Author: Site Staff

How do you apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN)?

Ask the IRS for Form SS-4. Form SS-4 is available by calling the IRS at (800) 829-1040 or through their Web site, http://www.irs.ustreas.gov.

After you’ve completed that form, you can get the EIN by mail, fax or phone. The instructions with your SS-4 provide you the proper phone numbers.

You may also want to ask the IRS for Publication 1635, Understanding Your EIN.

Source: Internal Revenue Service, November 25, 1998.

How do you figure the amount of deposit required for Form 940/940EZ, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return (FUTA)? Here’s an explanation from the IRS:

“First figure the amount of wages you paid during the quarter that are subject to federal unemployment tax. Only the first $7,000 paid to each employee during each calendar year is subject to the tax. Next, multiply the taxable wages you have just figured by eight tenths of one percent (.8%). If $100 or less, you do not have to make a deposit. Add this amount to the tax you figure for wages subject to unemployment tax at the end of the next quarter. If more than $100, a deposit is due. For more specific information, refer to Tax Topic 759, Form 940/940EZ—Deposit Requirements (available by calling the IRS at 800/829-1040 or through the IRS Web site at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov.

Note: The FUTA tax rate isn’t always .8%. The FUTA tax rate is 6.2% (see next FAQ) Generally, an employer can take a credit against FUTA tax for amounts paid into state unemployment funds. This credit cannot be more than 5.4% (resulting in a net .8% rate). Most employers who make timely unemployment tax payments to the state are entitled to the .8%.”

Source: Internal Revenue Service, November 25, 1998.

Recently, an employee was forced to retire because of emphysema. A company representative came by and gave him general information about his termination and about his COBRA rights. But the company did not give the employee a confirmation letter describing his COBRA rights in detail.

Then, the company notified the employee that he had failed to elect COBRA coverage, and his COBRA rights were effectively terminated. When the employee was later hospitalized, he had no insurance.

An appeals court (Smith v. Rogers Galvanizing Co., CA 10, No. 96-5168) ruled that the employer did not sufficiently inform the employee about the 60-day notice period regarding continuing coverage under COBRA. It also failed to provide the employee with sufficient information about individual and family coverage, including premium amounts.

It’s a good reminder to make sure you are up to snuff on the COBRA requirements.

Source: You and the Law, National Institute of Business Management, 1750 Old Meadow Rd, Suite 302, McLean, VA 22102, November 1998. 800/543-2055. Cost: $187/year.

Employment at Will is a concept often misunderstood.

Employment at Will means an employer has the right to fire (or discipline or promote) an employee for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all, so long as it is not an illegal reason.

What are illegal reasons? It depends on the federal and state law, but here are some:

• Breach of a contract (express, implied, written or oral, depending on your state’s law);
• Violation of a discrimination statute (federal, state or local) based on race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, veterans’ status, disabled veterans’ status, union affiliation, and other reasons.
• Because of the employee’s lawful off-duty contact, lawful expression of first amendment rights, lawful on-duty conduct; and/or in retaliation for exercising any of these rights.

Check your local statutes to be sure. In addition, do not forget that many states require employers to give employees written notice of termination and a statement of the reasons for the termination.

Source: Epstein, Becker & Green, November 10, 1998, New York

These are the things that will increase your risk of a lawsuit.

1. Have no established “zero tolerance” policy regarding sexual harassment, violence in the workplace, and employment discrimination (according to state and federal legislation).
2. Have not regularly distributed the “Zero tolerance” to all employees.
3. Have not trained all employees on these policies.
4. Have no routine way of training new hires and current employees on these policies.
5. Have no written grievance/complaint procedure that has been distributed, enforced and explained to all employees with assurance for no retaliation if complaints are filed.
6. Ignore initial complaints or “grumblings” from employees without giving the complaint thorough consideration and appropriate investigation.
7. Ignore high absenteeism, tardiness, accident, turnover or other high-risk behavior that is especially accumulated within one department and spread among different employees in that department.
8. Don’t offer employee assistance programs and train supervisors, team leaders and managers about making mandatory referrals when necessary.
9. Don’t implement employment or drug testing in valid, reliable, secure, and confidential ways with the assistance of trained professionals in the related field (e.g. drug testing specialist, industrial psychologist.)
10. Have a double standard of behaviors for top level managers even if all of the above steps are in place.

