Compliance

It Rhymes With Witch

Another update from the Jungle….

Once upon a time in a town not so far away, there lived a nice woman named Alanis. She liked her job and was always willing to learn from more experienced co-workers. Her boss loved her too and wrote embarrassingly glowing performance reviews.

2But fairy tales aren’t the only places with evil beings. A wicked witch named Wanda also works in the office.  Wanda’s not qualified to do the job Alanis was hired for but that doesn’t stop her from trying to take over.  Wanda smiles in Alanis’ face even as she secretly sharpens her talons.

Wanda’s opportunity soon arrives.  At a staff meeting, their boss, Julia, announces that the company is rolling out a new service and asks Alanis to take the lead for their department. Wanda’s death-ray glare bores into Alanis’ skull across the conference room table. After the meeting, Wanda loudly announces in the break room that the new project is doomed because Alanis is unnamed (1)incompetent.

A week later, Alanis’ project notes mysteriously disappear from the system’s shared drive. Fortunately, she a printed copy first and is able to recreate her notes. She saves a copy of the new version on a thumb drive. Sure enough, the shared drive version disappears again.

At the next staff meeting, Julia asks why Alanis she doesn’t share information with the rest of the group. Alanis reports the mysterious deletions and asks that IT investigate the deletions. Julia looks at Wanda and then abruptly ends the meeting.

The next day, Julia calls Alanis to her office. Waiting in Julia’s office is Wanda. Julia says that she’s decided to appoint Wanda as co-chair of the project because it’s obviously too much for Alanis to do alone. Wanda smirks as she demands copies of all Alanis’ notes.

After that, Wanda changes the entire strategy so that their department misses deadlines set by Julia’s bosses. Wanda blames Alanis and complains about a lack of cooperation. Alanis is again called to Julia’s office where she is criticized for disloyalty and undermining the department. Julia says Alanis can resign or be fired.

What should Alanis do next?

  1. She can continue to protest her innocence knowing she won’t win since a weak manager is as dangerous as a witch.
  2. She can booby trap Wanda’s desk with eau de skunk.
  3. She can resign and consult a lawyer about suing for constructive termination.

In the actual situation, the targeted employee resigned. Any office can develop an infestation of wicked witches if management is weak.  Fumigate your workplace with effective HR policies.  3

If your company is struggling with HR issues, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor can help you create HR policies that are appropriate for your company’s size and then serve as a resource to your staff as the policies are implemented.

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Low Hanging Fruit

Another update from the Jungle….

Jack owns a small business which provides him with a good living. He owns a big h2ouse with a giant mortgage and he drives an Escalade.  When he goes to the store, he parks in a handicap parking spot near the door so that everyone can see his ride.

Jack once worked for a major corporation where the HR director constantly nagged him about petty rules that he’d supposedly broken. After a few years of her nagging, Jack decided to be successful on his own.

Jack thinks his company runs smoother with fewer written rules so he doesn’t have any written HR policies. He also pays everyone a “salary” so he doesn’t have to track time and attendance.  But he docks the pay of employees who show up late or miss work. His CPA, Susie, wants him to create job descriptions to distinguish between non-exempt and exempt employees.   Jack tells her not to worry about it; he will tell her how much to pay each employee each pay period.

1

Last week, Susie attended a continuing education seminar which struck her with the force of a hurricane wind. She learned details of the new overtime rules. A presenter also said the Department of Labor (DOL) had stepped up enforcement actions against small employers. He used the phrase “low hanging fruit” so often that Susie temporarily gives up fresh fruit and vegetables.

Susie rushes home to prepare a summary of the new overtime rules and hand delivers it to Jack.  Jack thanks her and privately thinks that Susie’s becoming a nag like the old HR director and it may be time to fire her.

This morning Jack arrives at his office to find a polite young man waiting to talk to him. The stranger says he’s a DOL examiner and he wants to see time sheets, payroll records and job descriptions for Jack’s employees.

What should Jack do next?

  1. He can bluster at the DOL examiner to mind his own business.
  2. He can beg the DOL examiner to give him time to fix his many problems in hopes of lowering the penalties his company will ultimately owe.
  3. He can sneak out the back entrance, empty the corporate bank account and escape to a foreign country that has no diplomatic relations with the U.S.

