA.

May an injured worker return to work if the doctor has not released him?
It is probably not in the employee’s or the company’s best interest.  However, contact CBR’s Injury Counselor (602-200-8500 x2045) to discuss the details and determine the best course of action.

What happens if an injured worker is assigned modified duty and refuses?
Contact CBR’s Injury Counselor (602-200-8500 x2045) immediately.  A bona fide job offer will be sent via certified mail to the employee.  Failure to comply will render the employee ineligible for compensation of lost wages.  (Delay in notifying CBR of an employee’s non-compliance could result in significant negative consequences to your company’s workers comp rates.)

What happens if an injured worker is assigned modified duty and the employer does not accommodate?
The employer risks a significant increase in workers comp rates over the next 4 years.  Be sure to read “Workers Comp Class Codes, Policies and Rates” FAQ’s below.

May I terminate an employee who is injured on the job?
It is not in the employer’s best interest to terminate a worker with an open workers comp claim.  Once the employee is terminated, the employer has no control over whether or not the worker returns to work, thus the worker may conceivably sit home collecting compensation indefinitely (causing workers comp rates to sky rocket).  As the employer at the time of the incident, you are liable for compensation of lost wages until the worker is released to full duty or begins working again.

Posted March 4th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

The “he-session” not the Recession

Look at this interesting story I found on BLR.com…seems a little controversial to me???????

The recession has been difficult for most Americans. But has it affected men more than women? Recent statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) suggest so. Recently released statistics from BLS show that 78 percent of jobs lost during the recession were held by men, and women’s wages have risen by 1.2 percent more than men’s over the past 2 years.

I don’t know if you can say to any degree of certainty that either gender has done better or worse than the other during the recession, but in my opinion women have adapted better than men.

Why might that be? There are a number of inherent qualities that may make women better suited to handle the challenges of the recession:

1. Women are used to stress

First, many women, regardless of industry, work in "boys club"-type environments. They are used to dealing with the added stress that comes with feeling as though they have to constantly be working at a higher level than the men at their organizations. Second, women are used to multitasking. They know that, often, others measure the success of women based on how well they juggle their work and home lives.

2. Women are not defined solely by their jobs
 
Men tend to measure their self-worth by how much money they are making, their ability to provide for their families, and their position at work. Women, however, tend to define themselves by their relationships inside and outside work. Because of this, women aren’t taking as big a hit to the ego as men, and that is helping women to keep their heads up during the recession.

3. Women build strong support networks

Throughout history, women have had to unite in order to gain equal footing with men both inside and outside the workplace. Women have well-organized associations and other groups because we have to. It provides the strength in numbers we need to ensure we keep making progress toward complete equality. These groups have been very beneficial in the recession because women know exactly where to go for advice and information.

4. Women are wired to do business by "relationship"

Because women tend to be more empathetic than men, building strong relationships often comes easier to them. They can tap into a caring nature more easily than most men, which helps them relate to business partners, clients, and employees who are struggling during this recession. Relationships are key right now.

5. Women are not afraid to tighten their belts

For companies, the recession means reduced spending, and that can sometimes translate to pay cuts and benefit cuts for employees—practices that tend to affect men more negatively (at least in an emotional sense) than women.

6. Women lead by consensus
Where men might take on an "every man for himself" mentality during the recession, women will use their ability to lead by consensus to provide value to their organizations. They involve their people in finding ways to cut costs, constantly remind them that they are important—a necessity when companies cannot offer raises or other rewards—and, in general, just try to be part of the solution.

7. Women are not afraid to seek out advice

It might be a stereotype, but the idea that men won’t stop to ask for directions when they are lost seems to hold true during a recession. Women simply seem more willing to seek out advice during economic hard times. Women are collaborative. They are more willing to take a let’s-get-through-this-together mentality. They don’t look at needing help as a sign of weakness.

8. Women know how to build the bench

Women know that investing in their employees or direct reports does not mean paying them more or promising big bonuses in the future. It means giving them the support they need, helping them find pride in their work, and giving them positive feedback and encouragement. All of these elements come together to help women build a strong bench—a team that is motivated to get the job done even when it takes more work for less reward.

Bottom line: Women make great leaders. And that is really shining through during the recession.

Posted February 26th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments

What you dont know can hurt you!

I recently found these three news stories where companies had to deal with government agencies because they made detrimental mistakes when it came to their employees and hiring practices.

