A government survey released yesterday (July 16, 2007) found that 1 in 12 U.S. workers have used illicit drugs (mostly marijuana) within the past month. About two-thirds of the workers that participated in the study were men. The highest rate was among restaurant workers, with 17.4 percent, and construction workers, 15.1 percent; the lowest was 4 percent of teachers and social service workers.

A study by the American University School of Business has concluded that employer sexual harassment training does not invite lawsuits--unless, of course, the program is about how to harass your employees more effectively. The survey studied the attitudes of professionals, who had and had not received training, regarding hypothetical situations that might lead them to sue. The group receiving training demonstrated no greater preference for suing. Employers should regularly train employees, and notably, supervisors, on relevant aspects of employment laws, including but not limited to harassment.

I reviewed with interest the results of the 2007 HR Executive Census Survey (February, 2007 - http://www.ercdataplus.com/hrexecutive/results/feb2007/main_pg.htm). What I found noteworthy about our top HR leaders was the following: 45% have earned post graduate degree(s). 42% have spent their entire career in HR. Median number of years working in HR field is 19. Median number of years working for current employer in HR area is 6. 49% of respondents were female and 51% male. 90% were white or Caucasian, 5% African-American or Black. Over 50% report directly to the President, CEO or Chairman of the Board. 55% are members of their organization’s executive committee. 62% interact at the Board level at least once per year. 82% are married - 84% have an employed spouse. 79% cite that maintaining a good work/life balance is an important personal issue. 88% spend less than 25% of their time on business travel (61% less than 10%) . Median range of compensation was between $100K – 149,999. Talent acquisition, talent retention and healthcare cost containment are top three challenges. 86% said if they had a chance to start over again, they would choose HR as their career direction.

Healthcare workplaces are subject to the same Americans with Disabilities requirements as anyone else. However healthcare employees are also subject to often physically demanding, mentally challenging, and risky environments. Lifting demands, the risks of airborne and bloodborne infections, shift requirements, and other potential accommodations must be considered. The EEOC has addressed by preparing one of its dandy question and answer fact sheets which is available at:

http://eeoc.gov/facts/health_care_workers.html

The Salt Lake Tribune recently published an interesting article on domestic violence. The article included a side bar article (from the Family Violence Prevention Fund, www.endabuse.org) on the significant problems this issue poses for employers: (1) 94 percent of corporate security directors surveyed rank domestic violence as a high-security problem at their companies;

"Stay in school.” “You need to understand the value of an education.” “Where will you be without an education?” Ah, the words of Mom and Dad still ring in the ears of many. Mom and Dad may not have gotten everything right but they certainly understood the relationship between education and earning potential.

I read with interest a series of articles posted on Workforce.com this week related to contingent workers. Specifically contingent worker hiring trends and the legal risks associated with how a company manages and treats independent contractors, or contingent workers vs. employees. In the process I learned a new term: Permatemp, defined as a contingent worker that has been in their position for an extended period of time functioning and appearing as an employee of the company where they are placed. Government labor statistics do not specifically track independent contractors but rather lump them in with all contingent workers, a category that includes the staffing industry and temporary help. According to a Government Accountability Office report, there were 42.6 million contingent workers in the U.S. as of 2005—almost a third of the entire workforce. What has happened over the past 20 years is that companies have embraced the temporary worker model as a way to get work done using trained staff paid by a 3rd party and not classified as employees. Hiring, payroll, and any benefits the contingent worker receives such as vacation, sick time, or a 401K plan are the responsibility of the hiring agency. Typically agency-provided benefits, if offered at all, are significantly less than those provided to full and/or part time employees of the company where the contractor is working every day. The model allows companies to increase or decrease their workforce with more flexibility based on the needs of the day and not incur the expensive overhead of training and employee benefits such as medical insurance or paid vacation or retirement plans. What these companies discovered is that many of the contractors were very good at their job and fit in with the corporate culture so when one project ended they kept them around for another, and another, and another. Soon they had phone extensions, access to company networks, security badges, email addresses, a fixed work location, and were included in company social functions, etc. For all intents and purposes they acted and appeared like employees of the company.

Various government officials testifying recently before Congress have claimed that employer misclassification of workers is costing federal, state and local governments billions of dollars in lost tax revenues each year. The witnesses have asserted that because of employer desires to save costs, the number of independent contractors has grown to almost eight percent of the workforce, or 10.3 million workers. Witnesses asserted that many of these workers should have been classified as employees.

Remember that an employer typically must comply with the employment laws of the states where its employees live and work. Many states now actively regulate the employment relationship. Here are some recent examples of new employment laws passed by states.

The new Apple iPhone is finally here. For bleeding edge technology buffs with $500-750 burning a hole in their pocket I say go for it. Test it out. Let me know how it works and when all the bugs are worked out and it costs $299 I’ll still pass. I’m simply one of the few holdouts that look upon this technology as a ‘leash and collar’ that straps us to work 24/7 and is fast afflicting a generation of workers with the so-called ‘CrackBerry’ addiction. The term CrackBerry is a play on words merging the predominant wireless email device brand, BlackBerry and the highly addictive illicit street drug, crack). The lure of wireless devices is creating an addiction among some e-mail users, with experts comparing their behavior to that of drug or alcohol abusers. Afflicted users soon become conditioned to constantly have their antennae tuned in to hear the sound that tells them they have a new message which validates that they are indispensable and the need to respond immediately is vitally important. But the problem may not just be the 'users'. It may also be the employers if they provide the mobile email device and expect an employee to be connected and available at all hours. If being connected to employees 24/7 sounds like an employer's dream come true, think again: according to a Rutgers University Camden researcher, employers who encourage non-stop work connections via technology may wind up with liability for encouraging addiction among their staff.