Key deliverables in ACA implementation
As the slow march continues to implement the ACA, we should all be reminded that there are key deliverables for clients and their advisers to focus on. But while focused on the ACA, let’s not forget that there are additional bills being implemented or introduced — not just at the federal level — that impact a business in how it pays its employees, how their jobs are classified, and how an employer may consider managing its workforce.
With respect to the ACA, the recently delivered 1094 and 1095 tax reports require attention now be directed at preparing for the 2016 reporting year. Specifically, clients and advisers should:
- clean up data sources so the process is efficient and forms are accurate this upcoming year;
- address evolving rules / requirements for reporting and be sure the client is ready;
- advisers and clients should be prepared to deliver within the timeframes communicated, while clients should not assume that filing extensions will be available this upcoming year.
Other legislation
Also, as a client focuses on the ACA, they should direct their attention to the new rules related to white collar exemption status under the Fair Labor Standards Act wage and overtime rules, assuming it applies to them. For some clients this may represent a significant adjustment in how they classify an employee including a review of benefit eligibility for any re-classifications, write a job description, pay or compensate an employee, and manage their workforce. For most employers these rules apply starting this upcoming Dec. 1, 2016.
In some states and cities, bills addressing mandatory paid leave policies are continuing to be introduced and passed to compensate employees for time away. Not all states are focused on this. At the federal level, proposed bills have been considered and are currently in committees but are stalled. It is clear the trend to introduce and put these rules and regulations into place is growing. It would be prudent to monitor the situation.
Lastly, clients will still require advice and guidance on how to manage their employee benefit costs to a budget and to have a plan that attracts and retains employees while remaining cost competitive in a competitive marketplace.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Braun, P. (2016 October 25). Key deliverables in ACA implementation. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/key-deliverables-in-aca-implementation
Bring out the appetizers Karie!
This month, we are bringing you some food favorites of our own Karie Waddell Gallo!
Karie joined Saxon Financial Consulting in April of 2003 as our Office Manager. Karie is now our Director of Individual Insurance and Medicare Benefits.
When it comes to eating out, her favorite spot is the Wild Ginger Asian Bistro here in Cincinnati. "Their Crispy Pad Thai is soooo delicious. Because I am not a 'spicy' food lover, they allow you to customize your level of spice. This makes it perfect for each individual. The sushi is quite good also. Lots of variety to choose from."
"When we have a “Dine In” night we usually invite family over for “Appetizer Night”. Our favorites include: Buffalo Chicken Dip, Hanky Panky, Boneless wings and our All-time Favorite “Go to” Dish: Swiss Cheese Bacon Dip. It is best served warm and gooey. We prefer Town House Crackers for dipping."
Here's what you'll need:
- 8oz of whipped cream cheese
- 1/2 cup of mayo
- 2oz of chopped green onion
- 1 1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
- 1 pack real bacon bits
Here's how Karie does it:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix cream cheese, mayo, green onion, and swiss cheese together in a flat cooking dish.
- Sprinkle the bacon bits over the top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.
With a great appetizer, who needs a main course? This looks yummy Karie!
For Jamie, Chili Time Is Family (and Football) Time
This month, we are bringing you some food favorites of our own Jamie Charlton!
Jamie is the founding partner and CEO of Saxon Financial Services. He graduated from the University of Michigan in '98 and has been in the Financial Services industry ever since. Did we mention he's a Wolverines fan?
When it comes to eating out with the family, The Silver Springhouse is the place to go. "If we have kids, it is an easy decision as we are usually coming from a ball field or a gym. We like it because the atmosphere is fantastic, especially in the summer time, allowing for a relaxing place to take the whole family. We really don’t have a favorite dish because we like chicken and you have a hard time getting bad chicken at the Springhouse, thus we like most everything!"
At home, he enjoys making big family meals and his Homemade Texas Chili pairs perfectly with fall weather and football season! "It is a great family activity because the kids each have a task. As it cooks, we head out to rake the leaves and just as the Michigan game is about to start we all come in, grab a bowl to warm up and have a great time cheering the Wolverines to victory!"
