All posts by Paula Mathews

Property managers and landlords everywhere have issues when they have tenants who behave badly. Bad behavior can be many things. Not paying rent on time. Being nasty to other tenants who share common areas. Leaving common areas a mess; not picking up after themselves. Causing intentional damage to the property. Violating their leases. Storing hazardous chemicals in an unacceptable manner. Sneaking in animals and leaving the property infested with fleas. Allowing the property to become infested with bedbugs or lice. Illegally disposing of hazardous materials in company-provided dumpsters. Installing washers or dryers in violation of lease. The list is endless. So what’s to be done?

I would recommend using the same type of disciplinary system that works for employees. You should formally communicate with your tenants when they are in violation of their lease agreements. Most agreements have language that addresses all the above issues. Get a signed acknowledgement from your tenants that they agree on what the problem is and what they will do to fix it. When the corrective action doesn’t happen, further steps need to be taken, up to and including eviction. Have a clear understanding of the eviction laws in your state before you suggest such action to your tenants. If it gets to this level, I would also recommend consulting with a lawyer who specializes in leases.

As with employees, the more due diligence you do in the pre-employment or the pre-signing-of-the-lease process, the better you are. When a robust process is followed and references are checked thoroughly, there are fewer surprises on the other side after the tenant has moved in. Other challenges arise when you purchase a facility that already has tenants. Since it is too late for the due diligence, you have to start with the disciplinary actions when tenants behave in ways that you find inappropriate or that are clear violations of their leases.

For help with establishing these robust processes, please give HR Compliance 101 a call. We can help.

You’ve heard the saying, “A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place.” Corporate America is teaching this as 6-S or Kaizen, but it simply means that you don’t waste time looking for things. Wasting time isn’t as important to you now, maybe, as it will be in 10 or 20 years, but I strongly believe that there is a time for everything and…timing is everything. In this regard, you are the equal to every person in this world. You have the same 24 hours a day that every other person in the world does, but what you do with those hours is up to you. A business hero of mine is Seth Godin (www.sethgodin.com). In a recent blog, he stated, “… Are you intentional about what you’re learning, or connecting with, or the entertainment you’re investing in? We don’t have a lot of time. It seems to me that being intentional about how we spend our precious attention is the least we can do for it.”

So you can take your 24 hours each day and spend them on surfing the internet, playing games, hanging out, or anything else that floats your boat, or you can take those same 24 hours and pursue your dreams. If you choose, you can turn your dreams into goals by writing them down. You turn your goals into reality by creating and executing action steps. Those action steps are like climbing a ladder. Your goal is at the top, and every action you complete should take you further up the ladder.  With time, with focus, persistence, and determination, you can create one-year and five-year plans and see the future become your “now.”

Six significant time management techniques I have learned:

1. Only schedule 80% of your available time. For example, 80% of an hour is 48 minutes. 80% of a half-hour is 24 minutes. Those extra minutes give you time for a bathroom break, or time to grab food or drink. Those extra minutes could also get gobbled up by unexpected phone calls or e-mails or the life-happens moments.
2. If you have non-critical tasks that will only take 5 minutes to do, start a pile of those tasks. Then schedule a half-hour or hour block to tackle them.
3. Schedule specific times to check and respond to e-mails. I normally take half an hour in the morning, then half an hour after lunch, and sometimes half an hour at the end of the day. Remember, clients expect a response within a 24-hour time frame.
4. Create focus by setting timers (preferably loud ones) and devoting all of your concentration to the single task you have assigned yourself. Arrange your schedule so as to minimize interruptions.
5. Keep everything you have to do in your life on one master list. Take all of those sticky notes and reminders and put them on this list.  My list is my calendar of events, with some tasks listed to be done late this summer or fall.
6. At the end of each day, identify all those tasks that must be done the following day. For each task, determine the amount of time you think it will take. Then assign that task to a specific time of the day. If you run out of day, re-define your “must do’s” to fit into your available time. Remember, you only have 24 hours in a day and most of us only schedule about 12 of them.

If time management is a challenge for you, give us a call at 603-831-2114 or attend one of our time management workshops. You can also go to our website www.hrcompliance101.com and check out a short time management video on our Articles/Media page.

If your company uses forklifts and OSHA shows up, your employees need to prove they have been certified on the equipment they are operating, and they must also be in possession of a signed card.  If your operators aren’t certified, OSHA will fine you…A WHOLE LOT.  OSHA fines start at over $12,000 for a single violation.  Get your people certified before OSHA knocks on your door.