In the actual situation, the employer woke up to his peril before the DOL examiner arrived on his doorstep. He had already implemented a plan to fix his HR problems which convinced the DOL examiner to show mercy when calculating the penalties.   

If your company is struggling with HR issues, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor can help you create HR policies that are appropriate for your company’s size and then serve as a resource to your staff as the policies are implemented.

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Fairness Doesn’t Matter

Another update from the Jungle….

Alyssa is a lawyer in the corporate legal department of her employer. She was hired because of the scope of her experience. Or so she was told.  It doesn’t take Alyssa too long to figure out that her prior experience is irrelevant, even a handicap.

Alyssa is1 assigned to work with the HR department because the other lawyers don’t want to. She inherits a file cabinet full of pending EEOC discrimination claims.  Another giant file cabinet contains investigation notes of employee theft cases. Apparently anything not too big or nailed down tight is carried off by employees.  

Alyssa sees immediately that the employee problems arise from the attitude of the 4management team. Most of the senior managers are related to the owner and take their cue from him. He brags of paying rock bottom wages while simultaneously complaining that he’s stuck with stupid employees who lack initiative.

Alyssa’s prior experience with corporate risk programs leads her to believe that the company needs more insurance to cover employee problems. She recommends an increase in their employment practices liability insurance coverage.  That’s when Alyssa’s own employment problems begin.

3Alyssa receives an email from Tess, the company owner’s daughter and newest senior executive.  Tess is a wicked witch who bullies subordinates with obscenity-laced tirades and hates anyone she suspects is more knowledgeable than her. Now Tess insists that she will make the final call on the new insurance limits.

Alyssa gives Tess a summary of the current insurance coverage, the recommended new limits, and the renewal deadline. Tess repeatedly asks for new quotes while ignoring the insurance broker’s and Alyssa’s reminders of the deadline for binding new coverage. Hours before the old coverage 6expires, Tess finally agrees to the new coverage limits.

The next day, Tess accuses Alyssa of endangering the company’s insurance program by deliberately delaying information from the insurance broker.  When Alyssa points out that the insurance broker copied both of them on all emails, Tess launches into her usual obscenity-laden meltdown.

What should Alyssa do next?

  1. She can continue arguing with Tess that the accusations are unfair and unjust but will never win the argument.
  2. She can walk away from Tess and immediately make a complaint to the HR department about the bullying incident.   
  3. She can accept that she was never the right fit for the company and move on to a new employer.    

In the actual situation, the accused employee used her employment law knowledge to negotiate a severance package and moved on to a happier workplace.   

If your company is struggling with HR issues, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor can help you create HR policies that are appropriate for your company’s size and then serve as a resource to your staff as the policies are implemented.

Join the HR Compliance Jungle today. Click here!

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Beating the Odds

Another update from the Jungle…

Imagine that you are invited to join a company where virtually all your colleagues are misfits.  Imagine also that the old boss is fired for exhibiting poor judgment and your new boss has been fired multiple times for poor results. When you are asked to join, the company has just escaped rock bottom and is expected to fail within the next year.

That’s the Leicester City Football Club (LCFC) story.

soccer field

LCFC spent most of the prior season in last place and barely escaped relegation (demotion) to the second tier of English football (what we call soccer). Then… their manager was fired.

In came Claudio Ranieri as the new manager. He had been fired by five of his last six teams due to poor results. He resigned from the sixth team. He was expected to lose games and get fired by Christmas. Analysts said the players weren’t good enough for the league because most of them had been dropped by more prestigious teams.  They entered the 2015 – 2016 season with a 5000 – 1 chance of winning the title.

impossible

But something truly magical happened. LCFC was top of the league by Christmas and never looked back. On May 2, they were confirmed as the champions two weeks before the season ended. How did they win the 2015 -2016 English Premier League title?

The Leicester players had been through so many hard times together that they were a tight-knit group. During games, every player knew that if he missed a tackle, a teammate would be there to cover for him. Half a dozen players could be counted on to score goals needed to win games.

Ranieri also created an environment that supported the players’ togetherness. During games, he encouraged his players to stay calm and focused.  He created incentives, such as promising them a pizza party if they kept a clean sheet, not allowing the other team to score. (They took over a local pizzeria for a day.) He sent them on a mini-vacation halfway through the season to keep them fresh.  It all worked.