For the recipe, Jamie doesn't really measure and ultimately it's all up to his taste buds, but below you'll find the recipe for his Homemade Texas Chili. The amounts of each ingredient are really up to you!
Here's what you'll need:
- 1lb ground beef
- 1lb spicy sausage
- diced onion
- a few cloves of chopped garlic
- 2 cans of red kidney beans
- 2 cans of red chili beans
- 2 cans of stewed tomatoes
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 1 chopped bell pepper
- a container of mushrooms
- 1/2 a jalapeno
- 1 1/2 cup of chili powder
- 2 tablespoons ancho chili pepper
- Frank's Red Hot Sauce
- yellow mustard
- brown sugar
- Worchestshire Sauce
Here's how Jamie does it:
- Brown 1lb of ground beef and 1lb of spicy sausage - you can pick the spice level - at the same time, make sure to include a diced onion and a few cloves of garlic. (Stirring the meat while browning is a great task for a child).
- Once the meat is browned, everybody else jumps into the pool! Add 2 cans of red kidney beans, 2 cans of red chili beans, 2 cans of dark red kidney beans, 2 cans of stewed tomatoes, and 1 can of diced tomatoes. (The kids love to open the cans with an old fashion can opener).
- Add 1 chopped bell pepper (I use red because it blends in and the kids don't see it), a container of mushrooms, and 1/2 a jalapeno. (Chopping is a great activity for an older child).
- Now is the time where measuring goes out the window and cooking to taste begins!
- Add a 1 1/2 cup of chili powder, 2 table spoons of ancho chili pepper, 5-10 dashes of Frank's Red Hot Sauce, a long squeeze of yellow mustard, a handful of brown sugar, 5-10 dashes of Worchestshire Sauce.
- The best part is to taste as it cooks and adjust your flavor accordingly. Add more chili powder for spicy, sugar for sweet.
- Last step - get a bowl of chili, top with cheddar cheese, sour cream and get a bag of Frito Scoops instead of a spoon and enjoy the game!
- For adults, a nice red wine or lager complete the meal!
Can we have game day at your house, Jamie? Sounds like there's good food and good times to go around!
Executive order forces DOL to enact final rule on paid sick leave
Interesting read about the new DOL final rule from Employee Benefit Adviser, by Leanne Mehrman
The U.S. Department of Labor acted on President Obama’s Executive Order 13706 (EO) and released a final rule implementing the requirements for federal contractors and subcontractors to provide employees with paid sick leave. Specifically, contractors must provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked on or in connection with a covered contract, for at least 56 hours per year, and subject to certain limitations. The requirements will take effect for covered contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2017.
An employee may use the leave for his or her own physical or mental illness, injury, medical condition, treatment or diagnosis as well as that of any person with whom the employee has a significant personal bond that is or is like a family relationship, regardless of biological or legal relationship. This includes such relationships as grandparent and grandchild, brother- and sister-in-law, fiancé and fiancée, cousin, aunt, and uncle. It could also include others with whom the employee has a family-like relationship such as a foster child or foster parent, a friend of a family, or even an elderly neighbor in certain circumstances.
An employee may also use the leave for absences from work resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, if the leave is for the reasons described above or to obtain additional counseling, seek relocation, seek assistance from a victim services organization or to take related legal action. The leave for domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking is available for the employee and for the employee to assist a related individual as described above.
Covered contracts: The EO and Final Rule apply to contracts and contract-like instruments (which will be defined in DOL regulations) if the contract is:
- a procurement contract for services or construction;
- a contract for services covered by the Service Contract Act (SCA);
- a contract for concessions, including any concessions contract excluded by DOL regulations at 29 CFR 4.133(b); or
- a contract or contract-like instrument entered into with the federal government in connection with federal property or lands and related to offering services for federal employees, their dependents, or the general public; and
The wages of employees under these contracts are covered by the Davis Bacon Act (DBA), the SCA or the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including employees who are exempt from the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime provisions.