As a certified forklift instructor, I’ll be holding a forklift certification class from 8 a.m. – noon at the Atlas Pyrovision Entertainment Group (APEG) facility on 137 Old Sharon Road in Jaffrey, NH on April 25th.  Reservations will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis.  The cost of $160 per participant includes the four-hour training class and a formal on-site evaluation on your equipment upon successful completion of the class.

Register now via e-mail to paula@hrcompliance101.com or call Paula at 603-831-2114 for more details.

If your company doesn’t use forklifts, please help me by passing this information along to your business associates who do use forklifts in their organizations and who don’t have a trained instructor on their staff.  Thanks so much.

In November 2015, New Hampshire’s unemployment rate was 3.2%; it was 2.5% in November 2016. Current signs are that it will continue to go lower, making it more and more difficult to hire good employees. Appropriate workforce planning is needed if businesses expect to find the employees they need and meet their clients’ demands.

If you have employees and more than one position in your organization, do you post all open positions, letting employees have the opportunity to advance through your organization? Are you providing the training (both internal and external) that your employees need to succeed in their current positions, as well as training for positions that are another step up? Do you offer cross-training opportunities? Do you have succession planning in place for your key positions? Do you have a 3-5 year plan with your workforce requirements defined?

If you don’t have a system to “home grow” the industry-specific skills that you need, you are not utilizing your most important resource, your employees. Consider also that if you need employees who wish to move up through your organization; how else are you going to fill those vacancies?

As part of your upcoming planning, consider how to incorporate the requirements of Senate Bill 416.

This recent New Hampshire law “prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee who requests a flexible work schedule.” Although the law does not require the employer to accommodate a flexible work schedule, it prohibits the employer from taking any negative employment action again an employee who makes the request.

The legislature has not defined what constitutes a “request” for a “flexible work schedule” and doesn’t clearly define what constitutes “retaliation.” So what should businesses do? Listen to your employees.

If an employee asks you to adjust his/her work schedule, listen to the reasons, ask if this is a permanent or temporary change to deal with an immediate situation, engage in a discussion. Talk about the pros and cons of the request. What would the costs be to the company? What about the morale of the other employees?

If you have to say no, then so be it. Document very carefully your reasons for denying the request and keep excellent records on that employee’s future performance and employment actions.

However, consider whether your organization can embrace the concept of workplace flexibility. For example, employees who are nearing retirement don’t necessarily want to stop working the day they turn 62 or 65. Many of them would like to ease into retirement by working half days for a period of time or go from 5 days down to 4 days and then down to 3 days. The more you are able to accommodate these valuable employees and those on the other end of the employment cycle (for example, young parents with childcare issues), the more you are able to provide all of your employees with a work/life balance that they will cherish. HR Compliance 101 can help you with that process.

One of my clients recently sent me an e-mail. They stated that some employees are posting things on Facebook that they don’t find appropriate and wanted a policy in regards to that subject.

A policy of that nature is trickier than one might think.  Employers can have policies about how employees use the company’s information and communication systems (computers and internet) during their working hours.  In most cases, employees are prohibited from using the company’s information and communications systems in any way that may be deemed illegal, fraudulent, embarrassing, intimidating, disruptive, or offensive to others, which includes, but is not limited to, the transmission of sexually explicit messages, cartoons, ethnic or racial slurs, gender-specific comments, or any other comment or message that offensively addresses someone’s age, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, or anything else that may be construed as harassing, discriminating, or disparaging to or of others.

However, employers, for the most part, cannot discipline employees for job-related statements that are written and posted off-duty and on their personal computers.  In fact, the Federal National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) protects employees who engage in “concerted activity” to increase their pay, resolve workplace problems, or improve working conditions. They are protected whether or not they belong to a union.  An activity is considered concerted only if more than one employee’s concerns are involved.  If you have an employee who posts on Facebook that her employer is mean because she got a poor performance review, she is not engaged in “concerted activity.” But if she complains, on Facebook, Twitter, etc., that she, along with several other co-workers, received poor reviews because they all made complaints about safety issues, she is engaged in “concerted activity” and is protected against employer retaliation.  On the other hand, she is not protected if she exposes company trade secrets or makes threats of violence against management. In those cases, she can be terminated.

