It’s long been known that HR isn’t there to make friends with employees, but in the current #MeToo climate, employers and their HR departments are in the spotlight. It’s important that HR protect the interests of both company and its employees. After all, a company won’t accomplish much without the work its many employees complete each day. But is doing even possible?
Matt Charney sits down with the California Chamber of Commerce for the California Employer Update.
It is easy to see why Employee Referral Management Programs (ERMP) are present in most organizations. The most common way of incentivizing employees was to offer cash rewards for hired candidates introduced by employees. While most companies have an ERMP, primarily attracted by this methodology, but most have reported problems with long term adoption of the program.Research shows getting a referral are a cheaper and faster way to hire, yield better results and lower the turnover rate at your company. This paper will identify the barriers to widespread adoption and what can be done to improvise on the ERMP.
This eBook is a proverbial shot-in-the-arm, intended to help HR executives and recruiters understand what it takes to leverage the latest networking and online engagement tools, and get out in front of your peers. We’ll offer the “why” and “how” of employer branding in a new media environment by looking at the adaptions marketers have made in the last five years. We’ll also look at innovative recruiting strategies that use new media to attract and engage knowledge workers.
It is easy to see why Employee Referral Management Programs (ERMP) are present in most organizations. The most common way of incentivizing employees was to offer cash rewards for hired candidates introduced by employees. While most companies have an ERMP, primarily attracted by this methodology, but most have reported problems with long term adoption of the program.Research shows getting a referral are a cheaper and faster way to hire, yield better results and lower the turnover rate at your company. This paper will identify the barriers to widespread adoption and what can be done to improvise on the ERMP.
This eBook is a proverbial shot-in-the-arm, intended to help HR executives and recruiters understand what it takes to leverage the latest networking and online engagement tools, and get out in front of your peers. We’ll offer the “why” and “how” of employer branding in a new media environment by looking at the adaptions marketers have made in the last five years. We’ll also look at innovative recruiting strategies that use new media to attract and engage knowledge workers.
Across employers and industries, we have heard stories about the value young people bring to the workplace. Employers in manufacturing cited the need for serious hand-eye coordination and reported positive experiences with young people filling these roles. Others cited the benefit of having youth in their companies who can use evolving technologies. For others, especially firms that need a lot of entry-level employees, young workers are their lifeblood.
Youth Hold the Key: Building Your Workforce Today and in the Future focuses on the role that youth can play in helping employers meet some of their current and looming workforce challenges, and how companies can improve how they hire and retain youth. The findings are based on a recent survey of 350 employers, more than 80 interviews with employers and workforce experts conducted during 2014 by The Bridgespan Group and Bain & Company, as well as a review of published literature. Much of this work focused on the potential of the millions of young people—referred to here as "opportunity youth"—who are disconnected from both work and school, and lack a college degree, to address the needs of employers.
Have You Heard About "Win Win Selection" !Nicole Payne
The importance of viewing the selection and interviewing process as a basic precursor to establishing trust and positive identification with a company's objectives. Using the LIFO Method, it illustrates how shared information between a candidate and company can provide a good first step towards building a mutually rewarding relationship for future OD efforts. Contact us for more info!
When it comes to investing in diversity, 71% of talent professionals
report that achieving gender parity* at their company is a
top priority.1 And while there is a long way to go to get there, a
thoughtful, data-driven recruiting strategy can help you make
meaningful gains toward that goal.
To understand how gender impacts the candidate journey, we
analyzed LinkedIn data on billions of interactions between
companies and candidates from job applications to recruiter
outreach and hires. The results show that while women and men
explore opportunities similarly, there’s a clear gap in how they apply
to jobs — and in how companies recruit them.
The good news is that this data is actionable. This report will help
you improve every step of the job seeker journey on LinkedIn, from
how you position your employer brand and interact with candidates,
to benchmarking your gender diversity hiring goals against your
industry. Your push for #BalanceForBetter can start today.
Social activists. Environmental activists. Consumer activists. Activist shareholders. Today, there is no shortage of activists affecting business operations in some way. These stand-up-for-what-is-right campaigners may either be an employer’s best advocates or its worst opponents. In either case, they are change agents.
If you’re frustrated with the mostly mediocre results produced by your current corporate employee referral program, it is important to realize that with only a handful of action steps you can dramatically improve both the quality and the volume of referrals. Referral Program managers need to realize that there is a growing performance gap between average referral programs and the emerging advanced ones. Advanced programs result in referrals reaching nearly 50% of all hires and they can receive as many as 8 referrals for each open job. These advanced programs can produce the highest quality, the fastest hires and even lower-cost hires than other sources. The keys to dramatically improving your results include understanding how to motivate your employees and managers to produce high-quality referrals, how to proactively seek out referrals, how to assign referrals and how to expand program coverage to increase referrals. Common referral program errors will also be highlighted and solutions for each will be provided. The webinar leader, Dr. John Sullivan, is the leading global expert in referral program design. During this highly interactive session, he will provide you with tips, action steps, best practices and he will answer your questions. As competition for top talent increases, upgrading your program to the next level is becoming an essential strategic step that can no longer be postponed.
Human resources is probably one of the more complicated aspects of running a small business. The complexities of working with people don’t fit nicely on a spreadsheet. Yet HR is incredibly important; employee salaries and benefits make up a huge chunk of your operating expenses.
Your employees are one of your greatest assets. You must protect and manage that asset.
This slideshare will teach you everything you need to know about human resources.
El estudio Global Talent Trends 2019 de Mercer, presentado en el PAD-Escuela de Dirección, muestra las principales tendencias en gestión del talento a nivel mundial para este año. Está basado en el aporte de más de 7300 líderes de RR.HH. de todo el mundo.
“Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Applying HR Technology to Solve Real-world Problems,” from LBi Software, brings the insight and wisdom of seven of HR's most recognized thought leaders to one topic: how to use today's powerful HR technology to focus on the people in your organization and become a more strategic business partner.
Our engaging e-book draws on the experience and knowledge of some of the most recognized thought leaders in HR today, including Steve Boese (HR Technology Conference & Expo), Ron Thomas (Human Capital Institute), Lisa Rosendahl (WomenofHR.com), Robin Schooling (HR Schoolhouse.com) and Matt Stollak (True Faith HR).
This e-book gives you succinct and revealing insight into how HR can better understand and rise to daily challenges, such as:
-Assuming too much about what employees think and feel.
-Meeting the increasing demand for workforce transparency and accuracy.
-Understanding the essential characteristics of employees, beyond job skills and goals
-Building your rewards program on your organization's culture
-Adapting to cultural developments and trends
-Using social media to assess the employee experience
-Embracing data to prove HR effectiveness
-Getting real-world use out of the newest HR technology
Across employers and industries, we have heard stories about the value young people bring to the workplace. Employers in manufacturing cited the need for serious hand-eye coordination and reported positive experiences with young people filling these roles. Others cited the benefit of having youth in their companies who can use evolving technologies. For others, especially firms that need a lot of entry-level employees, young workers are their lifeblood.
