How many lines on a labor law poster can your employees read?

In almost any kind of workplace, there are at least few "official" posters. There might be an industry-specific safety poster. Odds are there's a minimum wage poster. And most businesses will have a number of small posters or one combination labor law poster covering relevant federal laws, regulations and guidelines. State labor law posters and even local labor law information posters may be posted in some areas, too.

That means that the average employee is presented with at least 2, and as many as a dozen posters at work.

Now for the big question...how many of them have they read? How often do they notice when the posters change to reflect new rules and laws?

Odds are, the answer is none. And never.

When most employees are questioned, they say they either just know that something is on the wall (or in the poster display case) or they've never really noticed the posters at all!

So we need to do some training! Why? Training employees on the how and what of labor law posters could:

• Prevent injuries to the employees, to co-workers or to customers
  
• Reduce the likelihood of lawsuits for missed or misunderstood benefits like FMLA or ADA accommodation
  
• Reduce the amount of time HR staff has to spend explaining protections and obligations covered in the posters

Some tips and suggestions for good labor law poster training

Focus on:

The reason the posters are there
The reason reading them is important to employees (they may miss a benefit until it's too late, etc)
The locations for the posters
An overview of the content

Do not:

Read the entire poster set to employees, unless reading skills are an issue. The focus should remain on the employee's obligation to see and read this material. Reading it may also set you up for a future lawsuit if an employee claims "that's not what so-and-so said when they read it to us!"

This little training could yield big results for your employees and for your company.

Staying up to date on legal issues critical for trainers

Outdated training could cost your company more than most trainers realize. A word of caution about getting too far ahead or reusing old training materials


Jackson (not his real name, but hey, we have to keep the attorneys happy!) is the training director for a large corporation. Let's call it XYZ, Inc. (Again, not the real name, but those attorneys are still watching, so....)

A bit a perfectionist, he prides himself on having all corporate training planned a year in advance. There are sessions on time management, on job skills, and even on touchy subjects like sexual harassment.

As of January 1st, the materials are ready and the entire year's training for all divisions is planned completely. He's even managed to reuse some old materials left over from a few years ago.

Pretty good, right? Not really.

Odds are Jackson's well-in-advance and recycled training will miss the mark on critical labor law issues. Employees at XYZ may not get the right information on some important legal issues. And that could cost XYZ money. Maybe even big money.

The thing that Jackson, and so many other trainers miss, is the fact that employment law is a moving target. And as a trainer, it's your job to stay on top of new developments and shifting regulations.

A few examples might help illustrate just how critical this is....

- Jackson's training plan included directing employees in the XYZ-owned medical labs in proper recordkeeping. But the class content was written before the new HIPAA Breach Notification rules went into effect in September of 2009. So the information Jackson gathered back in December of 2008, and the old materials he is recycling, are not only incomplete, they may be wrong.

The probable result? Records improperly maintained, with breaches unreported -- and that could lead to fines or lawsuits against XYZ.

- Jackson was very happy with his training plan for interviewing and hiring. He included age, disability and ethnic discrimination. Religious discrimination. Even pay discrimination between male and female applicants. He was certain all the bases were covered.

But during the year, the definition of an ADA disability changed. And legal decisions in a number of courts expanded protection to cover sexual identity, sexual reassignment and gender-based lifestyle issues. But Jackson's training doesn't cover any of that. And that omission could be costly for XYZ.

There are other issues Jackson may have missed during the year -- Changes in the FMLA regarding military families. Shifts in EEOC rules to cover genetic information. State-level changes in employment law. Court decisions that refine or even completely altered existing labor law practices.

If you, like Jackson, like to map out your training year, make sure you stay up to date on changes in labor law, both from legislative and judicial sources. Leave room in your curriculum for "as needed" special training sessions to bring managers and others "into the loop" on new rules and regulations.

And before you re-use older training materials, have your staff attorney or an outside employment law attorney look over the content. That little step could go along way towards keeping your company and all employees in step with today's employment law issues.

Is the “dork factor” hampering your safety training?

When it comes to training seasoned employees on workplace safety, you’ll rarely find a situation where an employee thinks they’re “too cool” to take the proper safety precautions at work. But when you’re dealing with teenage employees, the “dork factor” can have a major impact on how well, or not, they’ll follow safety precautions.