Don’t let any of this happen to you…

"Employers may face more scrutiny over pay practices in 2010, thanks to a new report claiming that wage-and-hour violations are running rampant in the workplace."

"Starting this month, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") is commencing a National Research Project to collect information on employment tax compliance issues."

WSJ.COM, WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has spent her first few months in office focusing on handing out $46 billion in stimulus money. Now, her department is adding staff and signaling it will soon begin putting in practice the more assertive regulation of business she promised early in her tenure. Ms. Solis has begun hiring 670 new investigators to enforce labor regulations

There will be 150 investigators added in the Wage and Hour division to enforce wage rules and child-labor laws. Another 100 staff will be added to ensure contractors on stimulus projects are in compliance with applicable laws. The additions will boost the division’s staff by more than one-third.

The Employee Benefits Security Administration, which helps to regulate private retirement, health and other benefit plans covering 150 million Americans, is adding 75 staffers to conduct nearly 600 more criminal and civil investigations.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently formed a task force to design an enforcement program for severe violators. OSHA will conduct an intensive examination of an employer’s inspection history and any systematic problems would trigger additional, mandatory inspections.

"Employers, especially smaller ones, are really looking for help in terms of understanding the requirements and making sure they’re doing things right," said Marc Freedman, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s executive director of labor law policy. Instead, the department’s "rhetoric" on workplace safety "seems to be heavy-handed enforcement and generation of more regulations," he said. Mr. Obama’s nominee to head OSHA, David Michaels, is an epidemiologist and research professor at George Washington University known for studies on the health effects of occupational exposure to toxic chemicals.

According to azcentral.com

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office arrested nine employees of a Scottsdale Mexican restaurant Friday on suspicion of identity theft and forgery.

Sheriff’s officers executed a search warrant at Arriba Mexican Grill, 15236 N. Pima Road, following a one-year investigation into suspected immigration-related violations.

Nine employees, including the store manager who was found hiding in the bathroom, were booked into jail at 11 a.m., Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.

The Sheriff’s Office has been investigating the restaurant for more than a year after a former employee tipped the office, Arpaio said. The former employee told investigators that several employees admitted to living and working in the state illegally.

According to HLR.com

McLane Co., Inc., has agreed to pay $1,559,316 in back wages to 570 current and former retail merchandising specialists after the Department of Labor accused the company of misclassifying the workers as exempt employees.

The Department of Labor said that McLane Co., a wholesale distributor of food and grocery products, erroneously regarded retail merchandising specialists as outside sales employees exempt from FLSA coverage. The department also accused the company of failing to keep records of hours worked.

The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $5.85 an hour for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 per week, unless otherwise exempt. The minimum wage will increase to $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008, and to $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009. Under the law, employers also must maintain accurate time and payroll records.

According to BLR.com

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published a proposed rule addressing the “reasonable factors other than age” (RFOA) defense under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

The agency is soliciting comments from the public by Monday, April 19, 2010.

The proposed rule follows a March 31, 2008, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on disparate impact under the ADEA. In addition to requesting comments on its substance, the prior NPRM asked whether the EEOC should provide more information on the meaning of the RFOA defense. Most commenter’s supported addressing the issue and, accordingly, the EEOC is publishing a new NPRM on RFOA. The NPRM has been coordinated with other federal agencies and reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.

The proposed rule explains that the RFOA defense applies only if the challenged practice is not based on age and that a neutral practice that disproportionately affects older workers can be justified only by showing that the practice is objectively reasonable when viewed from the perspective of a reasonable employer under like circumstances. The proposed rule sets forth non-exhaustive lists of factors relevant to determining whether a factor is “reasonable” and “other than age.”

What if this had been you??? What if you had never known these laws? Your company could be ruined forever. Using a PEO is much more vital than you think. Let us do all of the messy work for you…so you never have to get involved in the first place…

Posted February 23rd, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Uncategorized | | 1 Comments

The Present State of the 401-K

A few new findings that you should know: 

Audit Programs:

A 401k audit is most likely going to become part of your future this year.  A recent United States Supreme Court ruling has paved the way for retirement plan participants to sue the sponsors of retirement plans for losses incurred if any fiduciary misconduct or mismanagement can be shown.  In order for companies to protect themselves from such litigation, a 401K audit  is going to have to be carried out, and the estimated cost of such audits are running about $15,000.  This is a considerable expense, but the risk of a lawsuit could be so much greater.  Can you afford that risk???

