Under USERRA it is
unlawful for an employer to discriminate in
employment or reemployment based upon military
service. A federal district court recently
broadened the interpretation of the protections
afforded by the Act to prohibit the denial of
any benefit of employment based
upon an employee’s affiliation with the
military. The court ruled a benefit of
employment includes freedom from a hostile work
environment. Therefore, a member of the guard or
reserves who is subjected to harassment
sufficient to create a hostile workplace because
of his or her military duties has the right to
sue under USERRA. MORE
|
| |
As the ‘90’s brought
the value of diversity to the forefront, the
focus was mainly on racial and ethnic
convergence to the benefit of the organization.
However, playing in the background is always a
different kind of diversity based upon changes
in the fundamental values of the successive
generations of workers. And these different
values are the basis of what many now call a
generational ‘war’ in the workplace. To
understand this ‘war’, we need to understand the
protagonists and knowledge-builders have spent
decades doing just that. The current workplace
is populated with what has been analytically
identified as ‘generations’ of workers each
characterized by distinctive values. This value
diversity contributes to a lack of understanding
and complicates HR policy and corporate culture.
Those in the largest generation are
commonly known as ‘baby boomers’ and it consists
of those born following WWII up until the
mid-60’s. They are followed by the “Gen X’ers”
born between 1965 and 1980. Finally, the current
generation of new workers born since 1980 is
known as ‘Gen Y.’ By their sheer numbers and
seniority the ‘boomers’ have defined the
predominant culture of most of today’s
businesses. Building on inherited values of the
workplace, the ‘boomers’ have established an
expectation of ‘the job comes first’ and loyalty
to the employer who provides that job. However,
these values are challenged by the typical Gen X
worker who has less respect for institutions in
general and for whom work is not the most
important thing in life. While hard working,
technically savvy and resourceful, the Gen X
commitment to work is confined to the 8-hour
workday and they see little loyalty from their
employer so they don’t hesitate to change jobs
for advancement. As today’s newest members to
join the workforce, Gen Y goes beyond the
independence of their Gen X predecessors. They
seek an environment with fewer boundaries. They
are collaborators and enjoy the team setting for
accomplishing their work. They want to ‘keep
their options open’ and many change not only
their job but their entire career direction.
This brand of diversity presents what
may be the biggest challenge faced by
organizations today. Successful human resource
strategies must deal with the needs of the
different factions of their workforce. CLICK
HERE for a discussion of these differences
and the strategies necessary to transition
corporate culture in response to the shifting
composition of today’s diverse workforce.
|
| |
Much can be said about
both the value of employee appraisals and the
problems of implementing a good appraisal
system. A recent study of appraisals focused on
the consistency (or more accurately the
inconsistency) found in the evaluation process.
To get at the extent of bias reflected in
appraisals, Personnel Decisions International
researched the appraisals of nearly 6,000
employees who reported to two (2) bosses. In 62%
of the cases where an employee was highly rated
by one boss, the other gave a lower evaluation
of the employee’s performance. In about a third
of these cases the second evaluation was
significantly lower including some with ‘below
average’ ratings. Such variance in appraisals
can lead to some big problems for an employer as
the discrepancies can provide evidence of bias.
But instead of throwing the whole appraisal baby
out with the bathwater, Sharon Armstrong,
president of an HR training and consulting
organization, suggests four steps to make
appraisals more effective. First, performance
evaluation documentation is an ongoing process,
not something that is just addressed once a year
at evaluation time. Appraisals must be based
upon clearly understood and agreed standards and
expectations. Third, appraisals must be focused
on specific objective job related performance
with less emphasis on subjective personality
related characteristics of the employee.
Finally, those making the appraisal must be
sensitive to the existence of factors that can
lead to ‘rating errors’ that misdirect us in the
evaluation process. The final appraisal should
be the culmination of ongoing communications
throughout the year with ‘no surprises’ when
finally submitted. MORE
|
| |
MEAL PERIODS AND BREAKS – WHAT’S
REQUIRED?
Q. Is
there an Illinois law that requires breaks?
A. There is no
Illinois or Federal law that requires breaks
other than the meal period that is required
under the One Day of Rest in Seven Act. Under
this act, an employee who is scheduled to work
at least 7 ½ consecutive hours or more must be
given a meal period beginning no later than the
end of the 5th hour.
Q. How long
must this meal period be, and is it paid or
unpaid?
A. Under Illinois
law, a meal period must be at least 20 minutes
to be unpaid. However, Federal law requires that
a meal period must be at least 30 minutes in
length before it can be unpaid, therefore any
breaks or meal periods under 30 minutes must be
counted as paid time.
Q. Can an
employee choose to work through their meal
period, and get paid for it?
A. An
employer may not permit an employee to skip
their meal period or eat at their workstation
while performing work. In fact, if an employee
receives more than a minor interruption from
their lunch break to perform any kind of work,
that meal period should start over, granting the
employee a new meal period.
