Immigration Update
Judge suspends 'no-match' letter effort indefinitely
As anticipated, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has dropped his gavel in favor of employers, barring enforcement of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulation concerning federal “no match” letters.
The rule, which would have required employers to fire workers who could not clarify a social-security-number mismatch within 90 days, was blocked on Wednesday by Judge Breyer’s temporary injunction. The government had initially planned to send out some 140,000 no-match letters in September, on which employers would have been required to take action or face grave consequences.
From the Editor
Your HR Department survey results
What does your HR department look like and how does it compare to others across the country? Your answers to the October HR Hero Line survey may provide some insight on that question.
- 54% of respondents have between 6 and 20 years of experience in HR or an HR-related field;
- 22% of respondents said they make $30K-$50K annually, 31% make $51K-$70K, and 20% make $71K-$90K;
- 54% reported working 40-50 hours per week, while 18% work a standard 40-hour week, and 17% said they work 50-60 hours a week;
- 45% said their jobs include only HR or HR-related duties; the most common non-HR related duties reported were business ethics/compliance and internal communications.
Go to www.hrhero.com/survey/survey.cgi?yourHRdept2007 to see the complete results of the survey.
Wendi Watts
Web Editor
HR Hero Line
Webeditor@hrhero.com
Feature
When employees don't pack
their inhibitions for business trips
Excerpted from Virginia Employment Law Letter and written by attorneys at the law firm of DiMuroGinsberg, P.C.
by Jennifer S. Kessler
The more employees travel for business, the more exposure employers have — often with costly consequences. You must be prepared for problems that might arise when male and female employees travel together, whether domestically or internationally. Contrary to popular belief, what happens in Vegas doesn't really stay in Vegas — it gets told in court.
Inappropriate conduct can lead to courthouse
Generally, a court will analyze the characteristics of a specific work site when considering whether an employee was subjected to a hostile work environment. Yet all too frequently, employees leave their inhibitions at the office and act inappropriately during business trips. In response, courts have found harassing behavior unlawful even when it occurred on a single business trip.
Read on
This Week on HRhero.com
Employers in the Courtroom
Employee with perfume allergy loses discrimination claim
Excerpted from New Jersey Employment Law Letter and written by attorneys at the law firm of Pitney Hardin LLP
A federal appeals court recently affirmed the dismissal of a disability discrimination claim based on perfume sensitivity. It found that the employer reasonably accommodated the employee by taking various measures, including prohibiting perfume in the workplace.
Facts
Linda Kaufmann began working for GMAC Mortgage Corporation in Pennsylvania in June 2002. Soon after starting the job, she experienced "severe allergic reactions" to her coworkers' perfumes. GMAC took various steps to accommodate her, including development and implementation of a "perfume-free environment."
Read on
Did You Know...
More than 70 percent of American workers are dissatisfied with their jobs -- and employers are paying the price. Employee "disengagement" costs $350 billion per year in lost productivity and turnover, according to a recent Gallup poll.
Learn how to engage your workforce and transform your organization by registering for the all-new HR Hero audio conference, Keep Employees Engaged and Slash Turnover: Secrets of the Great Workplaces. Hal Adler, president of the Great Place to Work Institute, will reveal secrets of great workplaces like Google and H.G. Edwards. It's 90 minutes of hands-on techniques to jumpstart employee productivity and on-the-job innovation, as well as a fresh approach to using benefits to win employee commitment -- for good.
Read on for more information...
What's your HR IQ on dealing with sick employees?
It’s flu season. Are you feeling helpless just sitting around waiting for the typical absenteeism and presenteeism problems that crop up every fall and winter? You’re not powerless. Check your knowledge of how to handle sick employees.
Test your knowledge of how to handle employees who are sick and other challenging HR situations without getting into legal hot water with HRIQ, an interactive online quiz produced by HRHero.com. This month's quiz is on the flu season.
The quizzes present you with several real-life workplace scenarios that could cause you legal trouble if you make the wrong decision. At the end of the quiz you can see how well you did and get an explanation of the correct answers.
You can find quizzes on the Americans with Disabilities Act, researching job applicants, summer workers, bird flu precautions, and much more. New quizzes are added about once a month.
How do I join Employers Forum discussions?
HRhero.com Subscribers Area Resources
Get specific ... state-specific, that is. About 75% of HR Hero Line subscribers also subscribe to our state-specific Employment Law Letters. Sign up for your state's Employment Law Letter to get monthly, state-specific updates and access to the HRhero.com Subscribers Area.
HR Tip of the Week
Managing workers with psychiatric disabilities, part I
Excerpted from Indiana Employment Law Letter and written by attorneys at the law firm of Baker & Daniels
by Susan W. Kline
According to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), an estimated 26 percent of adult Americans will suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year. For persons ages 15 to 44 in the United States, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability. Nearly half of those with a mental disorder suffer from two or more disorders simultaneously.
Managing employees who have psychiatric conditions can be a tremendous challenge for supervisors and HR managers. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you have an obligation to try to reasonably accommodate impaired employees, but only when the impairment rises to the level of disability as defined under the ADA.
Read on (Subscribers only)
Tool: HR Executive Special Reports
HRhero.com offers 26 in-depth special reports on topics lik
e "How to Manage & Minimize Absenteeism," "How to Make Telecommuting Work for Your Company," "How to Discipline and Document Employee Behavior," and more.
Anyone may purchase these reports on HRhero.com for $97 each. But you get all of them, a $2,522 value, for free! Why? Because you're a subscriber to your state's Employment Law Letter. You also have access to the three new reports we put out each year. Cool, huh?
Log into the Subscribers Area to access the HR Executive Special Reports library. The reports are in the Special Reports box in the right column.