Starting July 1, 2015, most employees in California will begin accruing paid sick leave under the state’s new paid sick leave law, which went into effect January 1. The new law applies to full-time, part-time, per diem and temporary employees who work at least 30 days within a year in California. Exceptions are certain home care providers and employees covered by collective bargaining agreements. As a reminder, here are some highlights of the new law:

• As of July 1, qualifying employees must accrue at least one hour of paid leave for every 30 hours worked
• Employees may use accrued sick leave after they’ve been employed for at least 90 days
• Employers can limit to 24 hours (3 days) the amount of paid sick leave employees can take in one year
• Employees may take paid sick leave for preventative care or care of an existing health issue for themselves or a family member, or for specified purposes if they are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking
• For partial days, employers may require an employee to take at least two hours of leave, but otherwise the amount of time needed is left to the employee (based on accrual balance)

The law also requires that employers:

• Display a poster with information regarding paid sick leave
• Notify employees in writing (e.g., on their paycheck) of the amount of sick leave available to them and maintain those records for at least 3 years
• Refrain from retaliation or discrimination against an employee who requests or uses paid sick days

It’s important for you to know, as an employer, that in addition to the California law, two cities in the state – Oakland and San Francisco also have laws regarding paid sick leave. San Francisco’s law has been in effect since 2007 and Oakland’s law went into effect in March of this year. San Diego also has a paid sick leave ordinance, which has been placed on referendum to be decided by city voters in June, 2016.

If you have employees who work in any of those cities, be sure you check the requirements of the local ordinances. If those requirements are more generous than the state law, you need to adhere to the city requirements for employees working in that city. Click here for a table comparing the state and city requirements.

Please contact me if you need help ensuring that your Employee Handbook is up to date to reflect compliance with state and local laws.

If you are an employer with 50 or more employees, you probably already know that you are required by California law to provide at least two hours of sexual harassment training to all supervisory employees within 6 months of their becoming a supervisor. You also must repeat the training at least once every two years.  Did you know, however, that starting this year you are required to include anti-bullying training?

AB 2053, which was effective January 1, 2015, requires that employers subject to the sexual harassment training requirement include in that training a component around “prevention of abusive conduct.” The law defines abusive conduct as follows: “Abusive conduct” means conduct of an employer or employee in the workplace, with malice, that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive, and unrelated to an employer’s legitimate business interests. Abusive conduct may include repeated infliction of verbal abuse, such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets, verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating, or humiliating, or the gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a person’s work performance.

All employers, no matter their size, must take reasonable steps to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring. They must help ensure a workplace free from sexual harassment by posting in the workplace a poster from the Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

Although the training requirement applies only to supervisory employees, we recommend that all employees receive training to prevent sexual harassment and abusive conduct. Also, we highly recommend reviewing and updating your employee handbook with language that conveys that it is a violation of company policy to engage in workplace bullying and that complaints of bullying will be taken very seriously.

As always, please consult legal counsel if you have any questions or issues regarding harassment or bullying in your workplace.

If you need help updating your employee handbook or need a sexual harassment instructor, please contact me.

According to the latest Gallup poll, only 32.1% of employees are engaged at work. The rest are only partially engaged, or are fully disengaged. What does this mean for you as a business owner, and what can you do to re-engage and retain those employees who are merely “going through the motions”?

As we continue to emerge from the economic downturn, many employees are taking stock of their jobs and their companies and what they want for their professional future. The “be happy you have a job” mantra is waning as more opportunities become available, and many skilled employees are feeling the pull to move elsewhere. It’s time for you, the employer, to put together a strategy to keep your top talent.

One of the key factors that contributes to employee engagement is the opportunity for learning and development. Employees want to improve their skills and knowledge, and need to feel they are making progress on their career path. For smaller companies, especially when times are hard, training opportunities often get moved to the back burner or eliminated altogether. Either there’s no budget, or workers are maxed out and there’s “no time.” In either case, it’s a huge disservice to both employees and the company. Employees become stale, bored and disengaged; companies are not prepared for opportunities that require new skill sets, or turnover that reduces company mindshare.

Let’s look at these reasons (excuses) for not doing training one by one.