Source: Camille Caiozzo, Ph.D., President of Resource HR, Inc, November 1998. Caiozzo, is a Management Psychologist with over 20 years experience consulting on workplace behavioral issues.

Do you do background checks on prospective employees?

If so, don’t forget that you must comply with the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and any similar state laws. The FCRA requires an employer to obtain a written authorization—on a sheet of paper separate from the application—and provide appropriate notices to the applicant. If the employer makes a decision to reject the applicant because of what is on the report, then the employer must provide a notice to the applicant prior to taking the adverse action and provide a separate notice after taking the action. The notice must provide the applicant with information on how to obtain a copy of the report. An employer that fails to comply with the FCRA could be liable for civil penalties.

Check with your state labor department for more information.

Source: Epstein, Becker & Green, November 10, 1998, New York.

Questions to Ask a Prospective Trainer

How long have you been a diversity trainer?
— Experience is no guarantee of quality, but it’s a plus.

How did you attain cultural awareness and proficiency? What experiences influenced your cross-cultural skills development?

What organizations like ours have you trained for? How were they like ours; how were they different?

What exactly did you do for those organizations?
— Listen for specifics. If they aren’t there, they may not exist.

What problems did you encounter? How did you handle them?
— Be wary if a trainer claims there were no problems.

What measurable results were realized?
— Ask yourself if it was worth it.

What do you need to know about the trainees before you begin? How will that information affect your presentation?
— Answers will tell you something about how the candidate customizes training.

Describe your training methods and style.

What could cause changes in the contract after training has begun? What are the possible cost implications?
— Ask for examples.

What sort of environment do you aim for in a training session? How do you go about achieving it?

What experiences have you had with trainees who became hostile or abusive to you or other trainees? What did you do?

What do you do with trainees who convey by word or actions that they think diversity training is a waste of their time?

Would you customize training because of our industry/mission, size, educational level of trainees or ethnic groups? How?

What are the responsibilities of the client? Of the trainer? Of the trainees?

What would we need to do to get the most out of a contract with you?

What experience have you had with XYZ problems?
— Here, you want to specify your problems, such as homophobia.

Questions to Ask About a Prospective Trainer to His or Her Clients

How did you find him or her?
— This may give you a clue as to their objectivity, and may give you another person to check with.

What were your needs?
— Listen to how specific they were.

What did the trainer do for you?
— Get specifics, from project definition through design, training, evaluation and follow-up.

In what ways did the trainer help you understand your diversity needs and deal with them?
— For example, did the trainer identify issues that had been overlooked? Did the trainer improve upon the proposal?

Tell us about your working relationship, such as their availability and responsiveness, their punctuality, reliability and candor.

What indicators did you have of the trainer’s sincerity? Ethics?

Would you hire him or her again? If so, what would you do differently?
— This could point out trainer weaknesses, or tell you what it takes to work well with that trainer.

What do you know now about selecting a trainer that would have helped you make a better choice?

Source: “Consumer’s Guide to Diversity Training,” The Times Mirror Company and The County of Los Angeles, Commission on Human Relations.

Women continue to tell the U.S. Department of Labor that pay is one of their biggest workplace concerns. A look at earnings data indicates a continuing wage gap between women and men. Although the wage gap has narrowed over the years, in 1997, working women still earned only 74 percent of men’s weekly earnings on average. The average woman would have to work from January 1, 1997 to April 3, 1998 to earn what the average man earned in 1997 alone. For women of color, the gap is even greater compared to white men.

Businesses have a great stake in equal-pay issues, as well. The wage gap and the glass ceiling reflect the undervaluation of an important sector of the workforce. Global competitiveness places greater demands on business.