I first saw the “dork factor” explained by Paul Caret at the MEMIC Safety Blog in a post about motorcycle safety and the need to wear bright colored gear. When a coworker and avid motorcyclist met up with a few of his biker friends in a new, full faced helmet, they greeted him by saying, “Dude, you look like a dork.”

It may be easy for an adult to brush off a comment insulting their “coolness” and put safety above appearance, but the same situation can be much more difficult when you’re a teenager.

Whether it’s the pressure to look cool in front of their friends by not wearing a “dorky” helmet or feelings that they’re immune to the consequences of dangerous decisions, teens tend to take significantly more safety risks than the average adult.

“Because of their biologic, social, and economic characteristics, young workers have unique and substantial risks for work-related injuries and illnesses. In 2007, 38 youth under 18 died from work-related injuries. In 2006, an estimated 52,600 work-related injuries and illnesses among youth 15 to 17 years of age were treated in hospital emergency departments.” (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

Especially with the summer fast approaching and more teens entering the workforce, helping teens overcome the “dork factor” is more important to your safety efforts than ever. Consider these tips when training young workers on workplace safety:

• Know the law, and make sure teens do, too. The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act and child labor laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act outline specific employer responsibilities when it comes to keeping young workers safe. Ensure that you and your teen employees have a clear understanding of safety laws before they’re allowed to work.


• Train, train, train. Develop a safety training course for teens to ensure they can recognize hazards and understand safe work practices. Topics should include, but are not limited to, how to prepare for fires, workplace accidents, violent situations and what to do if they are injured.


• Supervise. Assign supervisors to groups of teen workers to help them recognize safety hazards and respond appropriately. Train supervisors to provide positive recognition to young employees who demonstrate safe working habits.


• Make safety a priority. Stress workplace safety, especially among supervisors responsible for teens. First-line supervisors can have the greatest influence on teens’ and their work habits.


• Encourage questions. Establish an open-door policy where young workers can feel comfortable asking about anything that is unclear or not understood, particularly when it comes to safety.

When teen workers know how to be safe at work and the reasons behind safety measures they’ll be better equipped to get over the “dork factor” and watch out for their own well-being, along with the safety of their coworkers. You have only a few weeks left before school lets out for summer, so get started on your teen worker safety program today.

Training Trends: Legal changes, stress at work and employee attitude problems

It may be April Fool’s Day, but this month’s issue of Training Trends isn’t joking around. The April issue of TrainingTime’s monthly workplace training newsletter is dedicated to informing you of the latest labor law changes to start preparing for, simple stress-reduction training and how to deal with an employee with a serious attitude problem.

Here’s what you can find in this issue of Training Trends:

Heads Up On Radical New Labor Law Changes

In compliance with major changes in federal and state administrations, several significant modifications and additions have been made to labor laws throughout the country.

We’ve put together a summary of the upcoming changes to allow you to prepare your HR departments and develop relevant training before the deadlines. We’ll continue to post additional details as we receive more information on the new regulations. (more)


I’m Not Stressed -- That Pencil Had It Coming!

I’ve gone through at least a dozen pencils and I have no idea how many paper clips this week, and it’s only Thursday. If I’m not unbending the paper clips, I’m snapping pencils in two…I know the stress in this place is killing me, but I don’t know what to do about it!

Does this sound familiar? Is it you? Or are you seeing it among the employees at your company? Maybe it’s not paper clips and pencils. Maybe it’s eating too much or being short tempered with coworkers or families.

Recent studies have proven that stress takes a serious toll on our health. Heart attacks, cancer and diabetes have all been linked directly to stress. Luckily, there are some simple things you can do to reduce stress at work and its potentially dangerous effects. (more)


I [Heart] My Attitude Problem

We’ve all been there. You have an employee who looks perfect on paper - never late, flawless work, goes above and beyond - but they’re a nightmare to work with. This “perfect” performer is bossy, troublesome, swears like a sailor and is never wrong.

You’ve got a serious attitude problem on your hands, and your troubled employee is the only one who doesn’t know about it.