For contracts covered by the SCA or DBA, the EO and Final Rule apply only to contracts at the thresholds specified by those statutes. For procurement contracts in which employees' wages are covered by the FLSA, the EO and Final Rule apply only to contracts that exceed the micro-purchase threshold as defined in 41 U.S.C. 1902(a), unless expressly made subject to this order pursuant to DOL regulations.
Highlights of the final rule requirements include:
- Accrued sick leave must be carried over from year to year;
- Contractors must reinstate accrued sick leave for employees rehired by a covered contractor within 12 months after job separation;
- Contractors are not required to pay a separating employee for unused sick leave upon separation;
- Contractors must inform an employee, in writing, of the amount of paid sick leave accrued but not used no less than once each pay period or each month, whichever is shorter;
- Contractors cannot require the employee to find a replacement worker as a condition for using the paid sick leave;
- Contractors covered by the SCA or DBA will not receive credit toward their prevailing wage or fringe benefit obligations under these acts by providing the paid sick leave required by the EO;
- A contractor's existing paid sick leave policy provided in addition to the fulfillment of the SCA or DBA requirements, which is made available to all employees, fulfills the requirements of the EO and Final Rule if it permits employees to take at least the same amount of leave as provided by the EO for the same reasons;
- Employees must provide written or verbal notice of the need for leave at least seven days in advance if the leave is foreseeable and as soon as practicable when the need for the leave is not foreseeable;
- A contractor may only require certification of the need for the leave for absences of three or more consecutive days, but only if the employee received notice of the requirement to provide certification or documentation before returning to work;
- A contractor’s existing PTO policy can fulfill the paid sick leave requirements of the EO as long as it provides employees with at least the same rights and benefits that the Final Rule requires if the employee chooses to use that PTO for the purposes covered by the EO;
- Contractors may not interfere with or retaliate against employees taking or attempting to take leave or otherwise asserting rights under the EO;
- Contractors must still comply with federal, state or local laws or collective bargaining agreement provisions that require greater paid sick leave than required by the EO.
SCA health and welfare benefit rate to be adjusted: The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will be announcing an SCA health and welfare benefit rate specifically for federal contractors whose employees receive paid leave pursuant to the EO and Final Rule. This rate is expected to be lower than it would be without consideration of the provision of this paid sick leave.
Recordkeeping requirements: Contractors will be required to make and maintain records for purposes of the EO and Final Rule, including:
- Copies of notifications to employees of the amount of paid sick leave accrued;
- Denials of employees’ requests to use paid sick leave;
- Dates and amounts of paid sick leave employees use; and
- Other records showing the tracking of employees’ accrual and use of paid sick leave.
As with other leave laws, federal contractors must also keep employees’ medical records, as well as records relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, separate from other records and confidential.
Employers’ bottom line
Federal contractors who anticipate entering into contracts that will be subject to Executive Order 13706 should do the following: First, review any current PTO/sick leave policy to determine if any revisions may be needed to bring it into compliance with the EO and Final Rule. Second, review the current payroll system to ensure that it has the capabilities to track the amount of paid time off accrued and taken, and timely advise employees. And finally, become familiar with the specific and detailed requirements contained in the Final Rule to ensure compliance upon entry into the first covered contract.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Mehrman, L. (2016 October 6). Executive order forces DOL to enact final rule on paid sick leave. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/executive-order-forces-dol-to-enact-final-rule-on-paid-sick-leave
New EEOC pay reporting rule issued: 3 things you need to know
Check out some new EEOC rules from HR Morning, by Christian Schappel
It’s official: Employers will have more reporting duties moving forward. Here’s everything you need to know about the EEOC’s new final rule.
As expected, the agency just released its final rule updating the EEO-1 reporting requirements employers have to abide by.