The best way to avoid exposure is to discuss with CBR the advantage of shifting the risk and liability for your 401K over to CBR and completely removing yourself from the risk of getting sued.  How is this possible? It is possible through the Multiple Employer Plan, or MEP.  The MEP allows many employers to have their own plan, administered by CBR without the risks.  The CBR MEP has features that protect our client companies from traditional fiduciary and plan trustee liabilities.  If your current 401(K) plan is out of compliance, employees are able to pierce the corporate veil and go after the personal assets of the plan sponsor-usually the business owner. 

I also saw this recent survey from BLR.com:

"A survey of compensation and HR professionals indicates that 80% of employers have maintained their matching contributions to employee 401(k) plans throughout the recession. What’s more, of the organizations that suspended their match, half say they will consider reinstating it this year. "

Posted February 8th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in 2009 Money-Saving Strategies, Wages | | 3 Comments

To Pay or Not to Pay

Courtesy of Pat DiDomenico at Business Management Daily

Last month’s news that AT&T is facing a $1 billion (with a B!) class-action lawsuit over wage-and-hour mistakes put a jolt into U.S. employers of all sizes. That came on the heels of word that the U.S. Department of Labor dramatically beefed up its enforcement division. If this doesn’t scare you, it should.

Which pay-related mistakes are you making?

• Employees wrongly classified as exempt from overtime?
• Hourly employees paid incorrectly (or not at all) for their travel time?
• Failing to retain payroll records for the right amount of time (3 years, right?)?
• You closed the shop when the blizzard hit – do you have to pay the staff?
• Violating – or being unaware of – the “rounding law”?

All it takes is one employee filing one complaint to get the class-action snowball rolling downhill. Wal-Mart paid $640 million; IBM coughed up $65 million; Siebel forked over $27 million. Amazon is facing a huge lawsuit for allegedly violating the rounding law.
 

 Something to think about….

Posted January 27th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in 2009 Money-Saving Strategies, Human Resources | | 0 Comments

How to Conduct Layoffs in a Down Economy

Posted January 6th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

The difference between hiring and recruiting

From my favorite marketing blogger Seth Godin http://sethgodin.typepad.com/

Posted January 4th, 2010 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments

How PEO’s can help with rising healthcare costs

In this weeks NAPEO newsletter I read an interesting article about the rising healthcare costs among businesses this year. But instead of going into the usual story of the state of our healthcare today, the article provides a sense of relief. "There are still creative ways in which employers can control and reduce group insurance costs." Through the use of a PEO (Professional Employer Organization), your employees and business have access to all of the benefits of a larger business through the co-employment relationship. The arrangement also offers access to areas such as HR, payroll, compliance, workers compensation and risk management, and 401-k administration.

When a smaller company enters into this co-employment relationship you employees get  pooled in with the PEO’s large group plan and therefore one has access to better rates and options. "Additional savings may be realized through increased purchasing power for liability insurance as well as other benefits including: Flexible Spending Accounts, COBRA administration, Employment Practice Liability Insurance, Employee Assistance Programs, Wellness Programs, ans use of binding arbitration to resolve employee related suits. "

In addition, with a PEO a company has access to HR Management Practices that they would not have without a PEO. These include, enhancement of management practices (including better health insurance), and pre-employment drug testing. All of these best practices make it easier to attract top talent.

To sum up this article, they make the recommendation that you take your time and choose a PEO wisely, based on years of experience, its location, and the offerings that it has to make your business more efficient. Stop waisting time with administrative tasks and get back to growing your business.

Posted December 9th, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Health, Human Resources | | 0 Comments

Dont get “hit” with this lawsuit.

An article released by BLR.com

Starbucks recently paid a reported $3 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging its travel expense policy violated state wage and hour laws. The majority of the workers claimed they regularly used their personal vehicles to perform work-related duties but were allegedly told that Starbucks had a policy of not reimbursing for mileage. This settlement proved to be a costly lesson for the Seattle-based coffee purveyor - and a wake-up call for employers everywhere.

Travel-related expenses aren’t the only hot-button issue these days. New York-based fashion retailer Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. recently paid $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it required workers to wear clothes with distinctive designs without reimbursing them for what they claimed constituted uniforms. Also, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter earlier this year on whether an employee would have to pay out-of-pocket to replace a uniform damaged while he was off the clock.

It’s real-life issues like these that come up time and again for employers grappling to understand whether they’re in compliance with the laws governing reimbursements.

Posted December 2nd, 2009 by Jessica Spinks - Posted in Human Resources | | 0 Comments