Youth Hold the Key: Building Your Workforce Today and in the Future focuses on the role that youth can play in helping employers meet some of their current and looming workforce challenges, and how companies can improve how they hire and retain youth. The findings are based on a recent survey of 350 employers, more than 80 interviews with employers and workforce experts conducted during 2014 by The Bridgespan Group and Bain & Company, as well as a review of published literature. Much of this work focused on the potential of the millions of young people—referred to here as "opportunity youth"—who are disconnected from both work and school, and lack a college degree, to address the needs of employers.
Have You Heard About "Win Win Selection" !Nicole Payne
The importance of viewing the selection and interviewing process as a basic precursor to establishing trust and positive identification with a company's objectives. Using the LIFO Method, it illustrates how shared information between a candidate and company can provide a good first step towards building a mutually rewarding relationship for future OD efforts. Contact us for more info!
When it comes to investing in diversity, 71% of talent professionals
report that achieving gender parity* at their company is a
top priority.1 And while there is a long way to go to get there, a
thoughtful, data-driven recruiting strategy can help you make
meaningful gains toward that goal.
To understand how gender impacts the candidate journey, we
analyzed LinkedIn data on billions of interactions between
companies and candidates from job applications to recruiter
outreach and hires. The results show that while women and men
explore opportunities similarly, there’s a clear gap in how they apply
to jobs — and in how companies recruit them.
The good news is that this data is actionable. This report will help
you improve every step of the job seeker journey on LinkedIn, from
how you position your employer brand and interact with candidates,
to benchmarking your gender diversity hiring goals against your
industry. Your push for #BalanceForBetter can start today.
Social activists. Environmental activists. Consumer activists. Activist shareholders. Today, there is no shortage of activists affecting business operations in some way. These stand-up-for-what-is-right campaigners may either be an employer’s best advocates or its worst opponents. In either case, they are change agents.
If you’re frustrated with the mostly mediocre results produced by your current corporate employee referral program, it is important to realize that with only a handful of action steps you can dramatically improve both the quality and the volume of referrals. Referral Program managers need to realize that there is a growing performance gap between average referral programs and the emerging advanced ones. Advanced programs result in referrals reaching nearly 50% of all hires and they can receive as many as 8 referrals for each open job. These advanced programs can produce the highest quality, the fastest hires and even lower-cost hires than other sources. The keys to dramatically improving your results include understanding how to motivate your employees and managers to produce high-quality referrals, how to proactively seek out referrals, how to assign referrals and how to expand program coverage to increase referrals. Common referral program errors will also be highlighted and solutions for each will be provided. The webinar leader, Dr. John Sullivan, is the leading global expert in referral program design. During this highly interactive session, he will provide you with tips, action steps, best practices and he will answer your questions. As competition for top talent increases, upgrading your program to the next level is becoming an essential strategic step that can no longer be postponed.
Human resources is probably one of the more complicated aspects of running a small business. The complexities of working with people don’t fit nicely on a spreadsheet. Yet HR is incredibly important; employee salaries and benefits make up a huge chunk of your operating expenses.
Your employees are one of your greatest assets. You must protect and manage that asset.
This slideshare will teach you everything you need to know about human resources.
El estudio Global Talent Trends 2019 de Mercer, presentado en el PAD-Escuela de Dirección, muestra las principales tendencias en gestión del talento a nivel mundial para este año. Está basado en el aporte de más de 7300 líderes de RR.HH. de todo el mundo.
“Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Applying HR Technology to Solve Real-world Problems,” from LBi Software, brings the insight and wisdom of seven of HR's most recognized thought leaders to one topic: how to use today's powerful HR technology to focus on the people in your organization and become a more strategic business partner.
Our engaging e-book draws on the experience and knowledge of some of the most recognized thought leaders in HR today, including Steve Boese (HR Technology Conference & Expo), Ron Thomas (Human Capital Institute), Lisa Rosendahl (WomenofHR.com), Robin Schooling (HR Schoolhouse.com) and Matt Stollak (True Faith HR).
This e-book gives you succinct and revealing insight into how HR can better understand and rise to daily challenges, such as:
-Assuming too much about what employees think and feel.
-Meeting the increasing demand for workforce transparency and accuracy.
-Understanding the essential characteristics of employees, beyond job skills and goals
-Building your rewards program on your organization's culture
-Adapting to cultural developments and trends
-Using social media to assess the employee experience
-Embracing data to prove HR effectiveness
-Getting real-world use out of the newest HR technology
Why we hate HRIn a knowledge economy, companies with the best .docxambersalomon88660
Why we hate HR
In a knowledge economy, companies with the best talent win. And finding, nurturing, and developing that talent should be one of the most important tasks in a corporation. So why does human resources do such a bad job — and how can we fix it?
By Fast Company Stafflong Read
Well, here’s a rockin’ party: a gathering of several hundred midlevel human-resources executives in Las Vegas. (Yo, Wayne Newton! How’s the 401(k)?) They are here, ensconced for two days at faux-glam Caesars Palace, to confer on “strategic HR leadership,” a conceit that sounds, to the lay observer, at once frightening and self-contradictory. If not plain laughable.
Because let’s face it: After close to 20 years of hopeful rhetoric about becoming “strategic partners” with a “seat at the table” where the business decisions that matter are made, most human-resources professionals aren’t nearly there. They have no seat, and the table is locked inside a conference room to which they have no key. HR people are, for most practical purposes, neither strategic nor leaders.
I don’t care for Las Vegas. And if it’s not clear already, I don’t like HR, either, which is why I’m here. The human-resources trade long ago proved itself, at best, a necessary evil — and at worst, a dark bureaucratic force that blindly enforces nonsensical rules, resists creativity, and impedes constructive change. HR is the corporate function with the greatest potential — the key driver, in theory, of business performance — and also the one that most consistently underdelivers. And I am here to find out why.
Why are annual performance appraisals so time-consuming — and so routinely useless? Why is HR so often a henchman for the chief financial officer, finding ever-more ingenious ways to cut benefits and hack at payroll? Why do its communications — when we can understand them at all — so often flout reality? Why are so many people processes duplicative and wasteful, creating a forest of paperwork for every minor transaction? And why does HR insist on sameness as a proxy for equity?
It’s no wonder that we hate HR. In a 2005 survey by consultancy Hay Group, just 40% of employees commended their companies for retaining high-quality workers. Just 41% agreed that performance evaluations were fair. Only 58% rated their job training as favorable. Most said they had few opportunities for advancement — and that they didn’t know, in any case, what was required to move up. Most telling, only about half of workers below the manager level believed their companies took a genuine interest in their well-being.
None of this is explained immediately in Vegas. These HR folks, from employers across the nation, are neither evil courtiers nor thoughtless automatons. They are mostly smart, engaging people who seem genuinely interested in doing their jobs better. They speak convincingly about employee development and cultural transformation. And, over drinks, they spin some pretty funny yarns of employee weirdnes.
The Year of People: How HR is Evolving in 2020Tamar Kuyumjian
This year forced companies all over the world into a remote work pilot study. Sharing their insights from the front lines, Aptology spoke with leaders in HR like CHROs and marketers in HR tech about how HR is evolving in 2020. They covered: How do we understand and measure the employee experience? What pre employment screening data do we need to get visibility for better talent acquisition and DEI efforts? What tools and behavioral assessments do we need for internal sources of recruitment? How does our understanding of people and communication need to change? Prepare to take notes as this guide gives tactical advice for HR professionals in talent management, learning and development, succession planning, and talent acquisition.