For the most part, the final rule mirrors the proposed rule we got our hands on earlier this summer.
The rule requires certain employers to submit a summary of employees’ pay to the EEOC in addition to the gender, race and ethnicity reporting many employers are already accustomed to.
Beginning in 2018, employers will be required to report aggregate W-2 wages and hours worked in 12 pay bands for each of the 10 EEO-1 job categories and 14 gender, race and ethnicity categories. The EEOC issued a new sample EEO-1 form to help employers prepare for the new rule.
Three key components of the rule employers need to know:
Who will (and won’t) report pay data?
- Private employers and federal contractors with 100 or more employees will have to report the summary pay data on the new EEO-1 form.
- Federal contractors and subcontractors with between 50 and 99 employees will not report summary pay data, but they will tally employees by job category and then by sex and ethnicity or race, as they did before and report that information.
- Federal contractors and subcontractors with fewer than 50 employees will not file EEO-1 reports.
- Private employers with 99 or fewer employees will not file EEO-1 reports.
When is the first pay data due?
- The new EEO-1 report will be due for the first time on March 31, 2018, and it’ll be due every March 31 thereafter.
- This year’s reporting requirements have not changed, however. Those required to submit an EEO-1 report must still submit their 2016 reports by Sept. 30, 2016.
- Employers will then have 18 months between the 2016 and 2017 EEO-1 deadlines — from September 30, 2016 until March 31, 2018 — to comply with the new reporting requirements.
How will the new pay data be reported?
- Employers with 100 or more employees must first categorize employees by EEO-1 job category. The 10 categories are:
- (1) Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers;
(2) First/Mid Level Officials and Managers;
(3) Professionals;
(4) Technicians;
(5) Sales Workers;
(6) Administrative Support Workers;
(7) Craft Workers;
(8) Operatives;
(9) Laborers and Helpers; and
(10) Service Workers.
- (1) Executive/Senior Level Officials and Managers;
- Then, they will categorize employees by sex, and ethnicity or race. These first two steps mirror the current EEO-1 reporting procedures.
- Next, employers will categorize employees by pay bands. The 12 pay bands added to the EEO-1 form are:
- (1) $19,239 and under;
(2) $19,240 – $24,439;
(3) $24,440 – $30,679;
(4) $30,680 – $38,999;
(5) $39,000 – $49,919;
(6) $49,920 – $62,919;
(7) $62,920 – $80,079;
(8) $80,080 – $101,919;
(9) $101,920 – $128,959;
(10) $128,960 – $163,799;
(11) $163,800 – $207,999; and
(12) $208,000 and over.
- (1) $19,239 and under;
- Employers will tally the number of employees in each pay band by sex, and ethnicity or race. For example, an employer might report 23 Sales Workers who are non-Hispanic, white women in pay band (4) $30,680 – $38,999.
- The rule changes the “workforce snapshot” to a pay period between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. The current snapshot period is July 1 through Sept. 30. The EEO-1 report due March 31, 2018 will be the first to use the Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 snapshot period.
- Report income provided in Box 1 of Form W-2.
- Employers will report the total number of hours worked that year by the employees in each pay band. For example, an employer reports the total number of hours worked by 23 Sales Workers who are non-Hispanic white women in pay band (4). (Note: The new EEO-1 gives employers a choice for how to count hours worked for employees who are exempt employees under the FLSA. An employer may either use 40 hours per week for full-time employees and 20 hours per week for part-time employees or, if it chooses, report the number of hours the employees actually worked.)
- Under no circumstances should employers report individual pay or salaries or any personally identifiable information.
The EEOC says the new data will help it improve investigations into pay discrimination. The goal is to close the wage gap and better equalize pay among different age, gender and ethnic/racial groups.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Schappel, C. (2016 September 30). New EEOC pay reporting rule issued: 3 things you need to know. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.hrmorning.com/eeoc-new-pay-reporting-rule-need-to-know/
Travel is millennials’ work incentive
Do you know what millennials are looking for in the workplace? Travel and flexibility are among the top 2 as mentioned in the article below by Marlenen Y. Satter.
