Minnesota Labor & Employment Law Blog : Minnesota Employment Lawyers & Attorneys : Abrams & Schmidt Law Firm : Unfair Labor Practices, Workplace Investigations : Minneapolis, St. Paul, Twin Cities

As the New Year dawns, it is the perfect opportunity to do a check-up of your current business practices and determine if any changes are in order. Everyone needs a check-up every now and then, and this includes your business. A business check-up will help you reach your 2010 goals to increase revenues and productivity.

Some things you should review and questions to ask:

• Employee handbook or policy manual - Are all policies current? Do your actual business practices follow these policies or do they conflict? Do you need to add any new policies?
• Rental leases – Is everyone living up to the lease? Is an extension in order?
• Business contracts – Are there any changes needed in any vendor or supplier contracts?
• Insurance policies – Is your insurance coverage adequate to protect your business?
• Marketing practices - Did each effort bring in new business as expected? Why did you choose certain marketing options, was it to stay in front of clients or to try to get your name out to new clients? Do you feel your efforts were successful?
• Membership in Associations – Does this membership serve your business plan?
• Office technology – Do you have a replacement schedule? Do you need to upgrade or replace any office furniture or technology?

Often businesses can get stuck in a rut. There is no better time to kick start new ideas or to stop wasting time and money than the start of a new year. Take the time to do a check-up on your business practices and kick-start 2010.

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The economic recovery is slower and more sluggish than most expected. While hiring new employees may be on the back burner right now, this is the perfect time to tune up the hiring process at your business in anticipation of better times ahead.

Resources abound to help you develop a sound hiring process which should include creating specific job descriptions, conducting back-ground checks, and reviewing resumes/cover letters. Many businesses today are screening candidates over the phone, and electing to use behavioral interviews to select the best candidate for the job.

What is clear is that your hiring process should have a standardized format so you are able to compare and contrast candidates: apples to apples. When you do begin hiring again, it is important to not overlook obvious red flags.

• 1st Red Flag: If candidates don’t use common sense during the hiring process, there is a really good chance they won’t use common sense on the job. A candidate I interviewed for a paralegal position gave a very good 45 minute interview, and made the first cut. When I left the office, I found the candidate sitting in his car in the parking lot with a dead battery. He had been outside in below freezing temperature for 2 hours, waiting for a friend to jump his car battery. Someone who doesn’t know to come in out of the cold is not the right candidate for a high pressure, deadline oriented position.
• 2nd Red Flag: If candidates don’t use good manners during the interview, they won’t use good manners on the job. Another paralegal candidate answered her cell phone during the interview and carried on a conversation with her spouse over who should pick up the kids. She was cut mid-interview based on the telephone call.
• 3rd Red Flag: If your workplace has a formal business dress code and the candidate shows up for the interview in a polo and khaki pants, pass on the candidate. Everyone knows or should know to dress your best for a job interview. Impressions do count.
• 4th Red Flag: How the candidate speaks to your staff when scheduling the interview, responding to follow-up requests to supply references, or even to the receptionist the day of the interview speaks volumes about how they would fit into your workplace. If a candidate is rude and demeaning during the hiring process, take a pass and look for someone else.

In conjunction with having a standardized hiring process, considering whether or not a candidate raises any obvious red flags will insure you select the right candidate for the job.
 

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Just this week the United States Supreme Court granted review of an important case (pdf) that will impact employers; public employers in particular. The Supreme Court will decide whether employees have an expectation of privacy in the text messages they send on devices owned by their employers. This case is opening the door into the new frontier of law and technology in the workplace.

The case stems from a police sergeant’s use of a City owned pager to send business and personal text messages. The City of Ontario, California had a general computer usage, internet and e-mail policy which was applicable to all employees. The policy stated, users should have no expectation of privacy or confidentiality when using internet and e-mail resources and usage may be monitored. The City had no formal policy governing the use of department pagers, but there was an informal policy established by a police lieutenant that text usage would not be audited, so long as the employee agreed to pay any overage charges for exceeding a 25,000 character limit.

The Supreme Court decision is not expected until next summer, so what can you, as an employer, do now? 

1. Make sure policies address all your technology.
2. Insure your policies are being followed and not contradicted by management.
3. Train employees on all policies, including new or revised policies.

Remember policies are the workplace rules you have set for your employees to follow, and you need to review these rules on a regular basis and change them when necessary.