Everything You Need To Know About Being A Human Resources Administratortopseowebmaster
Well there you have it! Your full guide to becoming a human resources administrator! So where do you go from here, like the beginning to many other career paths the first step is: getting your college diploma! Check out ABM College’s Human Resources Administration Online Diploma for more information!
Creating Engagement in a Diverse Workforce - Technology tools to help you eng...HeyEmbedMe
According to the Global Human Capital Trends 2016 report, “employee engage-
ment is a headline issue throughout business and HR.” Fully 85 percent of survey
respondents ranked engagement as a top priority, yet only 46 percent reported that they
were prepared to address engagement challenges.1
One of the drivers behind the focus on engagement — which not only concerns HR,
but also has wider implications for the overall performance of an organization — is
the increasing diversity of today’s workforce. From aspiring Millennials to aging Baby
Boomers — working in a complex mix of full-time, part-time, contingent, temporary,
and contract roles — the 21st-century workforce is more diverse than ever, challenging
organizations to build and support a corporate culture that fosters employee engage-
ment. When you pair this diverse workforce with the growing competition to attract and
retain top talent, it’s easy to see why culture and work environment have become key
drivers of employment brand. No matter the age, status, or position of your employees,
how can your organization effectively engage and inspire today’s diverse workforce?
LHH ( LEE HECHT HARRISON ) Emotional intelligence ReportMichal Hatina
Our study reveals the changing mind-set of managers, who see Emotional Intelligence as being crucial to the career development and professional success of their employees, even more so than traditional metrics of performance potential like experience or education.
Respondents said that ‘soft’ skills including trustworthiness (39%), flexibility (28%), confidence (27%) and resilience (27%) are all more important to identify in staff than experience in a similar role (13%) or educational attainment (11%).
It is therefore no surprise that two in three people managers identified Emotional Intelligence as a key factor in making decisions about promotions, salary increases and talent management. Furthermore, workers are more likely to be promoted for their initiative and decision-making skills than for any other quality according to those whose call it is.
The Hiring Hype Cycle: What Recruiters Should Really Care AboutMatt Charney
This presentation takes a look at some of the biggest trends and most important topics impacting recruiting and hiring today. Whether you're running a desk, or managing a division of recruiters, there are a few things every talent pro needs to know.
From NPOs to Fortune 500 employers, from mom and pop shops to multinational enterprises, this presentation looks across markets, industries and specialties to identify what talent leaders can do today to compete for - and win - the top talent of tomorrow.
Matt Charney discusses the real issues that really matter to real recruiters - and keeps it real when looking at what's new, what's next and what the data says about the future of work and hiring.
How to Improve Your Recruitment Marketing Through TechnologyMatt Charney
This session will provide an overview of marketing technology specifically for HR leaders, covering the trends, tools and tips every talent pro needs to build a tech stack that stacks up when it comes to recruitment marketing. We’ll look at some real-life examples of what cutting edge companies are doing to win the right talent with the right marketing technology, how to integrate marketing technology into your talent attraction strategy and give you some tips and tricks you can use right away to turn your recruitment marketing from cost center into competitive advantage.
We’ll discuss:
Gain insights on inbound marketing technologies, and how to build a sourcing pipeline through marketing automation and targeted content
Understanding the benefits of programmatic ad buying, retargeting, social media ads and other consumer marketing technologies that enable recruiters find the right candidates at the right price
How to create killer job descriptions and emails, and the tech it takes to scale personalized messaging and engagement
How to measure ROI for recruitment marketing spend, aligning employer and consumer brands and building a business case for internal buy-in.
What the Rest of the World Wants Silicon Valley To Know.Matt Charney
While the tech industry has traditionally coalesced in Silicon Valley, its position as a talent magnet is currently in jeopardy. The primary reason it’s become a metonym for the entire industry has been its ability to attract the world’s best and brightest minds, and proximity has not only bred familiarity, but some of the history’s most innovative and disruptive breakthroughs, from semiconductors to social media.
Top 25 Tools Every Recruiter Should Know.Matt Charney
In this session, you'll learn:
The Vendor Ecosystem: We'll look at the major categories in recruiting technology, where each respective point solution or platform fits in, and some of the overall trends in the buying market today. We'll also look at some data from analyst reports and practitioner surveys outlining the real state of real recruiting tech today.
Data Visualization and Social Network Analysis for Recruiting.Matt Charney
This presentation focuses on how employers can leverage big data to analyze, visualize and utilize visualization to understand how their workforce is connected and who the real influencers are in any organization. Seeing networks at work can help increase retention, boost employee referrals and create higher impact outcomes by allowing HR to focus on who really matters in an organization.
Objectives of attending this session:
1. Attendees will understand what data visualization is, why it matters and how recruiting and HR leaders can apply some of its basic concepts to improving both day-to-day operations and long term strategic outcome within their own organizations.
2. Attendees will learn what data visualization tools, paid and unpaid, are available, how they compare and what they can do to select, implement and optimize these tools within their current HR Technology stack.
3. Attendees will see real life examples of how real recruiting and HR organizations over came real challenges in the real world by using data visualization and learn how these case studies can be applied to their current and future talent practices and processes.
Marketing Fundamentals for HR and RecruitingMatt Charney
This presentation explores the marketing fundamentals that HR pros need to know in order to build a communications strategy and effective brand both inside and outside of the organization. Attendees get a behind-the-scenes look at corporate marketing to see what it is really all about, what matters most for brand marketing, and how to effectively partner with marketing to achieve HR results. Topics include lead generation/nurturing, message creation and targeting, social media tools and tactics, content marketing, and engagement best practices.
Learning objectives include how to apply marketing fundamentals and best practices to the HR function and how to leverage your HR brand inside and outside of an organization through content, engagement, and campaign management.
SHRM is screwing you over. Don't worry. They're losing money too. Here's their latest financial filings from last month - it was another good year for Hank Jackson, on the bright side.
My keynote presentation was supposed to be on "The State of Social Recruiting in 2015." Since stats without context and infographics don't really tell the whole story about just how ineffective and costly this "source of hire" (or lack thereof) actually is, I decided to add a few .gifs to the mix, too.
For more on social recruiting, check out http://www.recruitingdaily.com. Just please, whatever you do: please, don't "join the conversation." Ain't no one got time for that.
Write On: How To Create Killer Recruiting ContentMatt Charney
My presentation from #RecFest2 on how to create killer recruiting content. It's got no stats or charts or research, but it does have a Justin Bieber mention.
Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act Matt Charney
This fact sheet provides general information to help determine whether interns must be paid the minimum wage
and overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act for the services that they provide to “for-profit” private sector
employers.
In this white paper sponsored by TalentWise, I take a look at some of the key moments in staffing technology history and some of the key trends for the future that are going to make history. I also share a few staffing tips and tricks for staffing to help make sure agency recruiters and search firms aren't consigned to history.
Applicant Tracking System Vendor Criteria ChecklistMatt Charney
Here's an easy to use spreadsheet for helping recruiting and staffing professionals as well as HR leaders with selecting which applicant tracking system (ATS) to use while considering new HR Technology. Use this sample vendor evaluation matrix during your own RFP processes for a side-by-side comparison of the recruiting software vendors currently under consideration.
