The former general counsel (i.e. chief lawyer) with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) gave an interesting presentation last month at the National SHRM conference in Las Vegas on how to deal with the government agency. The presenter explained how the EEOC receives 80,000 charges of employment bias each year but annually only files 400 lawsuits. All EEOC charges are filed either “A” (watch out—they’re after you), “B” (unclear where the case may lead) or “C” (likely merit-less).

HR Daily Advisor recently published an interesting list called the nine deadly sins of hiring. The sins are: 1) failing to plan before hiring, including failing to have in place an accurate job description for the open position; 2) using a poorly designed application that asks illegal or inappropriate questions; 3) failure to retain applications for proper periods of time; 4) allowing untrained supervisors to conduct interviews; 5) failing to ask about noncompete agreements and restrictive covenants; 6) not doing reference and application checks; 7) using no offer letter or an inadequate one; 8) insufficient employee orientation; and 9) not getting help when needed.

According to a recent Harris poll, only about a third of workers in the U.S. will have enough money saved to retire in comfort. Twenty-seven percent don't expect to have enough saved, and 39 percent aren't sure. According to the survey, less than half, or about 45 percent of workers, do participate in a 401(k) or 403(b) plan. Fourteen percent have the option but do not participate, and 35 percent are not given the option by their employers. And although the 401(k) is a good way to save for retirement (and can yield a bigger benefit than a traditional pension plan if done right), Americans are still not very good at saving for retirement. Statistics show that nearly half of U.S. workers cash out their 401(k)'s when they switch jobs instead of rolling the accounts over.

Caring for an aging population is growing more difficult. We are living longer. Many older Americans can no longer rely on sons and daughters for end of life care. An awful lot of baby boomers will be needing a lot of home health care in the next few years. Who will care for this rapidly growing segment of our population? Many of us who will be unable to care for ourselves as we age will be cared for by home care providers. Who are these people?

As discussed a few weeks ago, the federal hourly minimum wage increases to $5.85 on July 24, 2007. Among other things, this means employers must display updated Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage posters in conspicuous places at the worksite. Not much in life is free, but these posters are...go to www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/posters/flsa.htm to download one. Remember to update your posters again when the minimum wage increases to $6.55 on July 24, 2008 and to $7.25 on July 24, 2009.

There seems to be as many differing opinions about what comprises an effective employee performance management program as there are varieties of methods to evaluate employee performance. I keep tabs on the EPM and Talent Management marketplace to see who is doing what and which trends are taking hold. The purpose of this marketplace vigilance is to gather information and formulate recommendations for our ongoing product development that ensures HRN Management Group’s EPM solution, Performance Pro, remains a top performing (and selling) solution in the SMB marketplace. In addition to competitive analysis and real-time customer feedback to provide Performance Pro development input, I also read industry reports and analyst data. In 2006 DDI and The Conference Board co-sponsored a talent management survey authored by Richard Wellins, Ph.D. and Keith Caver (www.ddiworld.com/pdf/ddi_2006talentmanagementstrategiesconference_es.pdf) that I found quite interesting. The survey concluded that despite the majority of respondents having implemented the essential ingredients required for successful talent management, the state of their talent management programs is in disarray. This is because of three primary reasons. 1. Programs have not been properly rolled out, implemented, and integrated. 2. Top executives are not viewed as committed to talent management as a priority. 3. Gathered data is not utilized and analyzed to effect positive changes in the organization.

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.