Employers vary greatly by industry, gross sales and number of employees, yet very few are exempt from the laws that require equal pay and equal employment opportunity. We are providing the following 10-step guide which we believe will be helpful to you in developing a general framework for policies that will ensure equal pay, regardless of an individual employer’s characteristics. Small businesses may decide they do not need the formalized processes that are often essential for employers of larger workforces, yet may still find it useful to apply all or some of these concepts in assessing compensation programs for their employees.

1. Conduct a recruitment self-audit.
   Does your hiring process seek diversity in the qualified applicant pool for positions?
2. Evaluate your compensation system for internal equity.
   Do you have a method to determine salaries and benefits?
   
   Do you write position descriptions, seek employee input and develop consensus for position descriptions? In unionized workplaces, do you involve union leaders?
   
   Do you have a consistent job evaluation system? Are jobs scored or assigned grades? Are positions where women and minorities work scored or graded according to the same standards as jobs where men or non-minorities work?
   
   Could a method be used for ensuring consistent pay for people with substantially similar levels of experience and education who hold jobs calling for substantially similar degrees of skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions, even though job titles may be different?
3. Evaluate your compensation system for industry competitiveness.
   Do you have a method to determine the market rate for any given job? Do you ensure that market rates are applied consistently? (i.e., Can you be confident that men are not being compensated at or above market rates while women are compensated at or below market rates? Can you be confident that non-minority workers are not compensated at or above market rates while minority workers’ compensation is at or below the market rates?)
   
   Would your company benefit from a fresh approach that updates position descriptions; assesses skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions of various jobs; assigns grades or scores; and ensures consistent application of market rates and external competitiveness?
4. Conduct a new job evaluation system if needed.
   Do you have up-to-date position descriptions for all occupations?
   
   Do you establish criteria for assigning values to skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions of jobs? Do you challenge basic assumptions about the value of skills before points or grades? (i.e.: Do you consider how caring for sick people, small muscle dexterity in typing, and other such skills may have been undervalued in jobs that have been traditionally held by women?)
   
   Do you ensure agreement among worker representatives and management on criteria to evaluate jobs?
   
   Do you assign scores or grades to jobs and allow worker input?
   
   Do you compare your system with market rates and other external competitiveness factors?
   
   Do you consider whether the market has undercompensated certain occupations or professions before making adjustments?
   
   Do you assign consistent compensation to jobs within similar grades or scores, and do you use market rates and other external competitiveness factors consistently?
5. Examine your compensation system and compare job grades or scores.
   How does pay compare for positions with similar grades or scores within your company?
   
   On average, are women and minorities paid similarly to men and non-minorities within the same grade or job score? Are there legitimate reasons for any disparities in pay between jobs with similar grades or scores? Can corrections be made to ensure consistency in assigning grades or scores?
   
   How long do men, women and minorities stay within job grades or scores before moving up? Do men or non-minority workers move up faster? What are the reasons that some workers move up faster? Can you take action to ensure that all workers have equal opportunity for advancement?
6. Review data for personnel entering your company.
   At what grades or positions do men, women and minorities typically enter your company?
   
   Within those grades and positions, are salaries consistent, or do men, women and minorities enter at different pay levels?
   
   How does negotiation affect entry-level salaries? Are men able to negotiate higher starting salaries than women or minorities?
   
   How do new hires compare in salary to those already working in the company in the same grades or positions? Do men, women and minorities entering the company get paid higher or lower than those who already hold the same positions or grades? Are there differences by gender or race?
   
   Are changes needed to ensure that new hires are treated consistently and incorporated into existing compensation systems on a compatible basis?
7. Assess opportunity for employees to win commissions and bonuses.
   Are men, women and minorities assigned projects or clients with high commission potential on a consistent basis?
   