Watch this expert-led webinar to learn effective tactics that high-volume hiring teams can use right now to attract top talent into their pipeline faster.
Accelerating AI Integration with Collaborative Learning - Kinga Petrovai - So...SocialHRCamp
Speaker: Kinga Petrovai
You have the new AI tools, but how can you help your team use them to their full potential? As technology is changing daily, it’s hard to learn and keep up with the latest developments. Help your team amplify their learning with a new collaborative learning approach called the Learning Hive.
This session outlines the Learning Hive approach that sets up collaborations that foster great learning without the need for L&D to produce content. The Learning Hive enables effective knowledge sharing where employees learn from each other and apply this learning to their work, all while building stronger community bonds. This approach amplifies the impact of other learning resources and fosters a culture of continuous learning within the organization.
Becoming Relentlessly Human-Centred in an AI World - Erin Patchell - SocialHR...SocialHRCamp
Speaker: Erin Patchell
Imagine a world where the needs, experiences, and well-being of people— employees and customers — are the focus of integrating technology into our businesses. As HR professionals, what tools exist to leverage AI and technology as a force for both people and profit? How do we influence a culture that takes a human-centred lens?
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests
1. October 2018
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests
by Jessica Mulholland, Senior Editor, CalChamber
When it comes to trust in companies, the U.S. has the biggest
yearly change of all countries — declining 5 percent from 2017
to 2018, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, which has
been studying trust in companies, people and institutions for nearly 20
years. Although CEOs’ credibility has increased by 7 percent this year, it’s
still at a mere 44 percent — and when trust is lacking, it’s difficult for HR to
resolve complex workplace situations.
It’s long been known that HR isn’t there to make friends with employees.
“The biggest role HR plays at a company is ensuring compliance,
minimizing risk and avoiding any sort of legal exposure arising from that
company’s workforce,” says Matt Charney, chief content officer and global
thought leadership lead for Allegis Global Solutions.
Peter Cappelli, professor of management at The Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania and director of the Center for Human Resources,
echoed that sentiment. “HR works for the organization and does what the
leaders of the organization want,” he said.
But in the current #MeToo climate, employers and their HR departments
are in the spotlight.
California Employer Update
Your guide to trends and court decisions impacting the California workplace
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
Related Resources
HR Library
Sexual Harassment Claims
and Lawsuits
(CalChamber members
only)
CalChamber White Paper
10 Things You Might
Not Know About Sexual
Harassment: What You Don’t
Know Can Hurt You
(CalChamber member
download; nonmember
download)
2. 2 |
California Employer Update
“Employers are under pressure to do something about behavior that may be legal but still is
challenging for employees, as well as to demonstrate that they are addressing sexual harassment
and doing so seriously,” Cappelli said.
And ultimately, it’s important that HR protect the interests of both company and its employees. After
all, a company won’t accomplish much without the work its many employees complete each day. But
is doing so even possible?
HR Serves as ‘Offensive Lineman’
A lot of HR’s work is administrative, Charney said, and includes such things as tracking time and
attendance, managing performance reviews, and overseeing employee handbooks and related
company policies.
While this is, in fact, beginning to change, he noted
that most of HR remains tactical, process-oriented
and behind-the-scenes work that most employees
never notice, but is highly essential to a company’s
short-term operations and long-term viability,
particularly guarding what’s considered to be a
company’s “greatest asset” — the people.
“HR typically plays a similar role to an offensive lineman in football; most of their work, while integral
to company success, goes unnoticed,” Charney said. “No one really thinks about who selects
things like benefits or health plans for a company; similarly, no one realizes that there’s a lot of work
involved in ensuring the payroll clears in time for workers to get paid.”
There appears to be a disconnect, however, between the acknowledgment that people are a
company’s greatest asset and how HR is expected to handle certain situations.
Follow the Leader(s)
“In the modern business world, employees are not seen as stakeholders whose interests, per se,
should be advanced,” Cappelli noted. “Unless it is in the business’ interest, most companies won’t
take it up.”
While leaders certainly understand that employees matter, he said, they don’t see that any particular
practice matters. “What they don’t see,” he added, “is the connection between any specific action
they take and performance outcomes.”
HR executives who make the case for striking a balance, Cappelli says, risk losing their jobs. The one
thing that might get their attention? “Show them what a class action lawsuit looks like,” he said.
While Charney says he isn’t 100 percent sure that the #MeToo movement has made a tremendous
difference in the way HR operates, he does note that the entire function of HR is tasked primarily
with minimizing risk, ensuring compliance and dealing with employee relations issues.
“#MeToo, if anything, has shown that we have a pretty endemic and widely entrenched problem with
sexual harassment,” he said, adding that almost every single company has had sexual harassment
training as a mandatory part of their employee onboarding for well over a decade. “So, sadly,
awareness and internal education don’t seem to have preempted these issues.”
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
In the current #MeToo
climate, employers and
their HR departments are
in the spotlight.
3. 3 |
California Employer Update
One thing that’s interesting to note
about HR’s role in the #MeToo
movement is that the function
is predominantly female, which
makes it somewhat unique in
business, Charney said, adding
that HR has long complained
about not getting respect from
executive leaders or a “seat at
the table,” figuratively speaking
— a group that’s predominantly
male, statistically speaking.
“The function has a definite self
interest in protecting individual
employees, particularly women,
even if that conflicts with the
company’s best interests,”
Charney said. “However, the fact
that so little has changed leads
me to believe that HR largely
feels powerless or intimidated
to advocate for any tangible
change, formal or informal, that
would mitigate these issues.”
He said he thinks this is
something of a microcosm of the
#MeToo movement.
“And it’s really quite sad, since
the ostensible advocates for
change have largely been
responsible for creating the
status quo.”
Intertwined Interests
From Charney’s perspective,
HR is ideally positioned to help
individual employees understand
how they fit in, how they’re
making an impact and what they
can do to best advance not only
the company’s interests, but also
their own careers.
“When a company’s vision and
mission align with those of the
workers, then HR’s role becomes
much, much easier,” he said.
“Ensuring that alignment should be one of the critical roles of any HR function. If HR protects its
employees, it’s also essentially fulfilling its mandate of protecting the company.”
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
Apps Gain Employee Trust
Employees, who might have previously been leery about interacting with HR,
are now no longer going to HR at all — they’re turning to apps and services
where coworkers at various companies can share information and ultimately
protect themselves, oftentimes anonymously.
There certainly is a benefit to this method of communication making its way into
your workplace, says Matt Charney, chief content officer and global thought
leadership lead for Allegis Global Solutions — namely that employees who feel
like they’re being heard and that their voices matter are going to be happier at
work, regardless of whether any real changes are made.
“So being asked an opinion is more important than acting on it, sociologically
speaking,” he said. “If employees have an outlet that they trust and makes them
feel empowered, this can really only be a good thing.”
The con, however, is that no black and white situations exist in talent
management or career development, Charney added. “And in a world of
gray, these apps aren’t great at situational ambiguity or factoring for variances
between stuff like company culture, or divergent written policies or unwritten
politics that make every situation unique rather than uniform,” he said. “HR, to
their credit, understand these dynamics and how individual workers fit in better
than anyone.”
Another thing to consider, says Peter Cappelli, professor of management at The
Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Center for
Human Resources, is that employers don’t want to lose control over the process
and have their employees immediately head to lawyers.
