Category: Archive

In general, federal law does not require employers to provide rest or meal breaks for employees, although OSHA is considering rewriting its rules that require bathroom facilities to include provisions allowing employees reasonable access to the bathrooms. Any requirement to provide breaks to employees generally comes from state law. Approximately twenty-six states have laws requiring that employees be provided with certain meal or break periods: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania (depending on the employee’s age), Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

In general, federal wage-hour laws require that rest periods of twenty minutes or less be counted as time worked under the minimum wage and overtime laws. Bona fide meal periods of thirty minutes or more need not be counted as hours worked and therefore are not compensable, provided that the employee is completely relieved of duty.

Source: Wimberly, Lawson, Steckel, Nelson & Schneider, P.C., Atlanta, GA, January 1999. Phone: 404/365-0900.

Why You Should Be Consistent (Part II of II)

1. Here are a few benefits to maintaining consistency:
2. People will know what you expect.
3. People will know what you believe and why.
4. People will be able to be honest with you.
5. People will bring you bad news without fear of retribution.
6. You will achieve more.
7. You will enjoy life more.
8. You will live longer.
9. You will make more money.
10. You will better be able to influence people.


11. You will have more fun.

SOURCE: Tim Connor, Connor Resource Group Davidson, NC.

One of the key ingredients of good managers is their ability to maintain consistency in all of their roles and activities. These activities include how you:

1. Deal with adversity.
2. Discipline employees.
3. React to crises.
4. Respond to threats both internal and external.
5. Coach employees.
6. Train and develop employees.
7. Communicate with employees and other managers.
8. Make decisions.
9. Delegate.
10. Plan.
11. Manage your time.
12. How you manage corporate resources.

SOURCE: Tim Connor, Connor Resource Group, Davidson, NC.

Tips for Starting a New Job

Here are some good “new-job tips” for you or your new employees.

Study the Firm’s Culture
Beginning a new job is not unlike meeting future in-laws — first impressions count. Be attuned to the subtleties of the company’s business environment, including everything from department policies and procedures to how people interact with one another.

Reduce the Learning Curve
Master the position’s responsibilities as quickly as possible by asking questions and seeking out unofficial “mentors” who can show you the ropes. Many firms now have formal mentoring programs for this purpose, but in those companies that don’t, it pays to be resourceful.

Be a Team Player
In your eagerness to hit the ground running, don’t become overly concerned with your specific portion of a given project. Look at the big picture and volunteer for assignments, even if they fall outside your immediate job description. This will allow you to learn about new areas of operations while demonstrating your sense of team play.

Become Indispensable
From the outset, take steps to make yourself an invaluable resource to your new employer by exceeding performance expectations. Arrive early to the office and, whenever necessary, stay as late as it takes to see a project through to completion.

Practice Diplomacy
Tread lightly when offering opinions for improving a particular process or procedure, especially in your first few weeks. While your ideas may be sound, as a new employee you risk alienating veteran workers for whom existing operations are “working just fine, thank you.” Before you recommend a change, take time and talk with your colleagues to understand the reasons behind a specific policy. Only then should you diplomatically suggest enhancements.

Pay Attention to Management Style
Observe how managers throughout the company interact with employees. Is there a hierarchical structure or is the environment informal? Does your supervisor prefer impromptu, one-on-one discussions or scheduled meetings? Adapt your style of communication accordingly.

Follow the Leaders
Study (and emulate) the business and interpersonal styles of those with outstanding track records at the firm. These individuals will likely possess qualities that are highly valued by your new employer.

Chronicle Your Achievements
As you start building a successful work history, document these activities in a separate file. Items to keep include project reports, complimentary notes or memos from supervisors, professional awards and any other evidence of your accomplishments. These materials are useful in preparation for performance and salary reviews, or if you find yourself in the job market again.

SOURCE: ACCOUNTEMPS, Menlo Park, CA, December 11, 1998. The tips are from Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Job Hunting For Dummies.

Do you want a good overview of all the tax and wage reporting responsibilities of an employer? Are you a small business or non-profit looking for the taxation-related Web site for your state? Are you a multi-state employer looking for a list of every state’s tax authority?