Lack of budget. Learning isn’t limited to a paid instructor in a classroom setting. Consider a program where employees cross-train each other. Not only will the “trainee” learn new skills and knowledge, the “trainer” will improve in their job by having to teach it to someone else. And they’ll develop and improve a variety of ancillary skills – leadership, teaching, organization, communication. Something else to consider are the myriad free and low cost online courses available on a variety of topics.  Or, identify employees who are particularly skilled in an area and give them the opportunity to share that knowledge. Create a mentoring program or identify individuals who can coach others in areas where they’re struggling or want to develop. Begin, of course, by understanding the skills and competencies necessary to achieve both company goals and individual career goals, and then build your program around that understanding.

Lack of time. Learning is a process, not an event. As companies have evolved into doing more with fewer resources, the time allotted for training activities has shrunk proportionately. In many cases disappeared. It’s time for a paradigm shift. Recognize that the time spent in learning activities – whatever those may be – is an investment in the growth of the company and in the growth and satisfaction (Engagement! Retention!) of employees.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin

The California Family Rights Act (CFRA) has been updated to add guidance to some of its regulations and to align more closely with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). New regulations take effect July 1, 2015 and apply to employers with 50 or more employees.  Here are some highlights. To read all of the new regulations, click here.

Definitions. The definition of “covered employee” now includes clarification for when two or more businesses have control over an employee’s work or working conditions.  The definition of “eligible employee” clarifies how to determine eligibility for leave, including guidance on how to determine an employee’s worksite if the employee works remotely.  Note that if an employee does not have the 12 months of service required for a qualified leave at the start of the leave, but reaches it during the leave, the employer must provide a CFRA leave when the employee qualifies.

Job restoration. Updates require the employer to interactively involve the employee in determining whether an extension of leave constitutes a reasonable accommodation when the employee cannot return to work at the end of his or her leave due to a serious health condition. The law also now denies job restoration and maintenance of health benefits to employees who fraudulently obtain a CFRA leave.

Certifications/postings. The sample Certification of Health Care Provider form has been revised and now clarifies authentication and second opinion processes. Updates also permit electronic posting of CFRA notices and require employers to translate the CFRA notice into every language spoken by at least 10 percent of its workforce.

There are still some differences between the FMLA and CFRA regulations:

Pregnancy disability. Not covered under CFRA, but covered under FMLA.

Medical certifications. FMLA permits an employee to contact the employee’s medical provider for authentication and/or clarification of a medical certification. CFRA only permits contact for clarification.

Second opinions. FMLA gives employers broader permissions in seeking second medical opinions.

Use of paid sick leave. Under CFRA, an employer may require an employee to use paid sick leave for the unpaid portion of their leave when the leave is for their own personal health condition.  The same applies to an FMLA. For a CFRA leave for any other reason, however, the employer cannot force the employee to use paid sick leave.

Be sure you start now updating your FMLA and CFRA policies to stay in compliance.  Please contact me if you need assistance.

School will be out soon, and many ambitious students will be looking for summer internship opportunities to expand their knowledge, skills, and bank accounts! If you are considering hiring interns, or will need seasonal workers for the summer, now is the time to start planning. Summer interns are a great way to build a pipeline for future talent needs. They can also serve as “ambassadors” to promote knowledge about your company with their peers.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you plan for your summer intern hiring.

Follow the Department of Labor guidelines regarding payment. If you hire paid interns, the same minimum wage and overtime laws apply to them as apply to your fulltime employees. With paid interns you have more flexibility in terms of the type of work you can have them do. If you hire unpaid interns, be sure you understand the California Department of Labor guidelines for determining whether the intern is entitled to wages. The DOL considers the following 6 criteria in determining whether an intern is entitled to wages in exchange for his or her services. An unpaid internship must meet this criteria:

1. The internship is similar to training that would be given in an educational environment
2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern
3. The intern works under close supervision of existing staff and does not displace regular employees
4. The employer derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern, and, on occasion, its operations may even be impeded
5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the end of the internship
6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship

Create a detailed job description. The intern may have little or no work experience. Be clear about expectations, supervision, etc. Ideally, tie the work to their school curriculum (this is especially important for unpaid interns). Consider what tools and resources – and training – they might need to fulfill expectations and include that in your planning.