Original Article Posted on BenefitsPro.com
Posted: October 7, 2016
Millennials have itchy feet.
In fact, their desire to see faraway places is their main reason to work — after, of course, paying basic necessities. According to FlexJobs survey, a hefty 70 percent of millennials say their “overwhelming desire to travel” is their main motivation on the job — that’s just a tad less than the 88 percent who cite that basic motivator: necessities.
Gen X respondents are fond of travel too, but not as much as millennials; 60 percent ranked it as the fourth most important reason for working. And boomers are apparently settling down; just 47 percent ranked travel as fifth in importance.
Not only are millennials wanderers, they want flexibility — up to a point. Freelance work seems to be going farther than they’d like (particularly since at least some of that “flexibility” is really out of a freelancer’s control and in the hands of clients).
Although millennials tend to be more associated with freelance work than other generations, only 42 percent of millennials are open to freelancing as a flexible work arrangement.
Gen Xers actually view freelance work more favorably than millennials, with 47 percent willing to consider it. Forty-four percent of boomers also expressed interest in freelancing.
Flexibility, on the other hand, is important enough to millennials that 82 percent say it’s a factor in evaluating a potential job, and 34 percent have actually left a job because it did not have work flexibility. In addition, 82 percent say they’d be more loyal to an employer if they had flexible work options.
Yet, although they’re the ones most interested in flexibility, millennials are also the generation most required to be at the office to work than older generations: 34 percent, compared with Gen Xers at 26 percent and boomers at 19 percent. Their work schedule — part of that flexibility — is also important to more millennials (65 percent) than it is to Gen Xers (57 percent) or to boomers (62 percent).
Interestingly, though, none of the generations regard the office during traditional working hours as their location of choice for optimum productivity.
See the Original Article Here.
Source:
Satter, M.Y. (2016, October 7) Travel is millennials' work incentive [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.benefitspro.com/2016/10/07/travel-is-millennials-work-incentive?ref=hp-top-stories
Congress moves to push back effective date of new OT rules
Interesting article from HRMorning.com, by Tim Gould. It states that the effective date for new overtime rules could be pushed back from December 2017 to June 2017. This is significant for employers and employees alike, as they might be able to wait essentially another year for the law to pass. It will be beneficial for employers for the law to go into effect in June rather than December.
The efforts to push back the deadline for the new OT rules gained some more momentum this week, as Congress moved to enact a new law to extend the effective date to early next summer.
The House of Representatives passed the Regulatory Relief for Small Businesses, Schools and Nonprofits Act (H.R. 6094) on Sept. 27. The law would move the effective date of the new OT rules from Dec. 1 to June 1, 2017.
A similar measure was introduced in the Senate by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK).
Lankford and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), lead sponsor of the House bill, are hoping the legislation will encourage the administration to delay the rule on its own, according to TheHill.com.
The legislative moves come on the heels of two lawsuits filed earlier in the week.
Twenty-one states joined in a federal lawsuit that charges the Obama administration with overstepping its authority in rewriting the rules, which raise the overtime salary threshold from $23, 600 to $47,500 per year. The suit claims the change will place an undue burden on state budgets.
Just hours after the states’ suit was filed, a similar suit was filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups. Both lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
There’s no telling what might happen in the two Texas cases, but it’s highly unlikely the Congressional proposal will pass. President Obama has promised to veto the legislation.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Gould, T. (2016 September 30) Congress moves to push back effective date of new OT rules. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.hrmorning.com/congress-moves-to-push-back-effective-date-of-new-ot-rules/
How to Hire Accountable People
Here's a good read from The Society for Human Resource Management by Bruce Weinstein
Accountable employees keep their promises, consider the consequences of their actions, take responsibility for their mistakes, and make amends for those mistakes.
The following questions may help you discern a job candidate’s level of accountability.
Describe a situation in which you took responsibility for a mistake you made. What were the consequences to you for doing so?
Brad, a mailroom worker at a large pharmaceutical company, threatened a coworker. He initially denied what he had done but eventually admitted it and added that he hadn’t intended to follow through with the threat. Geri was the HR director at the company. She believed in Brad and rebuffed efforts to have him fired.
Brad agreed to take an anger management course and went on to become Employee of the Month. In Geri’s telling of the story, Brad’s hardscrabble background made owning up to his mistake especially challenging. But he did it, and that’s why Brad is one of the Good Ones—high-character employees who consistently deliver superior results.
For doing right by an employee, Geri is a Good One too!
Have you ever taken responsibility for a mistake that a member of your team made?
One of the people I interviewed forThe Good Ones: Ten Crucial Qualities of High-Character Employees, told me that his boss Harvey took the heat for a mistake that a direct report had made that cost the company a lot of money and aggravation. The magnitude of the problem was so severe that Harvey submitted his resignation to his own boss, Suresh, but Suresh wouldn’t accept it. In fact, he promoted Harvey for doing something that not enough managers do: accept responsibility for something that occurred on their watch.
Walk me through a typical working day.
Asking a job applicant to provide details of a working day is an attempt to discover the person’s work/life balance. The point is to get the applicant’s assessment of how work fits in with his or her life. People with a strong work ethic are accountable people, because they keep their promises to their employers to do their jobs well. They’re neither lazy people nor workaholics.
“But this question is too personal to ask, even if it’s legal to do so,” one might object. Yes, it’s personal, but in an entirely appropriate way. The interviewer is trying to get a fuller sense of the person before him or her. What role does work play in the job candidate’s life? How much does he or she value having a rich and varied personal life? Asking about the candidate’s sex life or religious views are out of bounds; inquiring about work/life balance is not.
This is the second in a series of blog posts on how to hire high-character people. The first one was How to Hire Honest People. Next time, we’ll look at what it means to be a caring person and how to evaluate this quality in job applicants.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Weinstein, B. (2016 September 23). How to hire accountable people. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://blog.shrm.org/blog/how-to-hire-accountable-people
Employee Recognition: Picking Up the Pieces
Here's an interesting article from The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) by David Kovacovich
As I enter my tenth year in the Human Capital Management space, I figured it would be beneficial to my readers to reflect on how our industry has (and has not) evolved over the last decade's time.
* The following scenarios are built on real life business engagements. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Case Study #1: A Story of Manipulation
Employee A (Let's call him Carl) had worked for Company X (let's call it Pied Piper) for a calendar year. After 3 failed endeavors at Bay Area start ups, Carl was looking for something more stable. He had a single motivating factor: MONEY!
Work at a Large Corporate Technology firm was different than the start-up world: Bureaucracy was thick, rule structure was more intense and cashing out was trumped by climbing the ladder. So how could he climb the ladder?
Achieving sales results did not come as easily in an Enterprise role at a large company and Carl struggled in this first year. The results weren't there so he needed another tool to help get him promoted. Then it hit him like a lightening bolt..... his company had announced the end of the annual performance review process to be replaced with a high touch performance management system (even large corporations cannot refute common sense). The performance management process was positioned as a pro-active measure to build the internal talent pool.
Carl's bargaining chip? Employee Recognition would be leveraged as part of the Performance Management system. Carl's job was simple, he sent an email to roughly 100 colleagues asking them to participate in an experiment (he even went-so-far as to title his email "An Experiment In Human Compassion"). Carl asked each of his colleagues to send him a recognition through their peer to peer system. He offered to return the gesture. Carl was a fun guy at happy hour so getting his peers to buy-in was no problem. Within a week, Carl shot to the top of Recognition Leaderboard. This flagged him as an 'up and comer' in the system and garnered him an opportunity to apply for a Management position.
Carl was promoted to Management, 8 employees left under his reign and he was fired less than a year later.
The company lost great performers and the recognition program was tarnished.