What are the HR lessons from the Leicester City FC story?

  1. Money doesn’t guarantee results. Leicester’s starting squad cost about $30 million and they beat teams that spent over $100 million for their starting lineups.
  2. Team spirit matters. Each player could count on his teammates for help.
  3. The right manager is critical. Claudio Ranieri proved he has great people skills by getting the best from each player.

 

The Leicester City FC story is inspiring because it demonstrates what the right corporate culture can achieve for an employer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgj_mRJf6X8

 

 

kicking

If your company is struggling with HR issues, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor can help you create HR policies that are appropriate for your company’s size and then serve as a resource to your staff as the policies are implemented.

 

 

 

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Ebook Link:  https://hrcompliancejungle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/skh-employee-theft.pdf

 

If It’s Not In Writing…

Another update from the Jungle…

Auto-1Alan owns an auto repair shop and he seems to have a revolving door for employees. He knows that not everyone wants to be a grease monkey and finding employees is not easy.  In fact, he’s hired people who otherwise would never have experienced the joys of employment.  With so much turn over Alan never created written policies for his employees.

When Alan started his business, he was on the edge of town surrounded by fields. Sam and Zeke, a couple of good old boys wandered in from the fields where they were looking for their hunting dog and signed on to work for Alan. Sam and Zeke are good auto mechanics when they pay attention to the job.

Auto-4Alan lets them use some of his tools and equipment to build cars that they race on dirt tracks during the summer.  If they don’t wreck their dirt track car, they celebrate by getting drunk on Jack Daniels (black label only; green label is for sissies). When work is slow, Sam and Zeke also like to do a little target practice at the makeshift shooting range they created on the back part of Alan’s property.

Now the surrounding fields are mostly gone, replaced by a shopping center and McMansions for the urban sorts who want to experience suburban life. Alan’s property still backs up to fields but he’s worried about stray bullets. So he tells Sam and Zeke to dismantle the shooting range and keep their guns at home.  Several weeks pass and Sam and Zeke are still using the shooting range despite repeated verbal warnings of dire consequences.

Now Alan has a policeman in his office politely explaining that the neighborhood was recently annexed and is now within town limits. Town ordinances prohibit firing guns within town limits and violators can be arrested. As the property owner, Alan could be arrested.

What should Alan do next?

  1. He can blame Sam and Zeke and tell the police officer to arrest them.
  2. He can fire Sam and Zeke for ignoring his verbal warnings. Of course, Sam and Zeke have conveniently forgotten the verbal warnings (and they have guns).
  3. He can acknowledge that he needs to take a more organized approach to employee matters by creating written policies and documenting disciplinary actions.

The old adage “if it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen” still holds true. Employers like Alan who fail to document employee actions, including verbal warnings, face a greater chance of being sued for wrongful termination if they fire an employee for disciplinary reasons.

 

If your company is struggling with HR issues, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor can help you create HR policies that are appropriate for your company’s size and then serve as a resource to your staff as the policies are implemented.

Ebook Link: https://hrcompliancejungle.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/skh-employee-theft.pdf

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Boxed in by Box 12 on the W-2

Another update from the Jungle…

unnamedMaryann handles payroll questions for her employer.  She and her coworkers have been scrambling for a couple of years to ensure they comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  Last year was all about finding a software program that would allow the company to track the hours of its temporary employees.

This year, Maryann is looking at box 12 on the W-2. That’s the box where employers need to plug in the cost of the medical plan for the employee.  Filling in this information is mandatory only for employers who filed at least 250 W-2’s in the previous tax year, meaning in 2013.  Maryann’s company filed 170 W-2’s in 2013, so they aren’t required to complete box 12 for the 2014 tax year.

She knows that this January her company will issue 200 W-2’s covering the 2014 tax year.  She thinks that number will rise to 250 during 2015.  Maryann wants to get a head start on figuring out box 12 after some of the past fiascos in trying to comply with the ACA.

What should Maryann consider?

  1. Maryann knows that the “cost” or “value” of health coverage refers to the premium paid for medical coverage in the health plan, known as “major medical”. She needs to verify what other costs, such as FSA contributions and dental and vision premiums, may need to be included.
  2. Maryann can consult her company’s CPA firm for assistance on completing box 12.
  3. Maryann can do some research in the ACA section of the IRS website during her spare time.

