Workplace of Choice

It may be if bills pending in the U. S. Congress become law.

House and Senate bills, currently pending, require employers with 15 or more employees to grant 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a max of 56 hours (7 days) per year. Workers would begin to accrue sick leave from their first day of employment and would be eligible to use the leave after completing 60 days service. The Healthy Families Act (S. 1152) is sponsored by Senators Kennedy and Dodd and Congresswoman DeLauro.

The bill would allow an employee to carry over accrued sick leave to the next calendar year, but total sick leave at any time would be capped at 56 hours.

Acceptable uses of sick leave would be:

• employee's own sickness;
• parents' or children's illnesses;
• healthcare provider visits for specific problems;
• preventive care;
• healthcare needs related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

For more than 3 consecutive days of sick leave, an employer could require certification of an employee's need.

How would passage of this bill affect your business?  Would your employee policies around PTO change? Are you in support of this law?

At first glance you might think Identity Theft falls outside the scope of HR.  However, in looking closer at two identity theft laws that will soon impact Massachusetts businesses, you might change your mind...

As of August 1, 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will begin enforcing its "Red Flag Rules". These "Red Flag Rules" are intended to protect the consumer against two things:

1. The unauthorized use of his/her identity to open or attempt to open an account in the consumer's name and;
2. The misuse of a consumer's existing account.

Companies must be alert to warning signs, or "Red Flags".  A "Red Flag" is any suspicious activity that could indicate identity theft in the making.  Affected organizations are required to develop and implement a written program to combat this problem.

The second phase of the MA Data Security Breach Law will take effect January 1, 2010.  This phase of the law requires that any organization that owns or licenses "Personal Information " must have two important policies in place:

1. They must have implemented a written program that describes how Personal Information is protected and;
2. They must adopt computer system security measures to reduce the risk of compromised Personal Information.

Are your HR policies set up to support these upcoming requirements?  As a result of these statutes, Human Resources will need to review their HR policies, Employee Handbook and policies surrounding Personal Information.

Are you wondering how to communicate with your employees about the state of your organization during this economic downturn? Here are some key considerations for determining the right balance of communication:

• Have an honest - but hopeful - conversation about the current state of the business;
• Provide focus for specific contributions so employees feel like they are contributing;
• Involve cross-functional teams in the implementation;
• Have a strong implementation process, including follow-up, status report communication to everyone, as appropriate, and frequent communication;
• Focus on feedback sessions so the company can understand what the employee feelings really are;
• Reassure employees that you are interested in what they think and how they feel - especially the critical employees that you really need to stay on board;
• Engaging employees in idea sharing is important and gives employees a strong direction to follow; and
  
• Unify the management team, who will be conducting most of the day-to-day communcation. Perhaps scripted notes or an "agent of the company" approach can make a big difference in ensuring clear and reasonable communication.

Focusing on your human capital can bring strong teams together to survive these difficult times. Now, more than ever, it is essential to keep employees engaged and informed!