HR Basics: What do I Really Need to KNOW

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HR Basics What do I Really Need to KNOW?

• Presented by Ed Krow, SPHR, CHCM, Beard Miller
  Company LLP

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Well Cover

• Basic HR Practices
• Key Employment Laws
• Workplace Violence

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Basic HR Practices

• Employee Files
• Employee Handbooks
• Performance Reviews

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Employee Files

• Job description
• Application/resume
• Offer letter
• W-4
• Employee handbook receipt
• Performance evaluations

• Employee benefit forms
• Complaints/ compliments/awards
• Disciplinary actions
• Attendance notes

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File Confidentiality

• Keep files locked!
• Keep medical information separate.
• Control access by employees
• In PA employees do NOT have the right to copy or
  remove info from the file.
• In PA you may limit access to once per year.

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Employee Handbooks

• Advantages
• Everyone gets the same info
• Some measure of legal protection
• Reduced anxiety employees know the rules and how
  to address problems
• Warning in PA, be sure to refer to
  employment-at-will doctrine!

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Handbook Contents

• Introduction Business History/Philosophy
• Working Hours
• Pay Salaries
• Benefits
• Drug Alcohol Abuse
• Sexual / Unlawful Harassment
• Attendance

• Discipline
• Employee Safety
• Smoking
• Complaints
• Workplace Civility
• Appearance Guidelines
• Many others!

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Performance Reviews

• Benefits
• Provides credible history of performance
• Helps employees improve performance
• May protect against false claims

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Review Process

• Give a balanced picture of employees strengths
  and weaknesses. Be specific!
• Indicate areas where employee must improve and
  the timetable
• Allow employee time to comment
• Set goals for the coming year

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Key Employment Laws

• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Occupational Safety Health Act (OSHA)
• Title VII (the granddaddy!)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)

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Fair Labor Standards Act

• Passed in 1938, your business is covered if you
  have more than 500,000 in total sales.
• Only covers EMPLOYEES
• Outlines process for overtime pay, minimum wage,
  equal pay for equal work, child labor, pay
  withholdings

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FLSA Example

• You agree to pay a non-exempt employee a salary
  of 400 per week. If the employee works 50
  hours, the regular rate is 8 (400/50 hours).
  So, in addition to the salary, you must pay 4
  (1/2 the regular rate) for each of the ten OT
  hours a total of 440.

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Family Medical Leave Act

• Passed in 1993, your business is covered of you
  have 50 or more employees within a 75 mile
  radius.
• Provides up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for certain
  family and medical reasons.
• Employees must have worked for the business for
  at least 12 months and worked a minimum of 1,250
  hours in the last 12 months.

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FMLA Example

• Sue works for ABC, Inc. as a manager of 10
  employees. She suffers from a major depressive
  episode which will require therapy for 6 months,
  3x per week. ABC must grant Sues request for a
  reduced leave schedule to permit her to get
  treatment. The company also transfers her
  temporarily to a position in which her absences
  will be less disruptive to the company.

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Occupational Safety Health Act

• Passed in 1970, your business is covered if your
  business effects interstate commerce or has at
  least 10 employees.
• States that businesses must provide a place of
  employment that is free from recognized hazards
  that are causing, or are likely to cause death or
  serious physical harm to employees.
• Good practice to have written safety policies

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OSHA Example

• Joe, a driver for Speedy Delivery Service hears
  that the brakes locked on one of the vans earlier
  that day. His supervisor orders him to use that
  van for a delivery. He refuses and is fired.
  Joe sues and wins. Based on the information he
  had, even if the brakes were OK, Joe had a
  reasonable reason to believe he would be injured
  if he drove the van.

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Title VII The Granddaddy!

• Passed in 1964, your business is covered if you
  employ 15 or more people either FT or PT.
• Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
  color, religion, gender or national origin
• Applies to hires, promotions, terminations,
  raises, benefits, work assignments, leaves of
  absence, training, etc.

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Title VII, cont.

• Retaliation for filing a complaint is illegal
• Sexual harassment also covered
• Your business can be held responsible if
  management knew, or should have known, that
  harassment was occurring
• Age discrimination applies to organizations with
  20 or more employees.

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When Its OK to Discriminate!

• A religious organization employs counselors who
  answer telephone inquiries from those interested
  in becoming members of that religion. The
  organization can require that the counselors are
  members of that denomination.
• A department store hires young women to model
  clothing for teenage girls. Being a woman under
  20 is a bona fide qualification.

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Americans with Disabilities Act

• Passed in 1990, your business is covered if you
  have 15 or more employees working for you for 20
  or more weeks during the current calendar year.
• Protects qualified individuals with
  disabilities from job discrimination
• Only applies to physical and mental impairments
  that substantially limit a major life activity OR
  are regarded as being impaired or have a record
  of impairment!

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Reasonable Accommodations under the ADA

• Job application, job performance, access to
  benefits.
• Undue hardship
• Net cost of accommodation
• Size of business and its financial resources
• Impact of the accommodation on operations

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ADA Example

• Pam cant read because she has dyslexia, Stew
  cant read because he dropped out of school. Pam
  has an impairment under ADA, Stew does not.
• Natalie is fired because of a false rumor that
  she has HIV. She has no impairment, but is being
  treated as if she does. Therefore her firing is
  covered under the ADA.

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Workplace Violence

• A rising concern today. 85 of all incidents had
  clear warning signs!
• How to prevent
• Develop a policy
• Educate employees
• Develop employment procedures
• Establish an EAP
• Plan the post-incident response

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WV Demographics
"The average workplace murderer is likely to be
unmarried, male and on the job at least 4 years.
He has a grudge and knows exactly whom he wants
to kill. Larry Hansel, for example, carried a
12-gauge shotgun to shoot co-workers in San
Diego. He says he would do it again."-- The Mind
of a Killer (article in USA Today - July 15, 2004
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Thank You!

• For more information contact
• Ed Krow, SPHR, CHCM
• Ed.Krow_at_bmc-llp.com
• 717-393-5696