1 Basics of a Personnel System Paul Greufe. 2 Human Resources Local Impact - WIIFM – Quality – Money – Lawsuits (personal liability)

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Basics of a Personnel System

Paul Greufe

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Human Resources

• Local Impact - WIIFM

– Quality – Money – Lawsuits (personal liability)

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Human Resources• Overview

– Job Description– Recruitment– Selection– Orientation– Performance Appraisals– Discipline – Corrective Action

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Human Resources• Overview

– Sexual Harassment– Compensation– Unions– Health, Safety and Security– Policy Manuals

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QQuestion 1: Jennie, the human resources director at Global Corporation, was dumped last night by her boyfriend, Hans, who is an Austrian bodybuilder. Jennie is bitter, and when Franz, the janitor, who is also a well-built Austrian man, comes into her office that morning to clean, she fires him. Global Corporation is an at-will employer; therefore:

LAWFUL TERMINATIONS

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QA. It was O.K. for Jennie to fire Franz because

"at-will" means never having to say you’re sorry.

B. The termination of Franz constituted unlawful discrimination if it was based on his national origin.

C. The termination of Franz constituted unlawful discrimination if she fired Franz because she thought, incorrectly, that Franz was a bodybuilder.

D. The termination of Franz was against the law if she fired Franz because he was male.

E. B and D are correct.

LAWFUL TERMINATIONS

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Human Resources• Job Description

– Staffing– Training– Performance Appraisal– Compensation– Legal – Safety

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– Job Analysis • Work Activities• Interaction• Financial Impact

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– Job Analysis • Machines and Equipment• Working Conditions• Supervisory Role• Education• Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

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• Overview• Examples• Process, sign off• Legal review

–ADA, FMLA, FLSA, discipline, performance, compensation requests, training…

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Question 2: Recently, the president of your company told you that he has heard some wild tales about Bill "Cassanova" Jones, an employee in your department. The president is morally offended and wants you to investigate Bill’s nighttime activities. You tell the president that generally an employee’s romantic life:

PROTECTING EMPLOYEE PRIVACY

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QPROTECTING EMPLOYEE PRIVACY

A. Is open to investigation if the employer has a policy prohibiting extra-marital affairs.

B. While interesting, is private and should not be inquired about.

C. Is usually a good topic for office gossip.D. Is a specifically protected classification

under federal law.E. Must never be discussed.

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Human Resources• Recruitment

– Job Description– Pool– Sources

• Internal• External• Internet• Temporary

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Human Resources• Recruitment

– Why• Affirmative action• Business necessity

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QQuestion 3: Your company is a federal contractor and has an affirmative action plan. The affirmative action plan (AAP) has identified certain jobs which are underutilized by minorities and/or women. When a woman applies for one of the jobs which are predominantly male in nature, the human resources director decides to hire the woman even though she does not possess all the requisite qualifications for the position. Which of the following is most correct?

THE LAW OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

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QTHE LAW OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

A. Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have made all current affirmative action plans invalid; therefore the company cannot lawfully continue using its affirmative action plan.

B. Companies required to have affirmative action plans must hire minorities and women even if they lack the necessary qualifications for the job.

C. Companies with affirmative action plans need not hire applicants who lack the requisite qualifications.

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QTHE LAW OF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION

D. Companies required to have affirmative action plans must establish separate criteria or standards for minorities and women in order to increase their percentages in underutilized job positions.

E. Companies required to have affirmative action plans must affirmatively recruit minorities and women but remain completely free to determine whom to hire.

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Human Resources• Selection

– Job Description• Pre-established qualifications

– Discipline, testing, interview…» Consistency » Weighted» Numerical

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– Job Description• Interview questions

– Behaviorally based

• Team approach

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Human Resources

• Selection• Testing

– Reliable – Valid

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• Legal – Applications only accepted when there is an opening– Must fill out application– “On file” for specified time– Must apply for specific job

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• Reference Checking– Dig!– Liability release

• Legal– Liability

» Violent former employee

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QQuestion 4: May an employer require an applicant to undergo a medical examination?

A. Yes, but only if the applicant has disclosed to the employer that he or she has a disability.

B. Yes, but only after an offer of employment has been made.

C. No, because to do so would invade an applicant’s right to privacy.

EFFECTIVE HIRING

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QEFFECTIVE HIRING

D. No, because an employer does not have a right to know if a prospective employee has a disability because that knowledge may lead to discrimination.

