Is your small business reasonably accommodating the needs of its new and expectant mothers?  You may have heard the horror story of a new mom who returned from maternity leave, only to have her employer criticize everything from the frequency she pumped her breast milk to the number of weeks she pumped.  When the employer decreed the new mom had to stop pumping when her baby turned a year old, the new mom refused and was fired.  How can you prevent this unfortunate—and avoidable—dilemma from happening in your workplace?

The answer may lie in the health care reform law.  One revision to the Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to provide unpaid, “reasonable break time” and a place, other than a restroom, that is “shielded from view and free from intrusion” to allow new moms to pump breast milk.  This provision covers all workers subject to overtime-pay requirements and lasts up to one year after the baby is born.  It also provides reasonable workplace policies beyond maternity leave to help new mothers balance career and family.

Remember, except for the 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave mandated by federal law, many new mothers either can’t afford to take more time off or aren’t permitted to by their employers. Reasonably accommodating nursing mothers meets them in the middle by allowing them to work without giving up breastfeeding.  Not to mention, mom-friendly HR policies are sure to increase employee morale and retention after maternity leave!

Ah, December—a busy and tumultuous time for many businesses . . . a time of holiday office parties, secret Santa exchanges, and most important to many—time off to spend with family and friends.  When December rolls around and employees are itching to clock out, does your company’s holiday pay policy look more like It’s a Wonderful Life or does it look more like How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Much of how your company shapes its policy will depend on the needs of the business (and of course, the holiday spirit!), but when it comes to legal requirements for holiday pay, this employer’s guide to common questions and answers can help.

Q: Must employees get paid time off for nationally recognized holidays?

A: No.  Federal law doesn’t require employers to provide holiday time off, paid or unpaid.

Q: What about accommodating a religious holiday?

A: In short, yes, employers must accommodate their employees’ religious practices unless the business would suffer an undue hardship.

What is reasonable accommodation?  Allowing an employee to use a floating holiday, a vacation day, or unpaid time off are all reasonable ways to accommodate religious observances.

Q: Must employees be paid for employer-provided holiday time off?

A: This answer depends on the employee’s classification.  Employers are not required to pay hourly employees for holiday time off; employees must only be paid for time they actually worked.  On the other hand, employers are required to pay salaried employees who work without regard to overtime for holiday time off if they worked any hours in the holiday week.

Q: Must paid time off be included in determining an employee’s entitlement to overtime?

A: No.  Employer-provided paid holiday hours are not required to count toward an employee’s hours worked ,for the purposes of determining overtime eligibility.  Typically, an employee must work 40 hours in a week to become eligible for overtime.  This may be overridden, however, by collective bargaining agreements.

Q: Can conditions be attached to holiday pay?

A: Yes, but those conditions should always be in writing.  As examples, an employer may prorate holiday pay for part-time employees or may require a certain amount of service time before an employee becomes eligible for holiday pay.

Q: If an employee works a holiday, must they get premium pay?

A: While a common practice (and a kind gesture) to pay a premium to employees who work holidays, it is not a legal requirement.

Q: Must the same holiday benefits be extended to all employees?

A: No, as long as any differences are not a result of potential discrimination, such as age or gender.  Employers can, for instance, grant holiday pay to full-time employees only, or to office workers instead of field workers.

Q: What happens if a holiday falls on an employee’s regular day off or on a non-business day?

A: No legal requirement governs this area; however, a popular practice is to allow employees to take another day off during that pay period.  This is typically seen when holidays like Christmas fall on a Sunday and employees are given the following Monday off.

When it comes to managing your company’s payroll services, GHRO can help!  Our seasoned professionals have years of experience in Human Resources and can help you develop the best policies for you and your employees.  For more information about how GHRO can meet your business needs, visit our website.

Severance pay: an employer’s monetary gesture of goodwill to an employee separating from employment.

In times of layoffs and position elimination, this term has become more relevant to the modern workplace.  It’s a nice gesture to be able to provide severance pay to good employees leaving the business, even if it’s not a legal requirement.  (Be mindful, though, that severance policies might be written into certain employees’ contracts or in the employee handbook, which would create an obligation to pay severance.)