So what’s a manager to do? Here are some things to consider before reaching for a pink slip … (more)

Each month, the experts at TrainingTime share all of the latest and greatest tips, trends and buzz from across the training industry. If you’re not on our mailing list, please take a few seconds and sign up for Training Trends to receive the most important training news each month.

If you’re a training expert or HR professional and are interested in writing content for Training Trends or TrainingTime.com’s learning library, visit our “Write for Us” page for instructions on how to contribute.

Today is the old new Form I-9 deadline

Remember the Form I-9 “Hokey Pokey” we played last summer? Are you ready for round two?

A new I-9 form was scheduled to take effect today, but in a surprise move, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) retracted the mandatory changes late on Friday, January 30, pending further comment and review.

I hope you remember where you put your old I-9s, because DHS says we must continue using them until April 3, 2009. The good version of the Form I-9 should have the “(Rev. 06/05/07) N” date on the bottom right-hand corner of the form.

Last Friday, DHS extended another 30-day comment period for the new Employment Verification rules and pushed back the scheduled update by two months, instructing businesses to go back to using the previous guidelines and I-9 forms.

In preparation for the new I-9 forms, many hiring managers and HR departments across the country discarded the previous forms, believing them to be outdated. The retraction and re-instatement of the old forms has some employers scrambling to respond and replace the forms they threw out last week.

Ashley Kaplan, Labor Law Compliance Attorney for G.Neil, received the DHS announcement Friday evening and immediately recognized the potential challenges.

“We worked overtime last week to ship out the updated forms to our customers to begin using on February 2, and now need to get back to them with new instructions,” Kaplan explains. “We’re providing a free pdf of the previous I-9 Form and instructions to our customers who purchased the updated forms. We’ll also closely monitor the extended review period in case further changes occur before the April 3rd deadline.”

If there was ever a time when procrastinating on compliance deadlines could work in your favor - this was it. You now have more time to get the right forms in order and finish up that Form I-9 training.

Still confused and need more information? Read G.Neil's new Form I-9 Q & A.

New FMLA regs, free webinar explaining what to do

In November, the Department of Labor released the first set of revisions to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that will take effect on January 16, 2009. Among other requirements, employers will need to acquire new paperwork and posters to reflect the latest revisions.

With just over a month until the new FMLA changes become effective, the pressure is on employers to understand exactly what they need to do in order to comply.

Join us next week for a free webinar, hosted by ComplyRight, covering all the information you need to know stay fully compliant under the FMLA. Attendees will learn:

• How the new regulations impact your business, what changed and what you need to do to comply
• Employer’s rights under the FMLA, including strategies to handle FMLA abuse
• Specific key requirements
• What changes need to be made to policies, notices and employee postings
• The latest rules for handling intermittent employee leave, chronic conditions, light duty, supervisor access to medical information, leave for military families and more

We hope to see you at The New FMLA Regulations: What You Need to Know on Thursday, December 11, 2008 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST. This free webinar is sponsored by ComplyRight and presented by Wendy J. Smith, Esquire, Fisher & Phillips LLP.

Visit the registration page for more information.


Related:

New FMLA rules: What you need to know

Family and Medical Leave Act Changes Q & A

Go to the carnival for new employee training ideas

The latest Carnival of HR is up at The HR Capitalist, full of HR goodies, a mini-roller coaster and even Bucky Covington from American Idol. Who would have thought he’d be interested in HR?

The entire list of ideas ranges from recruiting to compensation, but specifically regarding employee training, here are a few posts that may be of interest:

A suit straight off the rack won’t fit anyone perfectly, it needs to be tailored, customized. We have the technology to customize employee development programs for different careers, according to Wally Bock at Three Star Leadership.

Stop showing boring slide presentations and take a look at how Rowan Manahan from Fortify Your Oasis creates effective presentations using a visual approach.

Boost business performance with collaboration. John Ingham at The New Social Business asks, how much “collaboratieveness” does your company have?

Get the most out of employees with different learning and working preferences with a few, easy to implement tips from McArthur’s Rant.

Help two influential teams, HR and training, get on the same page when developing management training programs with tips on how to talk to each other from Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership.

We can all blame the FLSA for global warming, says Michael Moore at PA Labor & Employment. He recommends using the 4-day workweek to cut down on green house gas emission.

Apply now for OSHA employee safety training grants

Get ‘em while they’re hot!