“They also don’t want to be sued,” he added. “Employees can’t avoid telling
employers about the complaint or they risk losing in the legal arena: The first
question will always be, ‘Did you give your employer a chance to address it?’”
Also keep in mind that one size fits all never really fits anyone, Charney
said, and to “beware the wisdom of crowdsourcing.” No matter how leery an
employee may be, the individual should be reminded that HR can be trusted
much more than any algorithm or online platform.
“It’s unlikely that these technologies are going to fix anything; only individual
interactions and interpersonal relationships can do that,” he added. “It’s not
about FaceTime, it’s about face time — and high touch beats high tech any day
of the week.”
4. 4 |
California Employer Update
Ultimately, Charney added, the most important thing HR can do within the limited scope of its
responsibilities is create a culture that’s not about protecting the company vs. the employee, but rather,
“ensuring that companies and employees understand that their interests are, ultimately, inexorably
intertwined.”
And this is something that many HR professionals likely feel they’re already doing.
HR, he said, shouldn’t be responsible for protecting the interests of either side. “Their job is to bring
them together around shared interests, instead,” he said. “People and profits, ultimately, aren’t
mutually exclusive, but rather inherently interdependent.”
Tips for Achieving a Balance
As for HR not getting respect from executive leaders or a “seat at the table,” Charney’s advice is to
stop worrying about this and start reinventing what this concept means.
“HR is in the unique position of being able to define their roles and responsibilities,” he continued.
“Instead of protecting the status quo, advancing and advocating for employees’ best interests —
effectively representing the ‘voice of the employee’ — will open all sorts of doors.”
But the foundation of achieving this balance is trust, Charney said, and unfortunately, HR has a lot of
work to do to build this trust with both the company and its employees.
And if company leaders seem uninterested in the welfare of their employees, what might help HR to
convince them otherwise?
For starters, payroll is always the largest line item on any profit and loss statement, Charney said,
and around 20 percent of corporate expenditures go to directly to talent management.
“It’s up to HR leaders to build a data-driven business case for leaders as to the actual costs — and
opportunity costs — represented by employee engagement and retention,” he continued. “There
are a lot of metrics, but it’s really easy to align talent initiatives with business results and improved
outcomes. Because at the end of the day, the bottom line is always top of mind.”
And that, Charney added, is why it’s important for HR to help tell the story that not only are people
the single biggest expense for businesses, but they’re also the single biggest driver of overall
business performance.
“What’s good for GM [General Motors] might have been good for America,” he said, “but what’s
good for your employees, inevitably, is good for your business.”
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
“
People and profits, ultimately, aren’t mutually exclusive,
but rather inherently interdependent.
— Matt Charney, chief content officer and global thought leadership lead, Allegis Global Solutions
5. 5 |
California Employer Update
With California’s unemployment rate at an all-time low of 4.2 percent, according to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics, and a stronger-than-ever economy, attracting and retaining high-quality
employees is tough.
To entice and keep solid workers on the payroll, employers and recruiters have turned to more trendy
offerings like unlimited paid time off, professional development opportunities and tuition reimbursement.
But it turns out that the tried and true 401(k) is still seen as valuable to younger employees.
In fact, 67 percent of respondents to the Betterment for Business Customer Survey 2018 said that when
evaluating a job offer, a good 401(k) plan was important or very important in their consideration, while
only 9 percent said it had no impact on their decision to take a job. Below is a quick look at additional
survey findings.
Maximize Your 401(k) to Attract, Retain Top Talent
by CalChamber Editorial Staff
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
BETTERMENTFORBUSINESSCUSTOMERSURVEY2018
6. 6 |
California Employer Update
What do Uber and Lyft drivers, temp receptionists, seasonal retail
and customer service associates, lifeguards, Grubhub and
Postmates delivery drivers, seasonal school photographers,
and temp office assistants have in common? They all fall under the non-
traditional or alternative employment relationship umbrella — and they
therefore have different rules and guidelines than the traditional employer-
employee relationship.
In fact, when most people hear the term, “employment relationship,” they
immediately think of that traditional arrangement, which is what many of
California’s labor laws focus on.
But as the holidays approach — and the gig economy (in which short-
term contracts and freelance work reign supreme) continues to pick up
steam — it’s worth looking at some of the advantages and disadvantages
of entering into these alternative employment relationships.
Non-Direct Hires and Use of Staffing Agencies
It’s common for some companies to use temporary, staffing or professional employer organization
agencies to hire workers, whether on a temporary, seasonal or long-term basis. When a company
contracts out for services, a contractual arrangement typically exists between that company and the
staffing agency.
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
by Bianca N. Saad, J.D.; Employment Law Subject Matter Expert
Related Resources
HR Library
Independent Contractors
(CalChamber members
only)
HR Library
Joint-Employer Liability
(CalChamber members
only)
CalChamber White Paper
The Top 10 Things
Employers Do to Get Sued
(Member download;
nonmember download)
PHOTOCOURTESYOFLYFT
7. 7 |
California Employer Update
While staffing agencies do handle much of the responsibility that the law imposes on employers,
such as payroll and other human resource functions, a company that leases employees can lose
much of the control necessary to avoid employment-related litigation.
While contracting out for services can
have its advantages due to the lessened
administrative burden, there are still
significant responsibilities and risks involved
that employers need to be aware of. A
common issue that arises is the question of
joint-employer liability — which is essentially
when two business entities share control and
supervision of an employee’s activities —
and whether a company who contracts out
for services should be held responsible by
enforcement agencies and courts for wage
and hour and other labor violations.
In California, different tests may be applied
to determine if there is a joint-employer
relationship for the purposes of wage and hour liability, sexual harassment, or coverage and
responsibilities under the Family Medical Leave Act and the California Family Rights Act.
The Industrial Welfare Commission and the California Supreme Court adopted a broad definition
of “joint employer” that focuses on the employer’s exercise of control over wages, hours or working
conditions. However, California businesses also may be held strictly liable for wage and hour
violations regardless of who exercises control over the workers. California Labor Code section
2810.3 holds companies accountable for wage and hour violations when they use staffing agencies
or other labor contractors to supply workers.
Under Labor Code section 2810.3, California companies can be held legally accountable for
workers supplied by labor contractors for the payment of wages, failure to secure valid workers’
compensation coverage and violation of specified whistleblower protections in the Labor Code. A
“labor contractor” is defined as any individual or entity that supplies a client employer with workers
to perform labor within the client employer’s usual course of business. “Usual course of business” is
defined as the “regular and customary work of a business, performed within or upon the premises or
worksite of the client employer.”
The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) recently announced that it cited a
California restaurant chain for underpaying 559 subcontracted janitorial workers, fining the chain
more than $4.57 million in damages and penalties. The restaurant chain’s janitorial contractor
subcontracted work to another cleaning agency.
Investigators found that janitorial workers didn’t receive proper meal and rest breaks, and weren’t
released from their shifts until restaurant kitchen managers conducted walkthroughs — which often
led to additional tasks being assigned to the workers that had to be completed before they were
released. This resulted in up to 10 hours of unpaid overtime each week. The restaurant was held
liable for the janitorial contractors’ violations under Labor Code section 2810.3.
