Prism : HR Consulting & Insurance Services, LCC.

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Unvarnished is Tarnished
by Mary Beth Hartleb

Just when you thought you had social media figured out, a new website named Unvarnished has come on the scene. Developed in beta testing and working via Facebook, the site allows for the unfiltered ranking of the work of others. The website's tagline says "truth in reputation" and explains "Unvarnished is an online resource for building, managing, and researching professional reputation."

Unvarnished is not for the faint of heart Linked In crowd; rather this is a no holds bar on anything and everything you want to say about a co-worker and the boss. Didn't carry your weight on that team project, missed a deadline, didn't get the raise or promotion you were expecting, workplace romance gone awry? Now you have a place to vent your frustration...for the whole world to see and read.

Unfortunately, human nature loves to focus on negative and scandalous behavior and giving "kudos" to others will be diminished with a quest to get to the "truth" in reputation. The developers have failed to account for perception, office politics, back stabbers and legal concerns revolving around defamation and blacklisting statutes; or maybe they have and hope scandal will reap fortune.

As an employer what should you do? If you have not already implemented a social media policy for your workplace, do so. And, discuss the ramifications of "tell all" statements with employees. Information on the site should not be relied upon as a reference checking tool or in hiring decisions. Odds are Unvarnished will cause more harm than good and may result in tarnished reputations, fractured workplace relationships, loss of productivity and worst case, incidents of workplace violence.

Minimum Wage Increase Effective July 1, 2009

The minimum wage for employees who receive qualified health benefits from their employers will increase from the current $5.85 per hour to $6.55 per hour, while the minimum wage for employees not receiving health benefits will increase from $6.85 per hour to $7.55 per hour. Click here to download the Nevada Labor Commissioner's 2009 Minimum Wage Bulletin.

What action should you take now?

Under Nevada law, employers must pay at least minimum wage for hours worked. If you currently have employees making minimum wage, a pay audit and adjustment is necessary effective July 1 to reflect the new rate.
Overtime in Nevada is calculated after 8 hours in a work day or after 40 hours in a work week. The determining factor is whether or not your employees are earning at least 1.5 times the minimum wage, $9.83/hr tier one, $11.33/hr tier two. If they are, then overtime may be calculated after work hours exceed 40 in a work week.
Now is a good time to reevaluate current pay rates and work schedules to determine whether it is more cost effective to pay a bit more per hour to move employees to the 40 plus hour work week calculation or continue to pay daily overtime.
Remember, overtime is calculated on actual hours worked. PTO, vacation, sick time, holiday pay or other time off is not factored into the hours worked calculation.
Keep in mind that collective bargaining agreements or certain position industry classifications may be exempt from this law. Check with your legal counsel and review your union contract.

Also note that the Federal minimum wage increases July 24, 2009 to $7.25 per hour. If you have employees and locations in other states, check the current state’s minimum wage, typically the higher of the two, state or Federal will be the rate in effect.

For more information or questions pertaining to the minimum wage change, please contact us at 702-990-3344 or email hr@prismhrc.com.

AB 243 Nevada Parental Leave Law In Effect August 15, 2009 - Impacts Employers with 50 or more employees

Nevada Revised Statutes 392.920 currently prohibits all employers from terminating the employment of a parent, guardian or custodian of a child enrolled in a public school who appears at a conference requested by an administrator or is notified during work of an emergency regarding his or her child.

AB 243 extends these protections to the parents, guardians and custodians of children enrolled in private schools as well as additional qualifying leave events.

Highlights of AB 243 are as follows:

AB 243 covers parents, guardians and custodians of children enrolled in public or private school.
Applies to employers employing 50 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks in the current calendar year.
Employers must give up to 4 hours of leave in increments of at least one hour, on a per child basis, to eligible employees to attend or participate in school-related activities to include: parent-teacher conferences, school-related activities during regular school hours, volunteering or involvement at school, and attendance at other school related events.
Leave is unpaid.
Documentation may be required by an employer and employees may be required to submit a request for leave in writing five school days prior to the date of the event.
Leave may be taken at a time “mutually agreed upon by the employer and the employee,” although this is not currently defined in the statute.
AB 243 provides additional qualified leave events, remember that existing NV law allowing leave for emergencies or conferences still applies even if the 4 hours of leave are exhausted under AB 243.
Collective bargaining agreements may supersede AB 243 if the agreement provides similar protections and leave policies.

Policy Review
Review current handbook policies and update them as necessary to comply with AB 243. The policy should note that parents attending and participating in school activities will not be discriminated against in any terms or conditions of employment, detail the reasons as listed in AB 243 for those activities that qualify for leave and the total amount of leave that may be taken, require advance notice of at least five school days, supporting documentation requested, state whether leave is paid or unpaid and if unpaid if policy will allow the substitution of accrued vacation or PTO time.

Compensation
Although leave time is unpaid, if an exempt employee takes time, the FLSA requirements concerning docking pay on an hourly basis may result in exempt employees being paid for leave time.

Update Internal Process and Communication
In addition to a policy update, administrative and payroll procedures need to be changed to accommodate requests and ensrue appropriate tracking of time. We recommend updating exisitng time off forms and adding an additonal time off code to your payroll system. Establish an internal communication to employees and make leave forms available, assign a dedicated person or HR to handle leave requests. We recommend exercising all employer rights under the law and enforce documentation requests and notice requirements on a consistent basis.

Training
All employees should receive training on the new law and internal policy and process guidance.

Should you have any questions related to AB 243 or need assistance in developing a policy, process and internal communications please contact us at 702-990-3344 or email hr@prismhrc.com.

Thank you.

OFCCP Defines Internet Applicant

FMLA Amendments

On January 28, 2008, President Bush signed into law H.R. 4986, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2008 (NDAA). Among other things, section 585 of the NDAA amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to permit a “spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin” to take up to 26 workweeks of leave to care for a “member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness.” Additional information and a copy of Title I of the FMLA, as amended, are available on the Web site.

Revised I-9 Form

"EEO is the Law" Poster Supplement

January Topics

Sleep (pdf)

Sleep for Shift Workers (pdf)

February Topics

Blood Pressure (pdf)

Heart Health (pdf)