Nonprofit organizations only have a few weeks left to apply for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) training grants, available through May 23.

The Susan Harwood Training Grant Program awards grant to provide training and education on health and safety in the workplace. Visit OSHA.gov for details on eligibility, electronic applications and requirements to apply.

OSHA will award close to $7 million in grants to nonprofit organizations including community and faith-based organizations, that are not part of state or local government agencies.

The performance-based employee safety training grants will be awarded for a full year project period. The grants focus on 18 training topics including combustible dust, construction safety and food processing health hazards.

Legal News Brief: Genetic Nondiscrimination Act pending presidential approval

Yesterday the House of Representatives followed the senate and approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) in an almost unanimous vote.

The House passed GINA along to the President’s desk by a vote of 414-1. President Bush is expected to follow suit and sign the bill into law.

Passage of the bill will prohibit employers and insurance providers from discriminating against workers on the basis of genetic information. Anyone with a predisposed genetic condition such as diabetes, hemophilia, sickle cell disease or breast cancer will be protected.

Some lawmakers are calling the bill “the first major civil rights act of the 21st century,” according to the Associated Press. Federal laws already protect employees against gender and racial discrimination, but this would be the first law to address genetic information discrimination.

Harassment investigations save money, supervisor training a key factor

Conducting effective investigations into workplace harassment and properly training supervisors how to handle investigations can save employers costly legal fees in the long run, according to a recent SHRM article.

William Tamayo, an attorney with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) gave advice on the right way to handle workplace harassment complaints at the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law, Employment Rights and Responsibilities Committee on April 2.

If an employer promptly investigates a claim and attempts to correct the harassment issue, employers may be able to minimize damages and even escape liability, Tamayo said, noting two past Supreme Court cases.

The first “line of defense” for employers is to have an up-to-date workplace policy against harassment of any kind, Tamayo advised. Also, businesses should have clear procedures for harassment complaints and every supervisor must be trained on the steps to take after receiving a harassment complaint or witnessing workplace harassment.

With a managerial promotion, every employee should be trained on anti-harassment laws and their responsibility as a supervisor under those laws, including how to report a compliant to HR.

Lack of resources is not an excuse for a delayed investigation, he said, reminding everyone that the cost of an investigation is far less than the legal fees and damages associated with a court case.

The attorney's tips on conducting workplace harassment investigations:

• An investigation should begin immediately or within the first few days following the harassment complaint.
• The HR person investigating harassment claims must be independent and unbiased, with a clear goal to uncover the truth.
• All records of the investigation should be kept completely confidential and filed in a different location than other corporate records.
• At the end of the investigation, it turns out the harassment claims are legitimate, the company should take all the necessary steps to prevent it from happening in the future.

If an employee does choose to sue the company, the investigation was not in vain.

“The investigation can win the case,” Tamayo said.

Read the full article.

Keep your germs at home!

Think about...

Your employee is sick. Your company doesn't provide paid sick leave. They can't afford to go without pay. So what is your employee going to do?

Accchhhoooo! Sniffle! Cough, cough...

Yes, that is your employee. in the office or at the restaurant making everyone else sick. They are there. They are working. But they are sick. And then more employees get sick, and customers get sick....and business slows down because sick workers just can't perform as well, and sick customers don't shop (unless your business is a pharmacy or medical office.)

With nearly 50% of the U.S. workforce lacking basic paid sick leave (that's about 59 MILLION workers!), presidential candidates and some members of Congress have talked about a national policy that will make paid sick days a part of federal labor laws. This would bring U.S. policy in line with that of other industrialized countries.

But in the meantime, lawmakers in 12 states and the District of Columbia are introducing legislation to make paid sick days a law in their state. Advocates of mandatory paid sick leave point out that it's not merely a labor issue...sick workers constitute a public health threat as well.

The epidemiological issue is made even more critical by the fact that the majority of employees who lack paid sick leave work in child care, food service and hotel industries -- all industries with high levels of contact with the public.

Employers looking at training issues connected with this problem may wish to supplement any changes in leave policy with educational programs on wellness, illness prevention, on-the-job-hygiene, and health care access.

A combination of effective training and paid sick leave options may be the best choice for reducing job site illness transmission, and improving employee wellness.