Update:  According to the IRS website, no new guidance has been issued in the past year. As a result, reporting the cost of the employee medical plan in Box 12 is required only for employers who filed 250 W-2’s in the previous tax year.  Employers who filed less than 250 W-2’s in the previous tax year may voluntarily report the medical plan cost in Box 12.

If your company is struggling with HR issues, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor can help you create HR policies that are appropriate for your company’s size and then serve as a resource to your staff as the policies are implemented.

 

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Outside Employment

unnamedKelly is glad to be back at work after a couple of weeks of family togetherness at the holidays. A few more days of vacation and she’d be ready to disown her parents and her in-laws, write the kids out of the will and talk to a divorce lawyer about her husband’s fate. It’s good to be back in the office where her job as HR Director suddenly seems simple.

Of course, that happy mood wears off before her first cup of coffee is finished. She’s still sorting through her email in-box when the company president barges into her office. He’s called a meeting to discuss a problem employee.

Kelly refills her coffee mug, sighs, and trudges to the president’s corner office to join the chief information officer and the CFO. The CIO explains that a misdirected phone call to her key lieutenant uncovered proof that Dan is running a side business. Dan is an IT department employee.

The misdirected phone call is from an individual who says he outsourced his company’s IT department to Dan. A quick investigation reveals that Dan has a personal IT business complete with a website advertising the same services he does for his employer. Dan has helpfully listed his company-issued cell phone number as the contact number for his side business.

The company president wants to fire Dan immediately, preferably by firing squad in the parking lot. The CIO and CFO also want to fire Dan but are worried about delicate negotiations on an IT contract. Dan has a small, but critical part to play in those negotiations. If Dan is fired he might take revenge by trying to screw up those negotiations. The management team looks at Kelly for her recommendation.

unnamed-2

What’s best for the team?

What should Kelly recommend to the management team?

  1. She can agree with the company president that Dan should be fired immediately, but without the firing squad since that would create a mess in the parking lot, not to mention violating company employment policies.
  2. She can ask the CIO if there is a replacement for Dan so that he can be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the negotiations.
  3. She can suggest that they proceed as usual, keeping the matter confidential until after the IT contract negotiations conclude and then fire Dan.

In the actual situation, the company decided to go with the third option because there was no replacement option. Immediately after the IT contract negotiations ended, the employee was fired with a note that he would never be eligible for rehire.

If your company is struggling with HR issues, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor can help you create HR policies that are appropriate for your company’s size and then serve as a resource to your staff as the policies are implemented.

Join the HR Compliance Jungle today. Click here!

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School Zones Made Me Late

Another update from the Jungle….
image001Jane is the HR manager for a company with about 200 employees. The company runs a lean operation which means that Jane is the sole HR person and handles pretty much every situation that arises. Jane likes the variety of issues that she faces because it keeps everything fresh and interesting.

A major problem for the company is time and attendance. The owner of the company is obsessive and compulsive about details and it drives him nuts to see a few employees chronically showing up late. He told Jane to fix the problem.

Jane reviewed the time and attendance policy which clearly states that chronic tardiness may subject an employee to progressive disciplinary action. The policy is included in the employee handbook. Jane checks the personnel files for each laggard employee and finds that each of them has signed the acknowledgement form. That means that each employee received a copy of the employee handbook and promptly tossed it aside without actually reading it.
image004This week, Jane began meeting individually with each employee who is chronically late. Jane tries not to yawn as she hears the usual excuses. One employee says she was stuck in traffic due to an accident. Another says his dog got out of the fenced-in backyard and he had to find the mutt and lock him in the garage before leaving for work.

Jane’s favorite excuse of the week is the employee who says she was late due to the school zones. The employee recently moved so that her children could attend a more highly rated school. This means the employee must now travel through three more school zones on her route to work. That caused her to be late.

What should Jane do next?

  1. She can explain to each employee that the excuse du jour doesn’t make up for chronic lateness. She can then move to the next step in progressive discipline.
  2. She can encourage each employee to make a greater effort to arrive on time and let them off with a verbal warning.
  3. She can ask herself why she never thought up so many creative reasons for being late to work.