Q. How
many hours must an employee work to receive
additional breaks or meal periods?
A. If an employee
is scheduled to work two shifts of 7 ½ hours
each, consecutively, he is entitled to an
additional meal period. No extra breaks beyond
the meal periods are required. Although
employers should consider the possible benefits
of increased productivity of employees who are
given additional rest breaks.
Q.
Is there a limit on the number of hours an
employee can work per day?
A. There
are generally no restrictions on the number of
hours an employee can work per day. However, be
aware that Illinois Child Labor Law does
restrict working hours for 14 and 15 year olds.
Also, Department of Transportation (DOT) has
restrictions on the number of hours drivers can
work. |
| |
On May 25, 2007,
President Bush signed the first increase to the
federal minimum wage in ten years, as part of
the supplemental spending bill for the Iraq war.
Title VIII – Fair Minimum Wage and Tax Relief –
will increase the federal minimum wage from
$5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years.
The first increase will bring minimum wage up to
$5.85 an hour, 60 days after the May 25 signing
taking effect on July 25, 2007. One year later,
summer of 2008, it will increase to $6.55, and
the summer of 2009, it will increase to $7.25 an
hour.
Illinois’ Minimum Wage is
currently at $6.50 an hour with increases
scheduled as follows: $7.50 on July 1, 2007,
$7.75 on July 1, 2008, $8.00 on July 1, 2009,
and $8.25 on July 1, 2010. Illinois is ahead of
the federal requirement, and therefore, Illinois
employers need only be concerned with abiding by
the Illinois Minimum Wage increases signed into
effect by Governor Blagojevich back on November
29, 2006.
|
| |
| As most employers
know, the jobs of employees in the Guard or
Reserves who have been called to active duty are
protected by provisions of USERRA. Generally,
employers must reemploy returning employees
returning from leave for active duty. Many
businesses have gone further than the
requirements of USERRA and provided continuing
benefits such as the extra pay to supplement
regular military pay. But one of provisions of
USERRA that has received little attention says
that a service person’s job may no longer be
protected when the cumulative time absent for
military duty exceeds five (5) years. It was
probably not imagined at the time of initial
activations that some members of the service
would accumulate this much time away from their
jobs on military leave. However, some have now
reached that milestone and employers should be
aware of the exceptions to application of the
limitation. Employee job protections may extend
beyond the 5-year limitation if the service is
performed during a time of war or national
emergency. Since the President first declared a
national emergency in 2001 in connection with
the 9/11 terrorist attack and again in 2003 with
respect to Iraq, USERRA will continue to apply
to most current cases of military leave. CLICK
HERE for a complete discussion of the
provisions of USERRA including the issues
associated with the 5-year
rule. |
| |
According to a recent
survey by executive recruiting giant Korn/Ferry
International, most of us feel that our boss is
doing a pretty good job. Almost half of the
managers surveyed (42%) rated their bosses
performance as either excellent or above
average. If you couple those results with the
fact that almost 3/4 of those responding think
they can do a better job than our bosses,
confidence is clearly not an issue for most. As
human capital becomes increasingly scarce,
keeping the best of our workforce becomes an
ever more important strategic issue. Since the
survey indicated that nearly 2/3 of our
managers aspire to their boss’ job, the question
is how to keep them on track. Surely nothing is
more depressing than working for a boss for whom
we have no respect and 25% of those polled
responded that they work for someone whose
performance they rate at ‘below average’ or
‘poor.’ In the ‘battle for the best’ these
results reinforce the importance of carefully
promoting according to performance if we don’t
want a problem with down-line morale and
turnover. But equally important is job
challenge. No one is happy when they feel that
their job doesn’t give them the opportunity to
grow on the job. “. . . many of today’s
executives are feeling ‘underemployed’ – or in
other words, that their employers are not making
full use of their backgrounds and abilities,”
says Bob Damon, president, North America for
Korn/Ferry. MORE
|
| |
| Knowing what you can
and can't do will help you prevent costly
mistakes. Call our staff of HR experts. Let Pam
Holleman help you deal with problems safely and
avoid disputes. You can reach the Helpline
toll-free at 800-322-4722. |
| |
| Your membership in the
Illinois Chamber pays! We offer valuable
programs and services to our members at special
discounts. Click
here for our growing list of outstanding
seminars, workshops and programs that will help
you with your everyday business needs.
|
| |
The Chamber urges all
Illinois employers to recognize their Guard and
Reserve employees by signing and displaying the
ESGR Statement of Support. To get yours, simply
complete an online
form and you will receive a personalized
certificate that demonstrates your support. Also
visit the SBA Veteran's Business Development web
site for assistance to small business owners
that have employees activated in the Guard or
Reserves. Click MORE
|
| |
The
HR Exec - Copyright © 2007 The Illinois
Chamber
Wood
S. McComb, Editor
Pam
Holleman, Manager, Human Resource
Information
|