What's worse? The company was sued by an employee who was passed over for promotion sighting leadership development as a popularity contest. (Carl's "Human Compassion" email was submitted into evidence).
Lesson Learned: Using Recognition as a Performance Lever is Dangerous Business!
Case Study #2: A Shattered Cookie Cutter
The message was simple, "we need to cut costs so any programs that are not mission-critical are to be discontinued". The CEO was very clear in her directives so the formal recognition program was removed. This program had operated with over 90% adoption for nearly 10 years (CRM adoption hovered at about 38%).
With the program removed a caveat was dangled. Keeping our employees engaged is job one so we are reconstructing programs that will streamline appreciation:
1. Employees would go to dinner with their supervisor if they qualified as a top quarterly achiever.
2. Employees who hit a tenure milestone would receive a letter from the CEO and a gift card.
When Employee A (let's call her Nancy) hit her 20 year anniversary with the company, she received a form letter from the CEO and a $250 gift card. She tested the signature on the letter but it did not smudge. Then she pulled out her i-phone to use the calculator.
$1.73 a month. That's what her contribution to the organization was worth.
She flipped over the form letter, wrote two words on the back, grabbed a picture of her kids from her desk and headed out the door.....
I QUIT
Lesson Learned: No Recognition is Better than Thoughtless Recognition!
Case Study #3: Leadership Jumps on the Manipulation Train
The VP of HR sent out the annual employee survey at the tail end of the 7 paragraph diatribe. The message offered a proverbial laundry list of all of the "perks and benefits" of working at Company X. Benefits packages, non-guaranteed pay increases, company functions and education aid were all mentioned as the things that made Company X a "Great Place to Work". Mr. HR Guy included a mention of half day Fridays during the summer months if the company hit their revenue goal.
Filling out the survey was mandatory. Managers received bonuses for "5" rating across the board and were regulated for examination if any of their team dipped below last year's survey results.
The survey structure was based on the following:
1. Make the Great Place to Work list and Senior Managers receive a bonus.
2. Managers who average a "5" receive a bonus.
3. Managers whose average scores wavered were consulted by HR as to what to do to ensure employees "no longer seemed discontent".
The leader of the Human Engagement process allowed his greed to override a prime opportunity to receive feedback from the trenches. He did not receive his bonus.
Managers were subjected to adversarial relationships with employees: meeting with each of them to guess who used what comment to berate them while urging employees to keep their comments in-house.
The results of the survey were skewed. Employees who wished to stay in their managers good graces "marked 5 to survive". Those who saw through the hypocrisy of the exercise gave lower scores than they otherwise would have to mock Leadership's misunderstanding of workforce engagement!
Lesson Learned: Surveys Are an Opportunity to Identify Areas of Improvement not a Meter for Compensation!
The Recognition industry was built by fulfillment houses whose strengths lie in purchasing & distribution. Times have caught up with them. It's 2016 and systems of feedback and leadership development are far more important to today's employee than a logo-ed lamp.
Surprises:
1. Companies are still investing heavy dollars in catalog-driven Service Anniversary programs (because employees still like them).
2. Performance Management has not replaced Employee Recognition.
3. Social Recognition has proven effective for a limited time if there is not a reward within the process of participating.
4. Results compensation programs are up to 100x more-invested than Recognition programs in the majority of companies.
Opportunity:
1. Diversify budgets to create more high touch, immediate recognition opportunity
- I've beat this horse to death since 2006 and I'm not giving up.
2. Make recognition initiatives performance based.
- It's incredibly simple to program technology to reward mission critical behaviors instead of off-the-shelf catch phrases.
3. Use Social Recognition to attract employees to a platform that offers a variety of performance-based programs.
- Consolidation enhances engagement and saves significant dollars.
4. Replace revenue improvement incentives with behavior-based development programs.
- Compensating the bottom line is easy to measure and easier to manipulate. Creating programs that promote responsible behavior geared toward relationship development will strengthen long-term organizational stability and improve revenue.
