HR White Papers

With the announcement of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regarding updates to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the agency has brought focus on the affirmative action efforts for individuals with a disability as a top priority. In the effort to enforce these requirements, federal contractors and subcontractors are compelled to look into their employment practices to improve their recruitment efforts.

When it comes to effective affirmative action compliance—one size doesn’t always fit all. Depending on the industry, affirmative action compliance and planning can vary greatly. This is especially true when it comes to the needs, expectations, requirements, industry trends, and solutions for best practices. Three industries that must comply with affi rmative action regulations, but have differing concerns and requirements, are the manufacturing, healthcare, and financial industries.

Did you know Facebook has over 300 million users? Chances are many of the employees at your company contribute to this number. Right now we’re living in a time of TwitterFaceSpace Pandemonium. No, this isn’t a real word—but as the emphasis on social media sites and its impact on the workplace continue to grow, it may soon become one.

In the last couple of years large numbers of Veterans have returned, or are in the process of returning to civilian life, from tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their employment is a high priority of the current Administration. Consequently, on April 26, 2011, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to change the regulations that govern how federal contractors and subcontractors complete their Veterans affi rmative action plan (AAP).

Most of us can still remember having to pop in a cassette tape to play our favorite song. If we wanted to hear the song again we pressed rewind…and waited patiently for the tape to backspin to the beginning. Fast forward to today, and we have music literally at our fi ngertips. The changes in technology have completely streamlined our process. What does this have to do with HR? Everything.

Without question, the employer may determine that a termination is justified, that not terminating based on certain conduct would establish a bad precedent and send a very

negative message to other employees as well as potentially driving away customers from your business. A decision to retain an employee given certain types of conduct may also result in increased liability for the company. The purpose of this paper then in not to dissuade an employer from terminating an employee, but rather to make sure that the matter is fully explored before a final decision is made.

Improper classification of employees can have severe consequences. If misclassified, employees may lose overtime compensation and other rights to which they may be entitled. These may sometimes be recouped through subsequent litigation. On the other hand, if employers misclassify employees, the employers may face substantial liability for unpaid overtime compensation, liquidated or double damages, prejudgment interest, and attorneys fees. 29 U.S.C. § 216. In some circumstances, employers incur such liability because they attempt to apply the wrong exemption, even though they could have used a different exemption or exception to avoid overtime liability.

This is the final issue of this three-part series.

The National Labor Relations Act protects employees’ right to organize into unions:

Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join,  or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, . . . and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all of such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment as authorized [under this law].

NLRA § 7, 29 U.S.C. § 157.