A unique fact about this case is the DLSE’s assertion that the restaurant employer was liable for
workers provided under a janitorial services contract, which is not the typical temporary employee
scenario. For this reason, the restaurant employer has appealed the DLSE’s decision.
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
A California restaurant chain was cited
more than $4.57 million in damages
and penalties for underpaying 559
subcontracted janitorial workers.
8. 8 |
California Employer Update
One question to be addressed is whether a janitorial contractor who provides services to a
restaurant is providing workers to engage in the restaurant’s “usual course of business.” However,
the DLSE’s finding of liability may also have been based on the fact that the restaurant exercised
“control” over the janitorial employees’ wages, hours and working conditions. So even without liability
under Labor Code section 2810.3, the factual allegations of this particular case may give rise to a
claim for joint-employer liability under the common law “control” theory.
Independent Contractors
There can be many benefits to using an accurately classified independent contractor for labor. For
instance, independent contractors don’t need to be covered by workers’ compensation, don’t have
employment taxes deducted from their earnings by an employer, have no rights to employee benefits,
are not covered by state and federal wage and hour laws, and are not entitled to unemployment
insurance benefits from your account — to name just a few. An independent contractor arrangement is
also beneficial to the worker, as it provides more flexibility and freedom to work on his/her own terms.
On the flip side, however, there
can be serious consequences
to misclassifying a worker as
an independent contractor, and
companies must exercise caution
when designating a worker as
such.
There’s no set definition of the
term “independent contractor”
that applies for all purposes,
and it’s not uncommon for an
individual to be considered
an employee for purposes of
one law and an independent
contractor under another.
For example, for workers’
compensation and
unemployment compensation
law purposes, the difference is
largely in the degree of control
over the person performing the
services and the multitude of
obligations an employer has
to an employee that aren’t part
of the independent contractor
relationship.
On the other hand, a recent
California Supreme Court case
made it much more difficult for a worker to be properly classified as an independent contractor for
purposes of California’s Wage Orders (Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los
Angeles, 4 Cal. 5th 903 (2018)). While variations of the ABC test are applied in other jurisdictions,
we’re unaware of any other state that has adopted such a rigid ABC test for wage and hour
purposes or done so through judicial opinion. Other tests have been adopted by way of legislation.
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
Independent Contractor Coalition Works to Put Dynamex
Application on Pause
Given the increased growth of the “gig economy” and the large number
of individuals choosing to work as freelancers as opposed to employees,
the California Supreme Court’s decision in Dynamex Operations West,
Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles — applying what may be the most
rigid ABC test in the nation — has caused a great deal of concern for
businesses and individuals alike.
In response to the significant implications of the “ABC test” — not just
for employers, but for individuals who intentionally perform and enjoy
the flexibility of freelance work — CalChamber led the I’m Independent
Coalition. The coalition was aimed to, at a minimum, delay the litigation
impacts of Dynamex for a year so that the Legislature could take
testimony from all affected businesses and workers to fashion a law that
not only protects workers, but also gives them the freedom to pursue their
own schedules.
In August of this year, hundreds of independent contractors gathered
at the State Capitol to urge policymakers to protect the ability to work
independently or freelance. Unfortunately, organized labor was strongly
opposed to an approach that would modify the court decision.
Given the issue’s complexity and the short amount of time
before the legislative session’s end, an immediate solution was
not feasible.
CalChamber will continue to work
with and build a coalition of affected
workers and businesses over the
legislative recess with the hope of
having legislation to introduce in the
new, post-election session.
9. 9 |
California Employer Update
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
California’s Wage Orders govern items like overtime, meal and rest breaks, and other basic working
conditions of California employees, and the California Supreme Court has adopted what is known as
the “ABC test” to determine whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor.
This new “ABC test” sets forth the requirements
for a worker to be labeled an independent
contractor — and is much more restrictive than
the long-standing “right to control” or “common
law” test. What’s more, it requires that the
company prove all of the following to establish a
worker’s independent contractor status:
1. That the worker is free from control and
direction of the hiring entity in connection
with the performance of the work, both under
the contract for the performance of the work
and in actually performing the work;
2. That the worker performs work that is
outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s
business; and
3. That the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation or
business of the same nature as the work performed.
If the hiring entity fails to show that an individual satisfies each of the three criteria, the worker is treated
as an employee, not an independent contractor.
And there are consequences to misclassification. Mislabeling a worker as an independent contractor
creates potential liability for employment taxes and penalties, and liability for failure to fulfill the many
legal obligations owed to an employee, such as wage and hour requirements.
“Willful misclassification,” defined as “avoiding employee status for an individual by voluntarily and
knowingly misclassifying that individual as an independent contractor,” is also explicitly prohibited by
the law and carries significant penalties, ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for each violation. In addition
to civil penalties, misclassification can put a company at serious risk for legal claims for wage and hour
violations — including on a class-wide basis or under the Private Attorneys General Act — which can
require the expenditure of significant time and resources.
It is the company’s responsibility to
prove all three items in the ABC test
to establish a worker’s independent
contractor status.
10. 10 |
California Employer Update
Latest CalChamber Advocacy News
Here’s a sampling of election and legislative news of interest to employers. For more on the latest hot issues,
along with CalChamber positions and call to action requests, visit calchamber.com/advocacy.
Now that the Legislature is out for
interim and all request letters
have been signed or vetoed by
the governor, many think it’s R&R time
for lobbyists and government affairs.
While there certainly is a little of that,
now is the time to determine legislative
priorities and lobbying strategy for the
next session.
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
With a new administration and
several open seats in the Legislature
will come new political and policy
challenges in 2019. A few to keep in
mind are:
1. The new Governor-elect will
determine a significant change
in decision-makers, not only for
the Governor’s Office of Legislative
Affairs, but also at important state
agencies. Though the Legislature
passes laws, agencies have
authority to promulgate regulations
that can significantly impact
California employers.
2. Both the Assembly and Senate
have open seats for 2019, and
while these seats’ outcome certainly
won’t change California’s majority
party, it could impact whether
Democrats get a supermajority
in both houses and whether the
incoming members are more
moderate or liberal regarding policy.
3. The Legislature left several
things unresolved when they left
that will absolutely be a priority in
2019, including the independent
contractors vs. employees policy
debate; the consumer data privacy
bill that included some unintended
consequences, such as clarifying
the definition of consumer so it
doesn’t include an employee;
the huge shortage of affordable
housing in the state; and the
growing cost of unfunded liability
for public employees’ pensions and
health benefits.
Next Legislative Session Will Bring Big Changes
11. 11 |
California Employer Update
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
Summer has come and gone, and Fall is officially upon us. With
the cooler weather and changing of the leaves comes one
particular ghoulish holiday: Halloween. And this year, spending
around Halloween is expected to surge — to an estimated $9 billion
on costumes, candy, decorations and greeting cards, according to a
National Retail Federation (NRF) report, down slightly from the $9.1 billion
estimate in 2017 and the estimated $8.4 billion in 2016.
With workplace Halloween festivities come potential “HR demons,”
such as inappropriate costumes and religious belief insensitivity. While
no magic potion can eliminate all potential issues, here are some
things for employers to keep in mind while planning for Halloween
happenings.
Costumes: Alter Ego in the Office
What is Halloween without costumes? Whether employees dress as
witches, superheroes or horror movie characters, research shows that
donning a Halloween costume at the office helps boost work productivity.