E. Yes, all employers have the right to require medical examinations if the job is physically demanding.

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Human Resources• Orientation - Training

– Checklist• Overview• Working hours• Pay policies / Policies• Handbook• Insurance benefits• Lunch with boss?

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QQuestion 5: Amy has a history of making claims of harassment in the workplace. Except for one incident in which an employee was disciplined for telling Amy an off-color joke, the investigations have revealed that her claims were baseless. Since that time, Amy, who had no prior history of tardiness, has on 3 occasions arrived at work 10-20 minutes late, according to computerized time records. Company policy requires that each employee whose name appears on a monthly computerized tardiness report receive a preprinted written reprimand, providing that any recurrence will result in termination. What action would you take?

LAWFUL TERMINATIONS

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QA. Treat Amy with kid gloves. She will

obviously cry "retaliation" and may sue over her reprimand. Although other employees would be disciplined, "live with it" in Amy’s case.

B. Follow company policy. Do no more and no less than you would in any other case.

C. Take the same approach as set forth in answer B; however, have the matter first reviewed by the company president and only proceed on her approval.

LAWFUL TERMINATIONS

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QD. Carefully investigate and document each

instance of tardiness, even though you would not normally do so. Tell Amy you are going to give her a break but if she violates policy again, you will discipline her. Show you treated her better than others, thus defeating any retaliation claim.

E. Fire Amy. This is an ideal opportunity to eliminate one more headache. If you don’t do it now, you’ll just have to do it later.

LAWFUL TERMINATIONS

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Human Resources• Performance Appraisal

– Job Description

– Overview• Identify• Encourage• Measure• Evaluate• Improve• Reward

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– Who?• Supervisors – employees• Employees – supervisors• Team members – team members• Outside sources• Self appraisal• 360 degree

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– What?• Quantity of output• Quality of output• Timeliness of output• Presence at work• Cooperativeness

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– How?• Essay• Graphic rating scale (continuum)• Behavioral rating approach (most common) • Self appraisal• 360 degree

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– When?

• Probation• 6 month• Annually • Hire date• Same time

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– Rater errors• Recency effect• Rater bias• Halo effect

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– Goal setting SMART• S pecific• M easurable• A ction • R ealistic • T ime frame

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– Form• Paper• Software

– Compensation

• Pay policy based on score

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Question 6: You are a new supervisor in a department which has previously operated under lower performance standards than to what you are accustomed. How do you deal with the unsatisfactory employees you have inherited, who have always been rated by your predecessor as "satisfactory?"

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS

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QIMPROVING PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS

A. You can’t. You will have to adjust your expectations and go with the flow. Things were going pretty well, why rock the boat?

B. Schedule a meeting to let everyone know that you are the "new sheriff in town" and that there are new rules, explain the rules and provide notice that new expectations apply.

C. Wait for the first opportunity when an employee performs poorly. Then, use that employee as an example for the rest.

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QIMPROVING PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS

D. Post on a bulletin board a list of new standards, and wait for the first performance evaluation to assess compliance with them.

E. Write the personnel department and your supervisor a detailed account of what you have discovered, just in case there is any "fallout" from your new supervision.

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Human Resources• Discipline – Corrective Action

– Statutory Rights– Contractual Rights

• Implied contracts– Employment at Will

• Public policy – Whistleblower

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Human Resources

• Discipline – Corrective Action– Just Cause

• Employee warned of the consequences?• Employer’s rule reasonable?• Investigation?

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Human Resources

• Discipline – Corrective Action– Just Cause

• Investigation fair and impartial?• Evidence of guilt?• Rules and penalties applied evenhandedly?• Penalty reasonable?

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Human Resources

• Discipline – Corrective Action– Progressive Discipline

• Verbal• Written• Suspension• Termination

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Human Resources

• Discipline – Corrective Action

– Reserve the right to administer discipline at any level deemed appropriate given the circumstances of the situation.

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Question 7: One of your employees, George, who always seems to get himself in the middle of controversies and everyone else’s business, tells you in confidence that he thinks another employee, John, has been smoking something like marijuana outside the plant on smoke breaks. George says that John sure does act "spaced out" after the morning break. John and George both work with about a dozen other employees operating the metal stamping machines and conveyors in your plant. Should you investigate this matter?