Make the internship a positive and learning experience. Consider assigning a mentor or “buddy” as the intern’s “go to” person for questions and concerns.  Create opportunities for them to learn about the company (think “selling your brand.”) Also, In addition to providing them with skills and knowledge related to their area of study, help them learn the workplace skills they’ll need when they transition from campus to office – time management, networking, effective communication, email etiquette and other skills and behaviors that will help them succeed. Make it fun!

Remember, every person who interacts with you and your business is a potential advocate or detractor.  You know this about customers, but also keep it in mind when you are interacting with job candidates, temporary employees and summer interns. At the end of the summer interns will be going back to their respective campuses and relaying to other students (perhaps some of your future job candidates) the experience they had at your company. Be sure you make it a good one.

In my last blog I talked about the trending up of M&A and the importance of having a solid integration plan.  One of the key components of that plan needs to be a well-thought-out strategy for outplacement of employees whose jobs are affected by the merger.  How well you handle this will impact your reputation not only with departing employees, but also with those who are retained. Often it’s the ones left behind who suffer most as they lose their work buddies, adjust to shifting responsibilities and workloads, and worry about whether they’ll be the next to go. Here are some best practices.

1. Communicate the business reason for the change with compassion and respect. If you use a third party to conduct the notification meetings, be sure company leadership is involved and available to answer questions and express gratitude to employees for their contributions to the company. Practice open, honest communication giving as much information as possible as soon as possible. These conversations and communications are never easy, but the more sincerely and completely they are delivered, the better they will be received.
2. Adhere to timing/notification requirements for layoffs. Work with your employment attorney to ensure that you are compliant.
3. Train your managers. Letting someone go is one of the most difficult responsibilities for a manager, especially when the reason is for something other than performance. Role play some conversations and prepare your managers to deal with anger, sadness and other emotions than may come up.
4. Provide outplacement services. Consider hiring a third party outplacement service to help employees: update their resumes, start their job search, network, find resources and deal with their sense of loss. Allow the employees to exit well.  Helping people transition in a positive way will help you avoid potential lawsuits and negative press. You never know whether one of these former employees will end up as a client or a reference.
5. Nurture those who remain. Set up small group meetings to give remaining employees the opportunity to ask questions and air their concerns. Communicate company direction and how each function, team and role will contribute to achieving the goals. Encourage managers to have one-on-ones with each employee to convey how they personally fit into the big picture.

I have helped many organizations through the outplacement process, both as a member of a corporate HR team and as a consultant. Please contact me if you would like additional suggestions.

Mergers & Acquisitions are on the rise. KPMG’s 2015 M&A Survey showed that 80% of respondents made at least one acquisition in 2014, and 82% said they expect to make at least one acquisition in 2015. Reasons range from “opportunistic” to “expanding customer base” to “defending against the competition.” Whatever the reason, in order for two companies to merge successfully, there needs to be a well-executed integration plan.

We’ve all read about the epic M&A failures. And perhaps lived through one or more of the smaller, not-so-epic failures. Often those failures are caused by inadequate planning around assimilating cultures, integrating processes and communicating openly and effectively with employees.  Having a well-defined game plan is essential. Here are some tips.

Create a “transition team.” This should include members from both companies.  Their charter is to identify similarities and differences between the two organizations in terms of cultures, processes, jobs, benefits, etc. Where there are differences, what will be best for the combined organization going forward? Where are there overlaps in jobs? How will that be handled? This team can serve as sort of a test case, or mini-merger to see what issues might come up in the larger integration.

Create a detailed integration plan. This entails more than a “welcome” meeting. What are the activities you will do over the first 90 – 120 days to integrate functions, processes, people? How will you roll out the “new company” to employees? What change management tools/activities will you employ? If there will be layoffs, how will you handle that and what will you do in terms of outplacement for departing employees? What new/revised policies and procedures are needed?

Create a comprehensive communication plan. Whether you are the acquirer or the acquired you owe it to your employees to share as much information as you can with them as early as you can. Closed doors and more frequent leadership team meetings do not go unnoticed. Nip fears and rumors in the bud by open, honest communication.