How to Dodge ‘HR Demons’ During Halloween
by Vannessa Maravilla, Editor, CalChamber
HR Library
Religion
(CalChamber members only)
HR Library
Meal Breaks
(CalChamber members only)
CalChamber Store
Harassment Prevention
Training
(Available for CalChamber
members and nonmembers to
purchase)
Related Resources
12. 12 |
California Employer Update
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
The survey, conducted by engagement firm O.C. Tanner in 2017, reported that 73 percent of
employees say they’re “highly motivated to contribute to the success of the organization they work
for” if they can dress up at work. The survey also showed that 68 percent of those who can dress
up at work “are proud to tell others they work for their organization.” In other words, allowing your
employees to dress up on the clock can boost morale and mood in the workplace.
If employees are allowed to dress up, remind them to abide by the office dress code, and relay
any Halloween-related dress policies. A reminder about what is and is not permitted is helpful to
employees as some costumes may be seen as offensive to others in the company. Poor costume
choices could lead to a discrimination or harassment claim. Therefore, a Halloween-specific note
about inappropriate costumes may be in order. Consider telling employees to avoid
potentially inappropriate costumes, such as:
• Culturally insensitive costumes (e.g. portraying someone of a
different race or ethnicity);
• Sexually provocative costumes (e.g. naughty nurses and
shirtless Tarzans);
• Political costumes (e.g. the president or a creative interpretation
of the president);
• Co-workers, supervisors or CEOs of the company; and
• Costumes in poor taste (e.g. Nazis and tragic events).
Should any issues arise related to discrimination or harassment
arise, refer to your company’s Harassment, Discrimination and and
Retaliation Prevention Policy.
More Treats than Tricks at the Office Party
There are plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween in your workplace,
though a 2012 Glassdoor survey reported that 42 percent of employees enjoy decorations
and 40 percent like free candy — followed by 31 percent enjoying a Halloween breakfast or lunch
and, 29 percent preferring a during-business hours party at the office.
Since food is a common theme, consider holding a potluck where employees can sign up to bring
their favorite dishes and desserts, or go a step further and provide the meal and treats. Additionally,
some employers may organize a costume parade throughout the office to liven up the day — or
better yet, why not have a costume contest? The winning costume — whether it’s an individual or
a team — could keep a trophy until next Halloween rolls around. The same could be done for a
decorating contest. Haunted cubicles, anyone?
No matter the festivities should you host something during the workday, remember to observe
California labor laws if the party is mandatory for employees, as nonexempt employees are required
by law to take a 30-minute meal break and two 10-minute rest breaks during the day. Employees
required to attend a lunchtime party and then go straight back to work will have missed their meal
break, even though they weren’t performing any work and were fed lunch.
Remind
employees
that
costumes
must
abide by
the
company’s
dress
code.
13. 13 |
California Employer Update
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
The solution? Make the party a voluntary event or have employees take their meal period before the
party — just remember it should come before the employee has been clocked in for five hours. If
party attendance is purely voluntary, let employees know this in writing when you invite them. When
attendance is voluntary, the employee can then choose whether to spend their meal break at the party.
Additional benefits of having a party during business hours is that employees will be more mindful of
their behavior with the boss in the room and less likely to engage in inappropriate behaviors.
Halloween and Fall Holidays
Though Halloween is considered a secular holiday
nationwide, not everyone participates — and there are
plenty of other cultural, spiritual and religious celebrations
that occur during the Fall season.
Employers must be sensitive to not only the employees who
don’t take part in Halloween due to religious creed, but also
those who celebrate other cultural or spiritual holidays
or happenings.
“Religious creed” is broadly defined to include all
aspects of religious belief, observance and practice,
including religious dress and grooming practices.
The definition of religion also includes the absence of
religion, which means employers cannot discriminate
against individuals who are atheist or agnostic.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits
employers from discriminating against an employee on
the basis of religion. The California Government Code
also mandates than an employer cannot deny employment
or any employment benefit to a worker because of his/her
religion. Pagans, wiccans and other alternative religions
are also entitled to legal protections in the workplace.
Furthermore, all California employers must reasonably
accommodate employees’ requests to observe or
practice their religion. This can include time off to celebrate
religious holidays, modifying dress codes to allow religious dress or
attire, as well as altering job responsibilities that may conflict with
religious beliefs.
This lack of discrimination also applies to employees decorating their
workspaces: You must be consistent in establishing and enforcing such policies.
For example, if one employee is allowed to display the Nativity scene on his/her desk, you must
give the same permissions to someone displaying a Dia de los Muertos altar or menorah in their
workspace.
Be
consistent
in establishing
and enforcing
policies
around
employees
decorating
their
workspaces.
14. 14 |
California Employer Update
Halloween and Fall holiday festivities are fun and offer team-building opportunities — and may even
improve workplace morale. Just remember to follow these guidelines as you plan so you reduce
liability and ensure everyone feels included.
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
Spooky Workplace Ghost Stories
So you think your workplace is scary? We’re not talking weird sounds emanating from the kitchen sink or a
dysfunctional copy machine that spits out documents resembling Rorschach inkblot tests. We’re talking actual
haunted offices and worksites. Just in time for Halloween, we rounded up three stories that might make you
rethink working solo in the office after hours.
The first story was posted on a wedding message board, of all places. The author, whose username
is Ellicott, shared that one of the offices where she works is “very haunted, to the point where they have
surveillance camera footage of the swivel chairs turning on their own, things being shoved off desktops, desk
drawers opening and closing, weird, unexplained shadows and flashes of light.”
The microwave has even started by itself, and another time when she and a co-worker were on site late at night,
they heard what sounded like a printer making noise — but neither had printed anything.
“We went into [the] office where the noise was coming from and the printer was unplugged,” Ellicott wrote.
“There weren’t any other printers in that area.”
The second story, submitted to Jezebel by a reader with the username CherryBarGirl, ups the creepiness
factor. CherryBarGirl’s clinical rotation for mental health nursing included a tour of East Louisiana State
Hospital, outside of Jackson, La.
After she and other tour-goers visited the dungeon — a room that previously held what some described as
“violent souls” — they made their way back up the stairs, and upon taking her first step forward, something
grabbed her left shoulder and tried to pull her back into the wall.
“I looked behind me and saw nothing,” she wrote. “I hurried to blend in with the rest of my group. We exited
and stood in the back hall; I grabbed the sleeve of my scrubs expecting to see dirt or water or some physical
explanation of the event. The only thing I saw was a pristinely creased white sleeve. The administrator asked if I
was OK and I said it felt like something had tried to grab me. She said, ‘That happens sometimes. They don’t want
to let you go.’”
The last story, also from the wedding message board, is perhaps the most disturbing. Lbward6 wrote that her
first job working for an architect entailed revamping an old, well-known mansion — with stories about previous
owners’ deaths, a ghost helping a pregnant woman roll over in bed, and dogs jumping out the third story
window to their deaths — into a bed and breakfast.
As they fixed up the mansion, one worker saw a little girl’s ghost and never returned; on a different occasion,
a fire broke out destroying all completed work causing them to start over — but the fire department never
found what started the fire; and during a Halloween party held after the B&B was up and running, guests said
they saw a girl in the corner staring at everyone. Even after all that, Lbward6 still didn’t believe the house was
haunted — until she had her own experience while taking photos for the historical society of the basement-
turned-pub.
