'Tis the season for...interns...and that age old question, should you pay them or not? The United States Department of Labor (DOL) mandates that you apply a six part test to determine if intern pay is required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In order to avoid paying interns, you must satisfy all six of the following factors:

A hot topic of debate in the U.S. Senate, which will likely filter down to the state and municipal level is whether a law should be passed requiring employers with at least 15 workers to provide 7 paid sick days per year. The reason that this bill was introduced is because sponsors say that 50% of private sector employees have no sick time. As a result they come to work sick (and potentially contagious) so to not lose income. This condition, called presenteeism, is at the heart of the debate because employees who just show up that are ill or have family members who are ill and in need of their attention, are less productive and/or often spread illnesses across the workplace exacerbating the problem. But what about companies that have paid sick time policies and benefits in place? Does having a paid sick time policy reduce or increase unscheduled absenteeism? Absenteeism is on the rise according to the 16th annual CCH Unscheduled Absence Survey by CCH, a leading provider of human resources and employment law information and services and a part of Wolters Kluwer Law & Business (hr.cch.com). The 2006 CCH survey found that the rate of unscheduled absenteeism climbed to its highest level since 1999, costing larger companies hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in direct payroll costs, and even more when lost productivity, morale and temporary labor costs are considered.

I’d like to offer my very sincere and warm wishes to all mothers for a happy and restful Mother’s Day. Which begs the question, is a day of rest for mom’s actually possible? A recent survey of 40,000 mothers published by CNN on May 3, 2007, and conducted by Salary.com concluded that if a full-time mother were compensated for her work she would earn almost $140,000 a year. Mother’s who work full time jobs outside the home put in $85,939 worth of work as mothers. The survey found that the typical mother puts in a 92 hour work week and works at least 10 different jobs. In order of hours spent on those jobs per week, these are: housekeeper, day-care center teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, chief executive officer and psychologist. By figuring out the median salaries for each position, and calculating the average number of hours worked at each, the firm came up with $138,095.

In addition to employee performance management and compensation administration, an additional area I closely monitor and research is HR legal issues; including rulings, opinions, upcoming cases, and legislation. My findings are condensed down and published online twice a month in a document called HRN HR Legal Update. This publication is easy to read and understand, current, and best of all free.

In the aftermath of last weeks firing of MIT Dean of Admissions, Merilee Jones for misrepresenting academic credentials on her resume 28 years ago, I became curious just how prevalent lying on resumes has become. The numbers are sobering, especially if you are a hiring manager or HR staffing professional. Depending on what source you reference, anywhere between a third to over a half of applicant resumes are not truthful and above board. According to a survey by CareerBuilder.com conducted October, 2006, over half of HR managers said they had flagged a lie on an applicant’s resume either during the interview or upon verifying information. Not surprisingly, 93 percent of those caught were not hired. ADP Screening and Selection Services, a unit of the Roseland, N.J.-based ADP payroll and benefits managing company, says that in performing 2.6 million background checks in 2001, it found that 44 percent of applicants lied about their work histories, 41 percent lied about their education, and 23 percent falsified credentials or licenses.

It seems like just the other day I was writing about the addition to Performance Pro of electronic signature, enhanced routing, new position content, and a slick expanded performance rating scale. Oh yes, it was just the other day. Well we aren't stopping there. Just a quick product update for HRN Management Group clients and those interested in what’s going on with Performance Pro product development . . . In the mid to late June 07 timeframe we plan to announce our next product upgrade release of Performance Pro in conjunction with HRN’s participation at the SHRM 59th Annual Conference & Expo (June 24-27, 2007 in Las Vegas). Included in this second upgrade of 2007 will be the integration of 120 to 140 complete and editable job description documents that align with position templates built into Performance Pro. This additional content will come pre-configured and integrated into Performance Pro and will be available to all users and new clients at no additional cost.

In another in the ongoing lineup of EEO cases you can’t make up, Motherhood Maternity has agreed to settle a pregnancy discrimination case. The Philadelphia store which sells maternity clothes was accused of refusing to hire female applicants because they were pregnant.

Is all this hub-bub about employer e-mail monitoring and rampant employee abuse of workplace email and high-speed Internet connections based on fact or just Big Brother ‘scare tactics’ to keep employee noses to the grindstone and hock Internet and e-mail monitoring software? Regardless of where you stand on this point, if you don’t have a company e-mail and computer/network use policy in place, and communicated to your employees, you really do have your head in the sand. Consider these statistics:

Modern company policy manuals often include guidelines for cell phone use, volume levels for radios or CD/players, personal computer, network, and Internet restrictions, and nobody seems to bat an eye. But when the subject of restricting, or in any way limiting, an individual from being connected to their iPod or other MP3 format digital music device is brought up, people cry foul. Why? Have we really become such an individualized and self-entitled culture that we expect the right to listen to ‘our music on our terms’ over being expected to appear engaged with the sounds and activities of the employer that is paying our wage?

Proximity is a fundamental component in the law of attraction. With most workplace environments comprised of both male and female adults who spend 8 to 10 hours or more per day within the same four walls, and in the proximity of the same people working shoulder to shoulder, attractions and romances are sure to develop. Marital statistics show that the average age of marriage is increasing which means more young workers are likely to be single. In 2005 SHRM and the Wall Street Journal’s CareerJournal.com conducted a study and found that 40% of employees surveyed said they had an office romance at some point in their careers. In a 2007 Vault.com survey 41% of employees said they didn’t know if their company did or didn’t have a policy on the issue.