I believe the Human Capital Management industry (or whatever you want to call it) has the greatest opportunity for growth of any:
- Human Resource professionals need to continue a Change Management focus.
- Vendors should shift from reward fulfillment to active behavior change consulting.
Don't Forget to Remember!
Dave
See the original article Here.
Source:
Kovacovich, D. (2016 September 27). Employee recognition: picking up the pieces. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://blog.shrm.org/blog/employee-recognition-picking-up-the-pieces
What You Need To Know About The EEOC’s Updated Guidelines For Retaliation
Interesting article on EEOC guideline updates from, Employee Benefit Adviser by Bobbi Kloss
Did you know that under the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an employee who believes that they have been retaliated against by an employer for complaining against unlawful discrimination in the workplace can file a complaint with the EEOC under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Equal Pay Act (EPA), and/or Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. It is worth noting, this is not an either or situation, meaning, an employee’s claim can cross over the various discrimination laws.
Employers with at least 15 employees — or 20 employees in age discrimination cases, including labor unions and employment agencies — are covered by EEOC laws. The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information. A very important point to keep in mind: it’s illegal to discriminate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
The EEOC laws apply to all types of work-related actions, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages and benefits. To put it all in perspective — and show just how large and widespread this issue is — here are some sobering statistics: charges of retaliation filed with the EEOC accounted for 44.5% of alleged basis of discrimination in FY2015 with more than 39,700 allegations filed and with monetary benefits awarded in the amount of $173.5 million (not including those paid through litigation), according to an EEOC report on litigation statistics: Retaliation-Based Charges FY 1997 - FY 2015. Compare today’s numbers to 1997, when 18,198 allegations were filed and $41.7 million in benefits were awarded. Retaliation complaints continue to be the most frequent form of alleged discrimination filed with the EEOC since 2009.
Final enforcement guidance
It is no wonder then that at the end of August the EEOC issued its final enforcement guidance on retaliation and related issues replacing its 1998 Compliance manual section on retaliation. The update also provides guidance for the “interference” (prohibiting coercion, threats or other acts that interference with exercise of rights) provision under the ADA.
The various topics explained in the new guidance include:
- The scope of employee activity protected by the law;
- Legal analysis to be used to determine if evidence supports a claim of retaliation;
- Remedies available for retaliation;
- Rules against interference with the exercise of rights under the ADA;
- Detailed examples of employer actions that may constitute retaliation.
The EEOC also released The Small Business Fact Sheet: Retaliation and Related Issues and a set of FAQs, Questions and Answers: Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues for clarification on main topic points for employers.
As a trusted benefit adviser, why should you be concerned about this update in the EEOC Compliance Manual? This is another opportunity to be in front of your clients and help guide them with their employment practices. Good business practices help attract and retain employees during these competitive times. Creating a culture free from employment discrimination can also create a motivated, stress free workforce leading to reduced benefit claims, reduced absenteeism, and turnover, which can allow for business growth.
What can your employers do now to ensure that their organization is proactively compliant with EEOC laws?
1) Make sure the Employee Handbook contains their EEOC policy statement and includes a process for an employee to file allegations of a complaint of workplace discrimination.
2) Train employees and supervisors on lawful and unlawful employment practices, including retaliatory behavior.
3) Take all complaints of discrimination seriously and ensure that a prompt and thorough investigation is conducted.
Employers should also make sure that their performance management process is documented and non-discriminately administered. If an employer needs to take corrective performance action — up to and including termination of employment — against any employee who has filed a complaint of discrimination, it is advised that they seek guidance from their Employment Law attorney before taking any action.
Lastly, discrimination in the workplace can be avoided by having a culture that promotes diversity, making employment decisions based upon performance, and maintains professionalism in all forms of communication.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Kloss, B. (2016 September 22). What you need to know about the EEOC's updated guidelines for retaliation. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address: https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-eeocs-updated-guidelines-for-retaliation