What does a typical severance package look like?  Usually, the higher the climb up the corporate ladder, the higher the severance package.  A severance package for a typical worker would be 1–2 weeks of pay per year of service.  At the executive level, severance may mean up to a month’s pay for each year of service.  An employment contract often imposes severance packages for the most senior positions.  In these cases, severance packages could go beyond additional pay to include extended benefits and outplacement services.

In some cases, a laid-off employee may try to negotiate a more favorable severance package.  If no precedent or written policies exist for severance packages, negotiations may be feasible.  Legally, however, an employee’s attempt to negotiate constitutes rejection of the severance package and entitles the employer to withdraw the offer altogether.  While that seems tempting, it may be best to tell the employee up front that the offer is nonnegotiable, especially if you are laying off other employees and want them to sign release of claims forms.

A release of claim form prevents the laid-off employee from bringing suit against the business in the future, and a severance package is the incentive to sign that form.  Obtaining this form is important; last thing any business needs after downsizing is a torrent of lawsuits!  Also be sure to get a separate release from workers over age 40 to prevent age discrimination suits.  Pay careful attention to any legal deadlines regarding extending and accepting these offers.

In this tumultuous economy, offering severance packages to laid-off employees is a goodwill gesture that acknowledges their dedicated service.  A severance package can also help calm angry, departing employees and can help save the business from legal troubles.  At the end of the day, the decision to offer a severance package is at the employer’s discretion, but a short-term payout may be well worth the long-term benefits of an act of kindness.

GHRO recently posted a blog about age discrimination and younger workers, and how Generation Y’s stereotypes unfairly prevent them from getting hired.  While no law protects young workers from ageism, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 protects employees over age 40 from traditional age discrimination.  Based on this law, the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission received 22,778 charges of age discrimination in 2009 alone, of which the commission resolved 20,529 and recovered over $72 million in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals (not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation).  Age-related charges make up roughly one quarter of all discrimination charges filed with the commission.  Despite the number of age-related claims falling since 2008, ageism remains a potential problem for employers, particularly in this volatile economic climate.  So what is age discrimination and how can it be prevented?

Under the ADEA, older workers may not be discriminated against in any aspect of employment, including hiring, termination, wages, job duties, promotions, layoffs, training, and fringe benefits.  Even companywide policies that adversely affect applicants and employees over age 40 may be illegal if they are not based on a reasonable factor beyond age.  While those factors are controlled at the management level, the ADEA also protects older workers against harassment, which can be perpetuated by all levels of the business: supervisors, coworkers, even clients and customers.  Age-related harassment includes making age-related remarks.  Even if such remarks don’t seem to be serious, they can have a severe impact on older workers and can create a hostile work environment.

Training can help raise employee awareness of discrimination and can curtail such remarks.  It may surprise many employees to learn that extensive researched has shown no correlation between age and job performance.  In fact, a seasoned veteran can bring hard-earned experience and positive mentoring opportunities to the business.  Older workers typically show better judgment and care when performing their duties.  They are also less likely to arrive late to work, to be absent, or to quit.  To prevent age-related harassment, educate employees that all employment-related comments and actions should focus on job performance, not employee age.  Also post an anti-discrimination policy that includes harassment definitions, solutions, consequences, reporting processes, grievance procedures, and anti-retaliation language.

Such simple, proactive measures can go a long way toward eliminating ageism in the workplace.  The goal is to create an environment where employees of all ages feel welcomed, included, and valued.

Small businesses can close their billfolds and breathe a sigh of relief.  After knocking around Capitol Hill for several years, the Paycheck Fairness Act was narrowly shot down by the Senate in a 58-41 vote—just two votes shy of passing.  The House had already approved the act.  One likely problem: the Paycheck Fairness Act was widely viewed as not very fair at all.