QEFFECTIVE INVESTIGATIONS AND DISCIPLINE

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QA. No. George has not provided the

company with any proof of any wrongdoing by John. George should be told to mind his own business.

B. Yes. You should call the local police and inquire as to whether John has any drug-related arrests or prior convictions.

C. No. George did not make an official report to the company, and so there is no basis for any action by you.

EFFECTIVE INVESTIGATIONS AND DISCIPLINE

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D. Yes. A discrete investigation would be prudent, starting with George’s or other persons’ objective observations of John’s conduct or demeanor following the morning break.

E. No, but the company should install a remote surveillance camera so the smoke break area can be monitored.

EFFECTIVE INVESTIGATIONS AND DISCIPLINE

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Human Resources

• Sexual Harassment– Quid pro quo– Hostile environment

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Human Resources

• Sexual Harassment– Employee consequence

• (No) Tangible employment action

– Employer action• (No) Affirmative defense

– Employer liability

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Human Resources

• Sexual Harassment– Establish a policy– Communicate regularly– Train managers– Investigate complaints

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Question 8: Almost daily Tiffany has been subjected to a sexually offensive statement or story by a co-employee. However, this has never occurred in the presence of her supervisor, Andrea. Finally Tiffany complains to Andrea, who promises to have the matter investigated under the company’s sexual harassment policy. Has Tiffany experienced a form of sexual harassment?

QPREVENTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT (BY CO-EMPLOYEES)

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A. No. Andrea must have personally witnessed the events for them to constitute legally prohibited sexual harassment.

B. No. Tiffany must tell the co-employee she is offended and then have the conduct repeated before it would constitute sexual harassment.

C. Absolutely. Under the law no one can tell a sexually explicit story at work.


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D. Yes, unless the offensive statements or stories were told during regularly scheduled breaks or in the lunchroom.

E. Yes, this may be an example of a hostile work environment.


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Human Resources• Compensation

– Pay grades– Broad banding– Hay Analysis– Surveys– Hourly - Salary

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Human Resources

• Compensation– Exempt – Non-exempt

• Overtime eligibility• Hourly vs. “paid to do a job”

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–FLSA • Exemptions

»Executive, Administrative, Professional and Outside Sales»Discretionary authority, % of time, earnings level

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– Compensatory Time• Voluntary• 1.5 time• Limit accrual, not use• Compounding

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QQuestion 9: Jill was working at her workstation when she noticed an E-mail message on the computer at the next workstation. Jill’s excellent eyes quickly determined that the E-mail message was pornographic. She was offended of course, and asked her charge nurse if the hospital could monitor the employees’ E-mail. Which of the following is the most correct?


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A. The hospital may read any E-mail if the hospital provides the E-mail system.

B. The hospital may never read an employee’s E-mail.

C. The hospital may only read an employee’s E-mail if it can be read over the employee’s shoulder.


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QPROTECTING EMPLOYEE PRIVACY

D. The hospital may always read employee E-mail, without restriction.

E. The hospital may only read employee E-mail if it suspects that the employee is sending or receiving non-work-related E-mail of any kind.

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Human Resources

• Unions– Organizing

• Organizer contacts employees• Authorization cards• Petition PERB• Bargaining unit determination

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Human Resources

• Unions– Organizing

• Election • Recognition

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Human Resources

• Unions– Bargaining

• Mandatory • Permissive• Illegal

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Human Resources


• Traditional• Interest based bargaining

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Human Resources


• Intent to bargain• Team• Data collection• Current contract

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Human Resources


• Ground rules• Negotiate• TA• Ratification• Administration

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Human Resources

• Unions– Impasse

• Mediation• Fact finding• Arbitration• Strike

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Human Resources

• Unions– Grievances

• Steps• Arbitration

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Question 10: The ABC School District hired Bill as a part-time after-school football coach. After only a few weeks on the job, Bill assaulted one of the parents during a football game. The parent sued the district when she learned that Bill had a long criminal record of convictions for violence. Which statement best describes the school district’s probable legal fate?

REDUCING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

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QA. The ABC School District has nothing to be

concerned about because it is a public employer and immune from lawsuits.

B. Workers’ compensation statutes in most states would be the exclusive remedy for acts of violence by school district employees.

C. It is unlikely that the school district will have liability because it never sanctioned the violent act against the parent.

REDUCING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

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QREDUCING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

D. Parents attending football games assume great risk of physical injury and have no reasonable grounds to bring a lawsuit.