The Simplified Tax and Wage Reporting System site, or “STAWRS,” has what you need. Find it at: http://www.treas.gov/stawrs (click on “one stop guide”).

Source: Simplified Tax and Wage Reporting System—”STAWRS” (a joint effort between several federal agencies), December 22, 1998.

Recently, someone told me the story of Oliver Wendell Holmes and the train ticket. Holmes was a Supreme Court Justice who was very respected, very intelligent, but a little bit absent-minded.

Apparently, Holmes was on a train one day, when the railroad ticket-checker began walking down the car, checking tickets. As the ticket-checker approached, he watched Holmes search his wallet, unable to find his ticket. Frustrated, Holmes then checked each of his pockets. Still no ticket.

Holmes was more and more agitated with himself as he went through his briefcase, still unable to find his ticket.

The ticket-checker had finally made his way to Holmes’ seat.

“Justice Holmes,” he said, laughing, “I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are. There’s no need to show me your ticket.”

“No, sir, that’s not the problem,” said Justice Holmes. “The problem is that I can’t remember where I’m going.”

When your business is undergoing change, starting a new project, opening a new office, or hiring a new set of employees, keep the Holmes story in mind. It will remind you to always have a feel for the direction you’re going.

SOURCE:Todd Raphael, Workforce Online, February 3, 1999.

Here’s a tip on the best way to set deadlines … don’t!

The most effective deadlines are the ones you don’t set for your staff. Employees usually resent the mandates, and become even more stressed than they already are. The best thing to do is explain the time constraints the organization is operating under, and give your staff responsibility for setting its own deadlines.

People will set deadlines for themselves and be more likely to live up to them.

SOURCE: Positive Leadership, newsletter, February 1999, Ragan Communications, Chicago, IL.

www.ragan.com

Here are some suggestions for mastering the art of networking.

1. Choose your networking partners carefully. Step back and evaluate the worth of different people as part of your network.
   
   
2. Go to the places that the people you wish to meet go to.
   
   
3. Start giving before you need to receive.
   
   
4. Always be courteous and considerate with those in your network.
   
   
5. Do your homework, so that you don’t waste the time of people in your network.
   
   
6. Acknowledge others’ contributions publicly-share the limelight.
   
   
7. Don’t burn your bridges.
   
   
8. Don’t whine, complain or gossip maliciously to people in your network
   
   
9. Establish affiliations of mutual advantage.
   
   
10. Find common ground.
    
    
11. Be natural and don’t oversell.
    
    
12. Take time immediately to read any business card given to you.
    
    
13. Later, note on the back of the business card when you met the person, and anything that you promised to do.

SOURCE: Trans4mation Training Ltd, Evesham, UK. Receive learning tips via e-mail at Intouch@trans4mation.com

Two recent cases offer guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In the first, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) brought suit under the ADA against Chase Manhattan Bank, whose long-term disability plan provided benefits for individuals with physical disabilities until age 65, but only provided benefits for mental disabilities for a maximum of two years.

The U.S. District Court for Southern New York held the policy did not violate the ADA, because “[while] the ADA proscribes discrimination … between the disabled and the non-disabled, it does not mandate equal benefits for different disabilities.” EEOC vs. Chase Manhattan Bank, S.D.N.Y., No. 97 Civ. 6620, 12/8/98.

In the second case, after Leanora Templeton suffered injuries in an automobile accident, she took disability leave from her position with Neodata Services. Before her return, Templeton refused to have her doctor complete a medical form in fear that the company would misuse the information. Neodata claimed the data was needed to determine accommodation for her and to comply with insurance requirements. Templeton was fired, and she sued her employer under the ADA, alleging failure to reasonably accommodate.

Federal district court dismissed Templeton’s claim. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed, reasoning that Templeton’s failure to engage in an interactive process with her employer to determine a reasonable accommodation precluded a claim for failure to accommodate. Templeton vs. Neodata Services Inc., 10th Cir., No 98-1106, 12/10/98.

Impact:
ADA permits employers to distinguish between disabilities in benefit plans.

 

Source: D. Diane Hatch, Ph.D., a human resources consultant based in San Francisco, and James E. Hall, an attorney with the law firm of Barlow, Kobata & Denis, with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago.