Tag: employee handbook

Posted on

Is your business ready for the COVID-19 golden age of union organizing?

union

“Among the many lessons we will learn from the COVID-19 pandemic is its demonstration of the importance of union membership for essential workers.

“Of all the injustices exposed by the pandemic, the risks faced by non-union workers have become the most apparent. Non-union workers are being asked to risk their safety with little or no protections of their own.”

— Gary Perinar (executive secretary-treasurer of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters), The importance of unions is more obvious than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Sun-Times, Apr. 30, 2020

One of the unexpected byproducts of the COVID-19 pandemic is a corresponding rise in union organizing.
This crisis has magnified attention on key labor union agenda items and talking points such as worker safety and higher pay. Unions have been pressing these issues not only for current members but also more importantly for potential members.
  • The Teamsters is backing Amazon warehouse workers.
  • The UFCW is helping organize Instacart shoppers.
  • The SEIU is funding fast-food activists and Uber/Lyft drivers.
Indeed, according to Richard Berman, the founder of the Center for Union Facts, this union activity is part of a much larger trend:
  • This is the first time since the early 1980s where I sense significant interest by employees in “collective action” and “3rd party representation”.
  • Gallup polling in 2019 shows the 18-34 demographic has a 69% approval of unions. In 2017, 76% of those joining unions were younger than 35.
  • Employees who feel they will be exposed to co-workers or customers who have the virus are communicating on Facebook and other platforms about their jointly held concerns. Union organizers have access to these conversations and are making themselves available to help.
  • Most current HR professionals have no history in dealing with a partial workforce rebellion. This will most likely happen in individual companies or it could be a wider industry movement in a city or region.
That last point might be the one most important to your business. “Most current HR professionals have no history in dealing with a partial workforce rebellion.” What should your business be doing right now to best prepare itself in the event a union starts talking to your employees? The best defense is a good offense. I recommend that employers adopt the T.E.A.M. approach to union avoidance:
Train supervisors.
Educate employees.
Affirm the open door.
Modernize policies.

1. Train supervisors. If a union is organizing, supervisors are likely to be the first people to know. They will also be the people who rank-and-file employees will come to with questions or concerns. Thus, supervisors need to know how to report, monitor and legally respond to union activity.
2. Educate employees. Employees should not be told that the company is anti-union, but why it is anti-union – competitive wages and benefits; a strong commitment to worker safety and health; positive communication between management and employees; a history of peaceful employee/management relations; management’s openness to listen to employees and handle their concerns without an intermediary; and an unwillingness to permit a third-party to tell the company and employees how to do their jobs. Of course, if this is just lip service, you might as well not say it at all.
3. Affirm the open door. Management should routinely round its employees up to learn what is happening within the rank-and-file and what they are thinking about. Management should walk the floor on a daily basis. It should also hold regular meetings with employees, whether in small sessions with HR or large town hall-style meetings. And management’s door should always be open to listen to employees’ concerns, offer feedback and adopt positive change when feasible and practical.
4. Modernize policies. In an ideal world, employee handbooks and other corporate policies should be reviewed and updated annually. I’ve yet to come across a company that does so this frequently. Issues to consider and review? Do you have a written statement on unionization? An open-door policy? An issue resolution procedure? Peer review? An employee bulletin board? An electronic communications policy? Most importantly, do you have a no-solicitation policy? It is the single most important policy to help fight labor unions.

No avoidance program is foolproof. No matter what steps are taken and no matter the quality of employee relations, every company is at some risk for a union organizing campaign. Some, however, are more at risk than others.
All businesses should strive to be an employer of choice for employees and not an employer of opportunity for labor unions. The steps you take before that representation petition ever arrives will help define whether you remain a non-union employer.
Posted on

Employee Handbook: Lifesaver or Nightmare?

employee handbook

When done correctly, employee handbooks can be great tools for employers.

But often employers treat them like a meal simmering in a crockpot: set it and forget it. Creating a handbook, particularly for employers in multiple states, is a major undertaking.