Intended as an update to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Paycheck Fairness Act was regarded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups as potentially destructive to small businesses.  First, the act would have penalized employers for unintentional disparities in employee compensation, rendering employers responsible for unlimited punitive damages.  The act also would have eradicated limits for back pay and punitive and compensatory damages.  Second, the act could have had devastating effects on Equal Pay Act class action lawsuits by eliminating the employees’ need to opt in as a party to the suit.  Finally, the act would have removed an employer’s freedom to pay employees on its own terms, such as where different duties exist within similar job classes or where employees have variations in prior salary history.

Though wage fairness is an issue worth further examination, the Paycheck Fairness Act doesn’t seem to be the right answer for right now.  The act could potentially resurface with the new Congress as early as January, but this defeat likely marks the end of the Paycheck Fairness Act due to the more Republican face of the Senate in 2011.

In recent years, many employers have turned to personality profiling to assess potential new hires.  Not only can a personality test determine if a candidate’s traits will fit a position’s requirements, but a test can determine if a candidate’s personality will blend well with potential supervisors.  With so many employees operating in one business, personalities are bound to clash here and there.  In fact, Gallup research shows that half of employee turnover is spurred by personality conflicts.  How can businesses reduce turnover and avert potentially disastrous working relationships?

Personality profiling is designed to spot and prevent personality conflicts before they happen.  If significant differences emerge between an employee’s and a manager’s personality profile, a personality conflict will likely occur that may cause stress in the workplace.  An aggressive manager could see a more passive employee as working too slowly and lacking motivation, whereas a passive employee could see a more aggressive manager as controlling and micromanaging.  Such an environment can have negative effects on employee retention, as the new hire is more likely to resign—and quickly—when such a distinct conflict exists.

Comparing personality profiles can deter personality conflicts from being introduced to the workplace.  But what if a personality conflict already exists?  First, try assigning the new employee to a more compatible manager.  Higher compatibility rates yield faster-learning, more productive employees.  If that isn’t a viable solution, arrange a meeting with the manager and the new employee.  Sometimes, verbalizing how the two are alike and how their differences can complement each other is enough to get them working as a team.  Addressing differences in a positive manner puts an optimistic spin on a stressful situation and can help promote harmony.

As part of its turnover reduction strategies, GHRO offers employee selection services including personality profiling, employment testing, drug screening, and background checks.  These services are only a small part of what GHRO has to offer as your business’ Human Resources PEO.  Through GHRO’s services, you’ll receive the expertise of a professional HR team at the fraction of the cost of hiring an internal Human Resources Department.  Contact GHRO today to see how your business can benefit from outsourcing its Human Resources needs!

Though ageism laws are meant to protect older workers, many Generation Y job seekers will argue that ageism works both ways.  Many employers refuse to hire workers who have no prior experience in the field.  This presents a confounding problem for today’s new college graduates: How do entry-level workers gain experience if no one will hire them without experience?

This lack of experience can hinder any entry-level job seeker, but the Generation Y worker faces an additional disadvantage.  Generation Y has generally been cast in a negative light in the workplace.  Often described as  flighty, disorganized, and less productive than their older counterparts, Generation Y workers are thought to carry a bloated sense of entitlement and an unwillingness to contribute more than the bare minimum.  They are considered selfish, difficult to control, and overly concerned with their social lives.  Thanks to these unfortunate stereotypes, many Generation Y workers find themselves called “out” by recruiters before they’ve even stepped up to bat.

It’s true Generation Y’s work habits are not going to mirror the work habits of Baby Boomers or even Generation X.  Generation Y grew up in a different world full of technology, instant gratification, and constant links to social circles.  This brings some often-overlooked positives to their work performance.  Aside from their skill with the latest technology, Generation Y workers display a strong ethical code.   They are also more socially aware and in tune with people’s behavior than previous generations were.  Because they have never known a world without cell phones and the internet, or the constant communication those tools provide, they also tend to look for environments where they can provide input as part of a team.  It is important that they feel like they have a say in the decision-making process and that their contributions matter.  As their name implies, Generation Y workers want to be informed and are quick to ask questions, which could be a potential catalyst for modernization.

