It’s going to be a challenging year for HR (well, aren’t
they all?). In today’s Advisor we’ll take a look at three levels of concern—policy
HR issues like technology, health care, and social media; basic HR issues like
wage/hour threats; and strategic HR issues like losing your high potentials
because your Boomers aren’t retiring.
Technology/Social
Media—HR Managers Are as Bad as Any
Technology changes so fast it’s hard to keep up with it.
First, there’s the productivity issue, and HR managers are as bad as anyone
else.
At a presentation on social media at a recent SHRM
convention, the speaker said, “OK, HR managers, we’re 20 minutes into the
presentation, be honest, how many have checked their social media since the
presentation began?” About half the hands went sheepishly up in the air.
And then there’s the social media background check issue (if
you go on social media, you’ll find out things you don’t want to know), and the
disparagement, stalking, and badmouthing on social media issue..
Add to that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issue
(Is that vitriolic diatribe “protected activity”?) and the BYOD (bring your own
device) issue (Are your precious company data and trade secrets sitting
unprotected on employee phones and tablets?)
Health Care
Health care—there’s an ongoing policy issue that will
bedevil HR managers for the foreseeable future.
First of all, there’s complying with the Affordable Care
Act. But on top of that, there’s the untenable burden of rising costs.
NLRB
A newly energized and aggressive NLRB is on the march. In
the area of social media, they are regarding a lot of employer actions as
having a “chilling effect” on employees’ right to discuss terms and conditions
of employment (“Section 7 rights”). For example, in one case, a car dealer’s
admonition to employees to be courteous was viewed as having a chilling effect:
“Everyone is expected
to be courteous, polite and friendly to our customers, vendors and suppliers,
as well as to their fellow employees. No one should be disrespectful or use
profanity or any other language which injures the image or reputation of the
Dealership.”
Remember that Section 7 rights apply to nonunion
organizations as well as those that are unionized.
Basic HR
Compliance/Lawsuit Avoidance Issues
Wage/hour is the best example of HR basics that may need
attention. The Wage/Hour Division at the Department of Labor (DOL) is newly
energized and better funded than in the past. They are focusing on two areas:
Systemic
discrimination. These are situations in which they can find patterns of
discrimination across large numbers of employees and/or over extended periods
of time.
Disadvantaged
populations. Typically, this means either young workers who don’t have the
confidence to defend themselves or know what to do when treated
inappropriately, low-wage workers who don’t have access to help, and/or
non-English-speaking workers.
Beyond the blatant violations of failure to pay the minimum
wage, or failure to pay overtime, be on the lookout for these other wage/hour
violations:
Off the clock work.
(“I’m out of overtime. Please clock out and then set up for tomorrow. I’ll make
it up to you.”) This could be agreeable
to both boss and worker, but that doesn’t make it legal. (“Make sure to keep
your phone on at home tonight in case the West Coast calls.”) If the calls are
more than a quick “Where’s the production report?” they may be paid time.
Autodeductions.
It’s handy to have your software automatically deduct the time for a lunch
break, but it can cause problems if a worker got called to the phone. Workers
have to be relieved from all duty during an unpaid break.
Recordkeeping.
Nearly all suits brought in the area of wage/hour include a separate charge
that involves faulty recordkeeping.
Discrimination
The DOL is also on the lookout for systemic cases of discrimination.
This can be in hiring or subsequent treatment, such as promotions.
One issue in the news is accommodating religious dress and
religious worship schedules. Of course, discrimination against anyone in a
protected class is unlawful and against company values and policy.
Source: HR
Daily Adviser
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