Conduct a “new company” orientation. Within the first 90 days, conduct an all-employee orientation meeting to communicate what the new company will look like, and give employees an opportunity to ask questions and air concerns. Follow this up with smaller team meetings led by managers. Set expectations for cultural norms, discuss any significant changes around jobs, profit sharing, compensation, performance reviews, processes, decision making, etc.  Be open and honest about lessons learned so far in the integration process, and solicit feedback.

Although this takes time and effort in the midst of the many financial and logistical components of due diligence, doing a good job of integrating the culture and people components is essential to success.

As an HR professional or business owner, you may be required at some point to conduct an internal investigation related to allegations of workplace harassment, discrimination or some other form of financial or personal misconduct. Without proper training, having to conduct such an investigation can be a scary and, frankly, legally risky exercise. For that reason, I am pleased to announce that Connect To HR, LLC will be teaching the “Internal Investigations Certificate Program” in Emeryville on March 16, 2015.

This intensive, 3-day program will provide you with a thorough foundation in internal investigations. You will learn how to properly conduct internal investigations to minimize legal liability and to reduce employee complaints.

The program is packed with practical tools, tips, and techniques to improve your investigative skills and boost your confidence in handling sensitive and complex employee issues. You will learn the legal obligations requiring employers to conduct internal investigations, as well as how to:
• Gather documentary and physical evidence prior to interviewing witnesses
• Establish a chain of custody and a confidential retention process
• Prepare questions for witness interviews and select appropriate interviewing locations
• Use a standard format for documenting investigative findings
• Handle disciplinary action and terminations to avoid stepping on legal landmines (best practices)
The time to learn how to properly conduct an internal investigation is BEFORE you have to do one! Sign up for the Internal Investigations Certificate Program today. For more information and to sign up, go to http://HRTrainingCenter.com/showSEMDetails.asp?TCID=1003554.

Even though the economy is improving, we are still seeing some layoffs as small companies merge or are sold to larger ones.  And, of course, there continue to be the standard involuntary terminations based on performance or misconduct. Whether you are letting an employee go due to a layoff or an involuntary termination, it’s important to take note of requirements and best practices to avoid any legal issues.

Final paycheck. If you fire an employee, or sever their employment as the result of a layoff, you need to give them their final paycheck immediately upon termination.  And remember, in California, an employer can only make deductions from an employee’s final paycheck that are

• required under federal or California law, such as income taxes and social security tax
• authorized by the employee, such as premiums for a health or pension plan, or
• authorized by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.

No other deductions are allowed. You may not deduct from an employee’s final check any amount still owed on a debt, even though the indebtedness is contained in a written agreement to pay the full amount of the debt on demand, at termination or otherwise.

Likewise, if you advanced an employee vacation and they are terminated before the advanced vacation is earned back, you cannot deduct the amount from the employee’s final paycheck. Be sure to cover the following items in your termination process.

Benefits – related notices to provide (if applicable):

• COBRA benefits coverage information should be sent to the departing employee’s home address
• COBRA Notice to Plan Administrator of Cal-COBRA Notice to Carrier
• HIPPA Notice
• Health Insurance Premium (HIPP) Notices (California only)
• Stock Option Closing Statement
• 401(k) plan information should be sent to the departing employee’s home address

Other Items/Forms to provide:

• Copy of the Non-Disclosure/Confidentiality Agreement or Policy (Best Practice)
• Notice to Employee as to Change in Relationship (California only)
• EDD Form 2320 For Your Benefit

Examples of property to be collected:

• Building and desk keys
• ID/security badge
• Laptop, software, hardware, etc.
• Cell phones
• Company tools and equipment
• User ID/passwords (voicemail, computer)
• Files and other miscellaneous company-owned items

Also, remove the terminating employee’s access to email, the network, the company intranet and any other programs or proprietary information meant solely for the use of employees. Ask the employee to provide their most recent address and contact information (phone, email) for W-2s and any other follow up communications. Remind them to contact you in the event they move prior to year end.

Remember, if you are unsure as to whether to terminate an employee, it is highly recommended you seek the advice of legal counsel.