As more and more social media cases come before the courts, there will be clearer definitions about what kind of protections can be applied to on-line posts and comments.  There are currently a number of examples on the NLRB’s protected concerted activity page, http://nlrb.gov/concerted-activity

As a general rule, employees are often protected if they are discussing the company’s practices they think are unfair or issues they plan to bring to management’s attention.

A social media policy can be added to your computer, e-mail, or internet policy.  It can simply state the following:  “You are responsible for what you post in any social media.  Keep in mind that your posts cannot be viewed as malicious or threatening, and cannot disparage customers, associates, or suppliers.  Your posts cannot contribute to a hostile work environment on the basis of race, sex, disability, or any other legally-protected characteristic.  Postings that include discriminatory remarks, harassment, and threats of violence against co-workers will not be tolerated and may subject you to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.”

This motto was posted a while ago in Facebook. It is attributed to Crystalline Starseed-Pleiadian or Eugene Bell, Jr. or Israelmore Ayivor, depending on whom you ask. This quote reminds me of teaching and why many people go into the teaching field.

There are so many different ways to inspire your employees, your family, and your friends.

Employers can inspire their employees in many low-cost ways. A company that I worked for held a pre-Thanksgiving feast every year, a pot luck lunch. Employees would sign up to bring their favorite dish and everyone would share in the meal. It was a great way to bring people together, working towards a common goal. Employers can also volunteer at their favorite non-profits and encourage their employees to do so as well. Some employers pay employees four hours a year to volunteer or even lend them to the United Way during their annual campaign. One of my clients purchased a grill and offered a cookout to all of the employees every Friday during the summer.

Young families create traditions around certain seasons or holidays such as the first day of berry picking, the annual summer outing to the ocean, choosing your own pumpkin for Halloween, helping to pick out the annual Christmas tree, or decorating a live tree outside for the animals. Over the years, those traditions inspire the next generation to continue them with their own families.

You can inspire your friends by volunteering at a local non-profit, your local hospital, or your local Chamber. Even if you don’t join a Board, you can contribute by donating your time to a nonprofit committee or event. It’s a wonderful way to give back to your community and a way to make new friends who share at least one of your interests.

Every one of your employees should have filled out an I-9 form, which verifies their identity and their eligibility to be hired in the US. The revised form was just released on November 14^th. You can start using the form now for new hires, but you must be using the new form by January 22, 2017. Current employees do not have to complete the new form as long as they completed a form previously.

The government is encouraging employers to file on-line and e-verify all new employees. You can go to https://www.uscis.gov/i-9 and download the PDF form if you don’t want to file on-line. Employers need to follow the existing storage and retention rules for all current I-9s that they have on file. Best practice is to keep current I-9s in a separate file in a lockable cabinet along with your active employee files.

Since we are half-way through the 4^th quarter, it’s time to think about tasks that should be accomplished by the end of the year:

• Have you conducted your annual fire drill yet?
• If you have more than 15 employees in the State of NH, have you conducted four JLMC/Safety meeting this year? (These are normally held quarterly.)
• Have you conducted your annual refresher safety training with all employees?
• Have you completed an annual review of your hazardous chemicals?

It goes without saying that all those activities should be clearly documented. If you need help with any of them, please contact HR Compliance 101. We can help.

In a recent session, New Hampshire’s legislature passed Senate Bill 416. The new law “prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee who requests a flexible work schedule.” Although the law does not require the employee to accommodate a flexible work schedule, it prohibits an employer from taking any negative employment action again an employee who makes the request.

The Granite State Progress Education Fund and NH Citizens Alliance stated that the bill “eliminated” a major barrier to women entering and re-entering the workforce, especially after having children. “Workplace flexibility” and “flextime” are cited as the number one interest from a recent survey conducted by the NH Women’s Foundation. The legislature has not defined what constitutes a “request” for a “flexible work schedule” and doesn’t clearly define what constitutes “retaliation.” This new law is meant to foster a more hospitable environment for flexible work arrangements.

So what should businesses do? Listen to your employees. If an employee asks you to adjust his/her work schedule so he/she can get the kids off to school or so he/she can be home to get them off the bus, engage in a discussion. Talk about the pros and cons of the request. What would the costs be to the company? What about the cost to the morale of the other employees? If you have to say no, then so be it. Document very carefully your reasons for denying the request and keep excellent records on that employee’s future performance and employment actions.