E. A lawsuit for "negligent hiring" should be taken very seriously by the district. A likely obligation exists to perform a reasonable investigation into Bill’s background as part of the hiring process.

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Human Resources• Health, Safety and Security

– Workers’ Compensation• Mandated• On the job injuries• Employee lawsuits• Controlling costs

– Active administrator

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– Unemployment Compensation• Mandated• Experience rates / pay as you go• 26 weeks @ 50-80% salary• Gross misconduct

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– FMLA• 50 or more employees• 12 months, 1250 hours

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– FMLA• 12 weeks (intermittent)• Serious medical condition

– Birth, adoption or placement– Spouse, child or parent– Employee

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Human Resources

• Health, Safety and Security– FMLA

• Return to same position• Health benefits continue• Required to use accrued leave (not comp. time)

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Human Resources

• Health, Safety and Security– FMLA

• 30 day notice• Employer requirements• Employee requirements

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Human Resources

• Health, Safety and Security– ADA

• Reasonable accommodations• “Look” at current practices and procedures

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Human Resources

• Health, Safety and Security–OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act)

• Safe working conditions• Audit, employee driven• Rights

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Human Resources

• Health, Safety and Security–OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act)

• Fines• First report of injury• OSHA 300

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Human Resources

• Health, Safety and Security–Safety Management Program

• Safety Policies • Safety Training

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Human Resources

• Health, Safety and Security–Safety Management Program

•Committees• Incentive Programs

– Change– Entitlement

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Human Resources

• Health, Safety and Security– Essential Functions of the Job

• Job Description• FMLA, ADA, Workers Compensation, Non- work Related Injury

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– Workplace Violence• Security cameras• Guards – bailiffs• ID badges• Discipline

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QQuestion 11: An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance officer arrives at a production facility to conduct an inspection in response to a credible employee complaint. He indicates that because the plant has not been inspected for several years, he and a colleague will spend at least a week reviewing all working conditions in the entire facility and related records at the plant. Can the plant manager deny entry?

ENHANCING WORKPLACE SAFETY

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A. No, entry cannot lawfully be denied. The visit is prompted by a specific complaint about unsafe conditions at the facility, rather than a general plan to visit employers at random.

B. Access can be denied, because the compliance officer has arrived without a court-issued warrant, which compels entry.

ENHANCING WORKPLACE SAFETY

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QENHANCING WORKPLACE SAFETY

C. Access can be denied, and because the compliance officer failed to secure a search warrant before arriving at the facility for the first time, they can not return for a period of six months, due to the fact that the Compliance Officer has effectively have provided "advance notice" of an inspection, something prohibited by the Occupational Safety And Health Act.

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QENHANCING WORKPLACE SAFETY

D. Access can be denied, but only if the employer is willing to face the possibility that the OSHA Strategic Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team may barricade the plant until the manager gives in.

E. No, access may not be denied, because the complaint establishes "probable cause" within the meaning of the law, and OSHA compliance officers are empowered to force their way into establishments (if necessary) if "probable cause" exists.

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Human Resources

• Policy Manual– Policies

• Consistent (No good deed goes unpunished)• Necessary• Applicable (General guidelines to the masses)

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Human Resources

• Policy Manual– Policies

• Understandable• Reasonable • Distributed and communicated (Did the employee know?)

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Question 12: Jim returns from a vacation and shows pictures of himself in a bathing suit taken on a beach in Maui to Marjorie, one of the employees he supervises. Marjorie complains to human resources that the pictures are sexually offensive to her. When the human resources director speaks with Jim, Jim says he only showed Marjorie the pictures because they had been talking about dieting, and he wanted to show Marjorie how much weight he had lost.

PREVENTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT (BY MANAGERS)

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Question 12: The human resources director tells Marjorie that Jim did not mean to offend her and dismisses her complaint. Does Marjorie have a viable sexual harassment claim against the company?


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A. Yes, because the company did not take her complaint seriously.B. Possibly, because the company did not warn Jim about his conduct.C. It depends on how Jim actually looked in his bathing suit.D. No, because this incident was not sufficiently sexual in nature.E. No, because Marjorie did not tell Jim his conduct was offensive to her.


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Basics of a Personnel System

Paul Greufe

Documents

1 Basics of a Personnel System Paul Greufe. 2 Human Resources Local Impact - WIIFM – Quality – Money – Lawsuits (personal liability)