Time and attendance issues are a perennial problem. Perhaps it’s time to think about the underlying reasons for tardiness. Employees who enjoy their work tend to show up on time.

If your company is struggling with HR issues, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor can help you create HR policies that are appropriate for your company’s size and then serve as a resource to your staff as the policies are implemented.

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3 Keys to Hiring the Right Employee

Another update from the Jungle…
image029
Renee owns a small bakery that is growing rapidly but still needs to plow the profits back into the business to ensure its long term success. She knows the long term success of the bakery depends on the quality of the employees.

She learned through trial and error that she needed to be clear about what she was looking for in a new employee. One early hire, Debra, was great at baking muffins but seemed to hate people. Customers would dash out the door if they saw Debra at the counter waiting to serve them. Renee eased Debra out the door so that she could go be successful with a different employer. Then Renee revised her job descriptions to focus on all the skills, not just baking, that she needs.

Renee also realized that hiring the right employee is not enough. New hire Marta didn’t know how to use a convection heat oven and her first batch of cookies were harder than hockey pucks. After
image027the smoke cleared and the hockey pucks were trashed, Renee decided to assign an experienced employee as a mentor to train Marta on using equipment. Marta now bakes cookies using her grandmother’s recipes that are the hottest sales items in the store.

Of course, assigning a mentor was not enough either. Cherie had a mentor but wasn’t making progress in learning how to use kitchen equipment or the cash register. A quick investigation revealed that Cherie was intimated by her mentor and never asked questions. The mentor admitted that she is a perfectionist and isn’t comfortable trying to teach new hires.

This mismatch taught Renee that she needed to more closely monitor the progress of each employee. So every week she meets with each employee to answer questions and to ask for suggestions on improving the business. It’s a huge time commitment for Renee but in the past year, turnover among all employees has dropped dramatically and would-be bakers now beg her to hire them.

What are Renee’s 3 keys to hiring the right employee?

  1. Know what you want and clearly state it in the job description so that you hire the right person for the job.
  2. Have a good “onboarding” process to integrate the new employee into the workforce that includes training the new person on equipment and business processes.
  3. Monitor progress of all employees to match skills to opportunities to increase job satisfaction and the chance of retaining each employee.

If your company is struggling with HR issues, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor can help you create HR policies that are appropriate for your company’s size and then serve as a resource to your staff as the policies are implemented.

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Non-Conformists Get Results.

Another update from the Jungle…

150px-Terry_de_la_Mesa_AllenHave you ever worked for someone who was more interested in following the rules than in getting results? In these organizations initiative is not rewarded and non-conformists are quickly shown the door.

In World War II, one of our more interesting generals found his career side-lined by superiors who disliked his rule-breaking attitude. General Terry Allen was an Army brat and apparently never considered another career path for himself. His non-conformist attitude made him an oddity in a giant bureaucracy like the Army. He was a mediocre student at West Point and flunked out of the program. He later earned a college degree and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1912.

His Army career would have been completely forgettable without war. In World War I, Terry Allen proved he was personally brave and able to inspire his troops. He got results. That earned him a place in the downsized Army between the two world wars even though he offended many with his breaches of military etiquette. For example, he was careless about his appearance and allowed everyone, including subordinates, to call him by his first name.

In WWII, General Allen commanded the U.S. 1st Infantry Division (the “Big Red One”) in the invasions of North Africa and Sicily. His troops fought well but some spit and polish officers claimed he had ruined the Big Red One by failing to enforce discipline. These officers eventually engineered his removal from the Big Red One by blaming General Allen for the bad results in a battle he did not plan. Their criticism apparently stung because General Allen became a stickler for discipline after he was transferred from command of the 1st Division. His career was never as brilliant after he became a conformist.

General Allen knew that smooth operations require following rules but that the rules should never be blindly followed if that stands in the way of the results. The same principle is important in private companies when they design their human resources policies. Every company needs HR rules so that employees know what is expected of them. However, the rules should be the minimum necessary to ensure the company runs smoothly and should never become a burden on management or employees.

If your company is struggling with HR issues, Corporate Compliance Risk Advisor can help you create HR policies that are appropriate for your company’s size and then serve as a resource to your staff as the policies are implemented. To learn more about General Terry Allen, see Terrible Terry Allen, by Gerald Astor (2003).

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