   Are men, women and minorities with similar levels of performance awarded bonuses on a consistent basis? Do they receive bonuses of similar monetary values?
8. Assess how raises are awarded.
   Is there a consistent method of evaluating performance for all workers? Do men, women and minorities receive consistent raises based on similar performance standards? (i.e., Are all workers with outstanding evaluations awarded the same percentage increases? If not, what are the reasons for the difference?)
   Are men, women and minorities with similar levels of performance awarded bonuses on a consistent basis? Do they receive bonuses of similar monetary values?
9. Evaluate employee training, development and promotion opportunities.
   How are workers selected for participation in training opportunities or special projects that lead to advancement? Are there differences by race or gender? If so, what can be done to widen the pool to reflect equal opportunity?
10. Implement changes where needed, maintain equity and share your success.
    Have you made changes to ensure consistency in evaluation of jobs, assignment of grades or scores, advancement within the system, performance evaluation, compensation levels, raises, bonuses, commissions and training? Have you evaluated your compensation system periodically to ensure that it meets equal employment opportunity goals?
    
    Do you maintain openness about compensation with your workforce? Do you regularly post job openings and salary ranges within the workplace? Do you allow employees to discuss compensation issues on their own time?
    
    Are you reaping the rewards of a productive, loyal workforce, and using your success as a competitive tool to attract the best and brightest workers?

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW Room S 3002, Washington, DC 20210, Phone: 202/219-6611

Here are 14 great tips that may help your written and oralcommunication.

1. Remember that diversity has many levels and complexities, including cultures withincultures.
   A 70-year-old female small business owner from Brazil may be very differentfrom a 26-year-old man of Mexican descent.
2. Don’t separate people.
   Avoid phrases like “Jewish people understandthat ….”
3. Admit what you don’t know.
   People from outside of America know a lot aboutAmerica from TV and movies, but we know less about them. Homosexuals know all aboutheterosexuals; few heterosexuals know much about homosexuals.
4. Notice what people call themselves.
   Do they use Persian or Iranian; Korean orAsian; Black or African-American; Hispanic or Chicano.
5. Don’t make assumptions based on a person’s appearance, name or group.
   For example, many people with ethnic or religious last names don’t belong to thereligion or ethnicity identified with that name. Another example: Don’t assume thatbecause someone is of a certain religion or nationality, they belong to a certainpolitical party or have certain stereotypical opinions associated with that ethnicity.
6. Don’t patronize.
   Avoid phrases like “You understand the importanceof…”.
7. Don’t doubt the authenticity of what you hear.
   Each person is the highestauthority on what she or he feels.
8. Be willing to have your biases changed.
9. When writing, replace judgements with facts.
   Rather than using the word”elderly,” give a person’s age — if it’s even relevant.
10. When writing and speaking, consider whether some references and adjectives should bedeleted.
    For example, in describing Driving Miss Daisy as a movie about a”Southern woman and her Black chauffeur,” is the word Black necessary?
11. Use parallel titles and terms.
    Sometimes men are referred to using their firstand last names, but women are referred to with just their first names. Avoid such bias.
12. Think about your use of “we.”
    Sentences like: “As we approachChristmas, contact the HR department if you want to help with party planning” can bevery alienating.
13. Don’t use judgmental words.
    The term “openly gay” is lessjudgmental than “admittedly gay” or “avowed homosexual.” Also,”sexual orientation” is considered more accurate and less judgmental than”sexual preference.”
14. When writing, have someone review your work who may have a different perspective.
    

SOURCE: Compiled by Workforce Online from “When We Talk,” “No Offense Intended,” “23 Tips on Cross-Cultural Communication,” and “How to Communicate Better with Clients, Customers, and Workers Whose English Is Limited,” by Transamerica Life Companies, GTE Telephone Operations, and the County of Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations.

Recently someone asked Workforce: “Does the ADA only apply to people who have a disability, or does it apply to anyone with a condition that is ‘perceived’ as a disability?”

In a sense, because the ADA protects those “perceived” as having a disability, it does not really matter whether a person has a disability. For example, if an employer takes adverse employment action against someone because the employer believes the employee has HIV, then the ADA will apply and the legality of an employer’s action will be determined by whether the employee can perform the essential functions of the position with a reasonable accommodation. It makes no difference whether or not the individual actually has the virus.

Source: Epstein, Becker & Green, November 10, 1998, New York.