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Knowing what to put in an employee’s personnel file can be confusing for many business owners. Where do you keep the supervisory notes about employee performance, first report of injury forms, or the letter of suspension? How about time off requests or annual performance evaluations? Should you keep a specific document or toss it?

The Minnesota state legislature has standardized a definition of personnel files for private employers with twenty (20) or more employees. (This statute does not apply to cities or counties). It provides clear guidance about what should be included in an employee personnel file, and just as importantly what should not be placed in the personnel file. Things to include are applications for employment, wage and salary history, fringe benefits, leave records, warnings, discipline or termination, to name just a few.

The list of documents to omit from a personnel file include letters of reference supplied by another person, information relating to an investigation until the investigation is completed, specific types of education records, results of employer testing, medical reports, etc. While these types of documents should not be stored in a personnel file, they should definitely be maintained in a separate file. They may be important in the future to establish the employment history of a problem employee, to support a disciplinary action, or to assist in the defense against a claim made against your business.

Even if your workplace is smaller than 20 employees, the statute can still be helpful. It should be seen as a “gold standard” for businesses on how to maintain and manage personnel files. An audit of your personnel files is a great business practice to complete at the end of each year.  Add it at the top of your list of New Year’s resolutions, above weight loss and exercising more, and follow-through on it.

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Employers are stretched thin trying to keep afloat during these current economic times. Money is tight, banks are reluctant to loan, customers/clients don’t want to spend money and of course, employees still want their paychecks.

Employers need a little levity right about now. If you think your workplace has problems or gives you a headache, things could be worse. Your workplace and employees could have been included in the Top 10 List of Weirdest Work Stories for 2009.

It gives you a new perspective to compare the challenges at your workplace, with the employer who let an employee borrow his Ferrari and she flipped it causing $125,000 in damage; or the employer who had almost 150 employees get sick after a co-worker sprayed perfume at the workplace. This is not the way you want to brand your business or get it in the news. Hey, 2010 is looking brighter already!
 

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In December 1843, Charles Dickens wrote a novella he originally called a “Ghost Story of Christmas.” In the story we all know as “A Christmas Carol,” Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by four ghosts, including his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, followed by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.

The ghost of Christmas past takes Scrooge back to the time he was a young man working at Fezziwig’s Warehouse. The Warehouse is closing Christmas Eve, in preparation for a rousing party with dancing and sumptuous food. The ghost of Christmas present reveals to Scrooge the poverty of his sole employee at the Scrooge & Marley Counting House, Bob Cratchit, and the plight of his family.

Comparing your workplace to Scrooge’s Counting House or Fezziwig’s Warehouse is more than just a fanciful holiday exercise. It is designed to get you thinking about the tone and personality you have set at your business. If the goal is to raise productivity of employees, generate new business, and increase revenues, it is worth a look at what type of workplace you have created to accomplish those goals. There is no better mirror for this type of business assessment than the eyes of your employees.

Fezziwig’s Warehouse and the Scrooge & Marley Counting House were two very different workplaces. The differences lie in the philosophy and values of the business owners themselves, and how these values were communicated to employees. Which one best describes your philosophy and your workplace?

Employers set the tone for workplaces. Determine your business philosophy and be sure to share it with your employees.
 

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On October 23, 2009, President Obama declared a National Emergency in response to the widespread H1N1 flu outbreak. Cities and counties should have a strategic plan to insure their city or county is able to quickly respond to the pandemic as it develops in their own community.

Many cities and counties already have an emergency action plan in place to address major snowstorms, tornadoes, floods, or fires. With a few modifications it can be updated to apply to a pandemic.

Pre-planning and communication with employees is imperative to insure the workplace can continue operation during a pandemic.  Minnesota state statute provides a back-drop for emergency management situations such as a pandemic. State statute provides during an emergency or disaster, a Minnesota city or county may do what they need to do to provide emergency assistance to citizens in their communities.

This includes temporarily suspending the usual formalities and restrictions of the law pertaining to contracts, incurring obligations, limitations on tax levies, and the expenditure of public funds. Provisions covering Civil Services Rules, and the purchase of supplies and materials are also suspended during the emergency. The objective of the law is to provide the means and authority for cities and counties to respond quickly to an emergency facing their community.

With some advanced planning, cities and counties will be able to respond to a pandemic and continue to provide municipal services to their communities.

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