At a closer level, studies suggest that Generation Y employees aren’t that different from their predecessors.  Contrary to their reputation as fickle hotheads, Generation Y workers are just as willing to settle down with a company and work their way up the ladder.  They are also willing, and in fact, expect, to spend most of their work time inside an office during regular business hours.

The unique traits Generation Y brings to the table, coupled with their willingness to work in traditional roles, may mean Generation Y’s work performance isn’t flawed, after all—it may mean the way they’re approached is.  Rather than trying to squeeze today’s young talent into the same old mold, why not change recruitment and retention strategies to capitalize on their personality traits?  Communication and integrity are important to Generation Y.  Employers who regularly communicate with their employees and explain how employees’ efforts fit into the organization’s goals help foster the team environment that it is so important to Generation Y.  Rather than telling Generation Y workers what to do, which hurts the team mentality, encourage a give-and-take discussion to seek their input.  With the right care and appreciation for their talents, today’s Generation Y workers could easily become tomorrow’s most innovative managers.

Good news, job seekers: October marked the tenth consecutive month of increased hiring in the private sector.  October’s addition of 159,000 net new private sector jobs indicated the highest increase of any month since April.  Could this mean businesses are moving past the hiring slump?

Only a few employment sectors benefited from October’s new jobs. Education and health led the pack with 53,000 new positions, followed by temporary agencies with 34,900, retailers with 27,900, and bars and restaurants, which hired 24,400 new workers.  Construction businesses also added a small number of jobs.  On the other hand, the manufacturing industry cut 7,000 positions.  The public sector also continued to cut jobs in October, by 8,000 workers.

On the brighter side, workers in every employment sector enjoyed small but important gains.  The number of hours in the work week enjoyed a modest increase to 34.3 hours, and average paychecks gained a few percentage points to settle at $780 per week.

Despite all the positive additions, the unemployment rate for October remained steady at 9.6 percent.  Of the 14.8 million unemployed Americans, 6.2 million have been out of work for six months or more.  Nearly two million new jobs have been added in 2010, but that recovery represents only a fraction of the eight million jobs lost in 2008 and 2009.  To merely sustain population growth, up to 150,000 net new jobs must be added each month.

Although October’s job gains are modest, they’re a good sign that the economy is slowly improving.  Every extra dollar in people’s pockets means more money to infuse into and revitalize the economy. That’s news every American can appreciate!

Via Yahoo! News

With Thanksgiving fast approaching—the busiest travel time of the year—employers from Los Angeles to Louisville will be juggling the same problem: employee time-off requests.  With so many employees asking for time off, and some of them pleading at the last minute, it’s easy for businesses to find themselves short staffed during the holidays.  Although the holidays are synonymous with vacation time, efficiently managing time-off requests can present a problem at any time of year.

The key to effective scheduling is establishing a clear policy for time-off requests.  The employee handbook should outline the procedure to request time off, including how employees can request time off, how much advance notice is required, how many employees can be off at one time, and how time-off requests are processed, whether by seniority or by order of request.

Formal written requests are recommended to properly document employee time off, such as through an e-mail or a standardized form.  Once a request is approved, the employee’s manager should calendar the time off in a place where all affected management staff can see it and arrange for adequate department staffing.  Communication is always critical to successful scheduling, both among management staff and between managers and employees.  Before the holiday rush, employees should be made aware of scheduling deadlines and staffing expectations, such as how many people need to work the day after Thanksgiving.

While it’s important to maintain clear time-off procedures, sometimes flexibility trumps policy, especially since last-minute requests are known to crop up around the holidays.  Employers on the brink of scheduling chaos should be fair and let employees know the decision regarding their time-off requests and why that decision was made.  Flexibility can go a long way toward employees feeling positive about the decision and feeling like they were treated fairly, even if the outcome wasn’t in their favor.  The more employees feel valued, the more they may be willing to schedule time off in advance or to be flexible if someone else suddenly needs time off.