Many employers do not give their employee handbooks the attention they need and deserve. Some cobble together a collection of policies borrowed from the internet or other businesses that may not only fail to reflect their actual business practices, but may also run afoul of state, federal or local laws.

Some businesses delegate the task of creating an employee handbook to someone with little or no experience in human resources, and the handbook turns into a glorified “how-to” manual for submitting expense reports and timesheets, with a few personnel policies thrown in.

Even when an employer puts the time and resources necessary into the creation of a good employee handbook, completion of a comprehensive handbook project often induces a sense of relief that quickly turns into complacency if the company does not have a plan to routinely revisit the handbook for periodic updates.

Also read: The Top 6 Employee Handbook Mistakes

A well-written and up-to-date employee handbook can be a litigation lifesaver, but an out-of-date handbook can be an employer’s nightmare. Recognizing and treating employee handbooks as important HR assets will pay off in the long run by providing consistency and guidance in day-to-day operations and legal protection in the event of a government agency action or lawsuit.

What Should an Employee Handbook Do?

Think of the employee handbook as a “best practices” guide that sets forth key expectations for employees, as well as any notices or policies that are required by law.  It should explain the personnel practices about which there is to be no confusion, so they can be applied consistently and fairly. Put yourself in the shoes of your employees; what would you want to know about company policies, practices and expectations?

A well-written and up-to-date employee handbook can be a litigation lifesaver, but an out-of-date handbook can be an employer’s nightmare.

Examples of some key policies include equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination; harassment; at-will employment; leaves of absence; reasonable accommodations for pregnancy or disability; drugs in the workplace/drug testing; an overview of company benefits (vacation, sick leave, holidays, health insurance, 401(k) plans, etc.); absenteeism and tardiness; safety rules; discipline; performance reviews; use of company email, voicemail, telephones and computers; an explanation of complaint-handling procedures; and an acknowledgment of receipt signed by the employee.

Additionally, many states have written policy requirements that are dictated by the size of the employer’s workforce in a particular state. Recently, there has also been a wave of paid sick leave laws being enacted by states and localities — many of which have written notice and policy requirements. Additionally, some states have written policy requirements for pregnancy accommodation, protection of social security numbers, family leave laws and more. It is incumbent upon the employer to keep track of these laws and the requirements that go with them.

Employers in multiple states need to be mindful that states do not all play by the same rules. Something that seems benign could land a company in hot water if the state law is not considered. For example, some states prohibit use-it-or-lose-it vacation policies, including California, while other states, such as Louisiana, require that all accrued vacation be paid out upon separation of employment, regardless of the reason. Many of these state laws have significant penalties associated with them that can be costly to businesses.

Also read: It’s Always the Right Time to Revisit Your Handbooks

Further, agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board have also weighed in on whether certain language in an employee handbook may chill employee rights to engage in concerted and protected activity, particularly in nonunion workplaces.

In sum, an employee handbook should balance educating employees with legal requirements developed through several legal channels, including statutes, court opinions, agency interpretations of laws and implementing regulations.

How Often Should a Handbook Be Updated?

Ideally, an employee handbook should be reviewed and updated at least once a year. Employment laws change frequently, especially at the state level, and policies that were perfectly fine several years ago may be incomplete or problematic today.

For employers operating in multiple states, particularly those with active legislatures that tend to make changes to the laws effecting employers each session, a review every six months is recommended.

Can It Be Made Available Online?

The short answer is yes. The cost and logistics of distributing paper copies of handbooks has led a number of employers to make their employee handbook available electronically (e.g., on the company’s intranet or through a third-party host site).

If your company opts for an online employee handbook, remind employees periodically that the information is available online and make sure that every employee has access to a company computer. If they don’t, make hard copy handbooks available as a supplement.

In the end, maintaining your employee handbook is akin to getting an oil change for your car or rebalancing your retirement portfolio — a small but necessary step to keep your company on track. Consulting an employment lawyer who routinely prepares employee handbooks is strongly recommended.