“I heard what sounded like a party going on upstairs,” she wrote. “[But] I was the only one in the house at the
time. I heard people laughing and glasses clinking, so I walked upstairs to see if maybe someone had come
into the house. But when I reached the top of the stairs, the temperature dropped to the point I could see my
breath. It wasn’t cold outside and the strangest feeling came over my body, where my heart was racing and
I just sensed that I shouldn’t be in the house. So, I quickly locked up and left the house, refusing to go there
alone again.”
15. 15 |
California Employer Update
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
In Fall 2017, the #MeToo campaign exploded into a social media
movement demonstrating sexual harassment’s prevalence in the
workplace.
Because sexual harassment cases often result in “he said, she said”
conflicts, juries must weigh both the accuser’s and the accused’s
credibility in an attempt to determine who’s telling the truth. And leading
up to trials, much of the time is spent deciding which evidence juries can
consider as they make their determination.
A recent case against an auto parts supplier and one of its managers
with a penchant for sending lewd text messages has now clarified the
circumstances under which courts will consider the different types of
evidence that may build a sexual harassment plaintiff’s credibility —
including #MeToo evidence (Meeks v. Autozone, Inc. et al., Cal.App.4th
RIC10019124 (2018)).
Offensive Messages or Just Jokes?
Natasha Meeks and Juan Fajardo both worked for Autozone as managers
of separate stores. Although they never worked in the same store, they
had near-daily contact about inventory matters.
Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support
Plaintiff’s Credibility
by Michelle Galbraith, J.D.; Employment Law Counsel/HR Adviser
HRCalifornia
Sexual Harassment Defined
(CalChamber members
only)
HR Library
Liability for Sexual
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Related Resources
16. 16 |
California Employer Update
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
Meeks alleged that Fajardo regularly sexually harassed her by sending her inappropriate text
messages and photos, commenting on her appearance, and even forcibly kissing her. She also
claimed that Fajardo said he was a “favorite” of their mutual supervisor Susan Ledesma, and that
he could help or hurt Meeks’
career depending on her
receptiveness to his advances.
Meeks complained about the
harassment to Ledesma in
October 2009. According to
Meeks’ testimony in court,
Ledesma reported back that
Fajardo had laughed off the
allegations and claimed it was
all a misunderstanding, and
said the text messages were
all just “chain messages” and
jokes. She also told Meeks to
“just squash it.”
A few days later, Meeks’
husband (who was a manager
of another Autozone store)
complained to his own
manager that Ledesma had
failed to report the harassment
to Autozone HR. Meeks
testified that Ledesma told her
to tell any HR investigators that
“everything had been taken
care of,” and that Ledesma
threatened to fire Meeks
and her husband if Meeks
escalated her complaints
further.
Autozone HR finally contacted
Meeks in August 2010 —
10 months after she made
her initial complaint — and
fired Fajardo a month later. According to Autozone, he was terminated for sending a sexual text
message to another female employee — not for any misconduct against Meeks.
Meeks sued Autozone for sexual harassment and hostile work environment. After trial, a jury found
in favor of Autozone. Meeks appealed, claiming that the trial court erred by not admitting certain
evidence that would have helped prove her charges.
#MeToo Evidence
Fajardo admitted that he commented on Meeks’ appearance, but said that he also did so for
all employees. This, he claimed, was a demonstration of familiarity and part of Autozone “family
atmosphere.” He also believed that complimenting employees — male and female — on their
physical appearance could “turn their whole day around” and make them more productive.
Anti-Harassment Basics
California employers must take reasonable steps to prevent harassment
from occurring in the workplace and promptly respond to any harassment
complaints they might receive. At a minimum, all employers must:
• Develop a written Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation
Prevention Policy.
• Distribute the policy and obtain acknowledgement of receipt from
employees.
• Ensure that all employees can read the policies. If more than
10 percent of your workplace speaks a language other than
English, you must translate the policy into their language.
• Post the required state and federal notices on harassment and
discrimination in prominent locations, and provide all employees
with a pamphlet at the time of hire outlining their rights pertaining
to sexual harassment.
Additionally, employers must ensure that managers and employees actually
understand their anti-harassment and non-discrimination policies. Employers
with 50 or more employees must train supervisors on harassment prevention
every two years. This does not mean that non-supervisorial employees don’t
require training or that smaller employers should ignore training altogether.
Effective anti-harassment training for all employees can prevent claims from
occurring in the first place and can reduce an employer’s liability should a
worker file a lawsuit.
17. 17 |
California Employer Update
HR’s Dual Role: Protecting a Company’s Best Interests | Maximize Your 401(k) | Making the Most of Alternative Employment Relationships
Latest News | How to Dodge ’HR Demons’ During Halloween | Law in Brief: Using #MeToo Evidence to Support Plaintiff’s Credibility
To counter Fajardo’s claim that he commented equally on women and men, Meeks sought to present
testimony from four other female Autozone employees who claimed that Fajardo also had sexually
harassed them. The trial court didn’t permit those employees to testify to their own experiences
because Meeks didn’t witness them. They were only permitted to discuss any inappropriate behavior
that Meeks actually saw.
The appellate court disagreed,
noting that courts may consider
#MeToo evidence — that is,
evidence of gender bias against
employees other than the plaintiff.
To be admissible, the #MeToo
evidence must be factually similar
to the plaintiff’s experience and
should help to prove a pattern of
behavior by the accused harasser.
In Meeks’ case, Fajardo
argued that he couldn’t have
committed sexual harassment
or discrimination because he
made lewd comments and
sent inappropriate texts (as
jokes) to both male and female
employees. The court held that
the #MeToo evidence could
prove that Fajardo specifically
targeted female employees with
his harassing conduct and was
therefore admissible.
Not All Evidence Admissible
One of Autozone’s defenses was that Meeks failed to report the alleged harassment for an extended
period of time. Therefore, either no harassment took place or it wasn’t serious enough to warrant
complaint. To counter this argument, Meeks tried to testify that she feared complaining because she
heard that another Autozone employee was fired after complaining about harassment.
In July of 2007, Alaxandreia Olson sued Autozone for retaliation after she complained about
being harassed by her supervisor. Meeks argued that the same district manager — Ledesma —
investigated both instances of harassment and terminated Olson after she complained. So when
Fajardo told Meeks that it’d be in her best interest not to report him to Ledesma, Meeks feared for
her job and delayed her report.
The court said Meeks shouldn’t be permitted to testify about her understanding of Olson’s
termination and how that might have impacted her own response to Fajardo harassing her. The court
reasoned that Meeks didn’t witness any events relating to Olson, but had merely heard about them
secondhand. Because her understanding of the Olson case was essentially rumors, the court found
it wasn’t closely related enough to her own case to warrant evaluation by a jury.
• Make sure employees are informed about your company’s
harassment comlaint procedure and act promptly on any
complaints received.
• Immediately investigate any harassment or discrimination claims,
and document all steps taken as part of the investigation.
• Remind employees that they’re expected to behave professionally
in the workplace, regardless of their off-duty relationships. Even if
they consider their coworkers “family,” they need to follow company
standards of behavior while at work.