However, consider whether your organization can embrace the concept of workplace flexibility. Remember, the request could also come from someone who is at the other end of the employment cycle. Employees who are nearing retirement don’t necessarily want to stop working the day they turn 62 or 65. Many of them would like to ease into retirement by working half days for a period of time or go from 5 days down to 4 days and then down to 3 days. The more you are able to accommodate these valuable employees and those on the other end of the employment cycle (those young parents), the more you are able to provide all of your employees a work/life balance that they will cherish.

If you want some help in adjusting your culture to accommodate flexibility in your workplace, HR Compliance 101, LLC can help. Call us.

Besides worrying about OSHA knocking on your door, which we discussed in the last blog, what else keeps employers up at night?

1. Not being able to attract and hire good employees. Studies have shown that, out of 100 employees, 92 will come to work every day, do their best, follow the rules, and play well with others. The other 8 have attendance issues, work harder to get out of work than to do it, always have a beef with one employee or another, and cause management 90% of their headaches. If your percentage is comparable (8 out of every 10 employees are “good kids”), then you are an average employer and should be able to attract good employees. If your percentage is higher, the 92%ers may not have much interest in coming to work for you. Good employees don’t want to work with the 8%ers. Figure out your ratio to determine how easy or hard it will be to replace those 8%ers.
2. Applicants not having the critical skills necessary. Employers are not only looking for employees who can read, write, add, and subtract at an acceptable level, they also want employees who will work cooperatively for and with others. In a retail environment, employees who are on their Smart phones when customers are on the other side of the counter or who are involved in verbal altercations with their co-workers in front of the customers are not providing any level of customer service. Core service values need to be taught if an employer wants his customers to experience superb customer service each time they walk in the door.
3. Workforce planning. It is always a struggle to balance the hours of work needed to produce the desired result, whether it is a product or a service. In the manufacturing world, we used to compare the cost and amount of overtime needed to meet production demands with the cost of bringing on and training up additional employees. If you have employees and more than one position in your organization, do you post all open positions, letting employees have the opportunity to advance through the ranks? Are you providing the training (both internal and external) that your employees need to succeed in their current positions, as well as positions that are another step up on your food chain? Do you offer cross-training opportunities? Do you have succession planning in place for your key positions? Do you have your 3-5 year plan defined with your workforce requirements? If you don’t have a system to “home grow” the industry-specific skills that you need, you are not utilizing your most important resource, your employees.

If these issues are keeping you up at night, let HR Compliance 101, LLC help you get better sleep by helping you find solutions.

Most employers have heard about the revised federal overtime guidelines that will become effective on December 1, 2016. These new guidelines have caused great distress among small companies and non-profits. The reasoning for the dramatic change in the new minimum wage for exempt-salaried employees (from $433/week to $913/week) is that this regulation did not keep up with inflation and had not been changed for several years. Although the duties tests did not change, the government added a few new categories to the exempt category. If you are not sure if your employees who are on salary meet both the duties test and the new salary minimum, now is the time to make that determination. We’ll be glad to share the 9 exemptions with you. Just e-mail paula@hrcompliance101.com

Other changes that have not been so widely publicized are the new OSHA penalties. The maximum penalties have not increased since 1990. The recent 78% increases are a result of the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act passed by Congress last year, which directs agencies to adjust their penalties for inflation each year. Effective August 1^st, the maximum penalty for serious violations will go up from $7,000 to $12,471. The maximum penalty for willful or repeat violations will increase from $70,000 to $124,709.

What does this mean for the small employer? If you have been cited by OSHA in the past, you want to be certain that you have fully addressed the issues. If your company receives a second visit from OSHA and they find repeat violations, you can face horrendous fines. It is worth asking your insurance agent if OSHA fines are deductible as a business expense.

What do you do if OSHA shows up at your door? By all means, let them in. Politely ask to see their identification. Be prepared to produce your last five years of OSHA 300 logs and 300A forms. If you have a forklift, be prepared to produce forklift inspection checklists. If you have employees and they work with chemicals in any way, shape, or form, be prepared to produce annual training records on your Hazard Communication Program and any other safety programs that are required by your industry. If you have any employees (full or part-time), make sure have Workers’ Compensation insurance in case they get hurt on the job. If you don’t, the fines will begin. Do you have the most recent posters? The latest poster was revised in July 2016. Last month, one of my clients proudly showed me the laminated poster that he had just received from his payroll company. Three of the posters had already expired.

If you are worried about OSHA knocking on your door or would like a free set of current federal and state posters, please contact HR Compliance 101. We can help.