Idomeneo » Newsletter – April, 2011
Newsletter – April, 2011
In this Issue:
- A Message From The CEO
- Anti Harassment Training? But I Only Have 5 Employees in California!
- Alerts
- Did You Know
- Site To See
- The Reading Corner
__________________________________________________________________________________
A Message From The CEO
I’m not what you would call an ‘early adopter’. My theory is – wait until all the bugs and compatibility issues have been ironed out, then purchase at a price far below the introductory price. That means I am always just a hair behind in technology. And that is why I just, finally, purchased my first Blu Ray. The fact that I got a Blu Ray is far from remarkable – but what is remarkable is the process I experienced in getting it. It was delightful!
You, as well as I, have heard countless times – ‘we delight the customer’, or ‘good afternoon, this is AT&T customer service. How can I delight you today?’ (that one particularly makes me cringe!). So, at times I think – what makes the customer delighted? Now I know – when things work at or above your expectations, you are delighted.
Every facet of this process was delightful. First, I purchased the Blu Ray from Amazon. It appears that Amazon now allows you to link to your American Express account and use your Reward Points for Amazon purchases – now I can use those reward points for things I really want, from name brands I really like, and avail myself of “Free Super Saver” shipping….Delightful!
And, when I purchased the Blu Ray, the points were immediately deducted and the purchase price showed as $0, right there on the screen. No second guessing “did it happen”, no phone calls to customer service to confirm – it just worked precisely as it said it would, immediately.
Second, it was of course from Amazon – so I received the shipment early…again, Delightful.
Third, this Blu Ray can connect to the internet through your wireless network and give you access to various entertainment content sites such as Netflix, Vudu, Pandora etc. When I read this in the specs, while I was sure it was possible, I knew the successful connection process would take numerous calls to every customer service dept for each piece of equipment (cable company, router, Netflix, Vudu, Pandora etc.) – because….everything technology related takes 4 hours (see Feb. Message From The CEO).
However, I plugged in my Blu Ray (all the pieces I needed were included); put the batteries in the remote; opened the menu; selected ‘connect to network’; entered my security code and….it connected! Right then and there, it connected to my network. It didn’t say ’signal not found’, it didn’t just keep cycling and doing nothing – it connected! And when I selected Pandora and entered my eMail address, all my Pandora stations magically appeared on my TV. Well, you bet I was delighted! I blocked out 4 hours on a Saturday morning to get this all done, and I was enjoying a movie from Netflix in 30 mins. Delightful!
When something performs at or above the customer’s expectations, they are delighted.
This experience got me thinking, do I delight my customers, every time? How do you delight your customers? It’s simple really, say what you will do, do it, confirm that it was done, rinse, repeat.
And how can you do that every time – process. Your company needs process to make sure it happens the right way, EVERY time. Process isn’t boring or stifling, it ensures consistency – and consistent excellence will delight your customer, and make you and your company unstoppable. Process will help you identify what you are able to provide, and when, so you can set the customer’s expectations – and always meet or exceed those expectations.
Process comes in all shapes and sizes – it’s not just for operations anymore. Process should also drive administration execution. In this month’s newsletter we will cover some items you need to consistently address including anti-harassment training. We will also take a look at some of the things you might think about when putting together an arbitration agreement. We have a little tidbit on the whacky world of overtime calculation – if you get this process wrong it will cost you. And finally, in a tip of the hat to the marketing process – our featured web site can really help your eMails stand out; and this month’s reading selection is invaluable in putting an effective marketing process together.
Another by-product of delighting the customer – they tell a friend.
I purchased the LG BD 570 Network Blu Ray D.
And our relationship continues to be … Delightful!
Vicky Brown
CEO
Idomeneo Enterprises, Inc.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Harassment Training? But I Only Have 5 Employees in California!
In 2004, California passed AB 1825, requiring all employers with 50 or more employees to provide Anti Harassment training for their supervisors.
Many companies looked at their workforce and decided they did not need to comply due to their size and/or number of employees in California. Unfortunately, this may not be the case – the regulation requires a closer look.
AB 1825 requires all employers with operations in California, who employ 50 or more people, to provide sexual harassment training to all supervisors. What is often overlooked is that independent contractors, temps and non-California employees are included in the count. By way of example: if you have 12 people in California, and 38 people in Texas, you are required to provide training; if you have 35 employees in California, and 20 independent contractors, you are required to provide training; if you have 25 employees in California, and 25 independent contractors in New York, you are required to provide training.
The requirement is two hours every two years, and within six months of a supervisor’s hire/promotion date. You may choose to count the two year period via the “individual tracking” method or the “training-year tracking” method.
In the individual tracking method, the supervisor must be trained within 2 years of their last training date. This can easily become an administrative, scheduling and financial burden as you have to track each person individually and provide training on a variety of dates. By contrast, the training-year tracking method allows the employer to designate a ‘training year’ during which all supervisors are re-trained, independent of the last time they underwent training.
Therefore, if a company designates 2011 a training year and a new supervisor is hired in Jan, 2010, the supervisor must be trained by July, 2010 (within 6 months of hire), and they will be re-trained again in Jan, 2011 (the training year), and then every odd year thereafter.
The trainer and content requirements for the training are also very specific. Trainers must be qualified which includes an HR professional with significant years of practical experience in any of the following; designing or conducting this type of training, responding to complaints, conducting investigations or advising employers or employees regarding this topic. Attorneys and law school instructors are also considered qualified trainers.
As to content, the class must have defined learning objectives and cover specific required subjects. The class must also be interactive, meaning it must include questions that assess learning, skill-building activities, hypothetical scenarios about harassment with one or more questions, so that attendees remain engaged in the learning process. For this reason, live training sessions are preferred.
As this area of the law has developed in the last few years, it has become best practice to include anti-discrimination training in the class content. In fact, one company saw their punitive damage award of $210,000 reversed – in part because they provided anti-discrimination training (Bryant v. Aiken Regional Medical Center Inc.).
And finally, beyond the law – ensuring your workplace is harassment and discrimination free is just good for business. Employees will be more productive, your exposure will be limited, and everyone can concentrate on the things that are important to growing your business.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Alerts
Arbitration Agreement Protections Extended to Independent Contractors
California employees have always had protections with mandatory arbitration agreements. If an employer wished to require an employee to enter into an arbitration agreement, the agreement had to meet criteria, including:
- a neutral arbitrator
- must require a written decision that can withstand judicial review
- allowing for sufficient discovery
- allows all remedies that would be available in a judicial action
- the employee cannot be required to pay unreasonable costs or fees
Agreements that did not contain these features were determined to be not valid.
It seems the California court of appeals has now extended those protections to mandatory arbitration agreements with independent contractors.
In Wherry v. Award, Inc., the Fourth Appellate District held that the agreements were procedurally and substantively unconscionable. Due in large part to the fact that the agreements were presented on a take it or leave it basis, the arbitrator could award the winner attorneys’ fees and arbitration costs, and they required the party to file claim within 180 days of the triggering event – which is shorter than the Fair Employment Housing Act statutory period for a civil filing.
If you elect to require an arbitration agreement with either employees or independent contractors, ensure that the agreement is carefully drafted by counsel. Small mistakes could make the agreement invalid.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Did You Know
The annual and/or year end bonus is as American as apple pie, right? While the annual bonus has been around for decades, employers must be very careful when bonusing non-exempt employees.
The Federal Department of Labor considers a bonus, or lump sum payment, as part of the non-exempt employee’s salary. As such it can trigger a recalculation of overtime; meaning you will owe the employee additional overtime pay.
Let’s say Sally’s regular rate is $10 per hour, 40 hours per week.
Sally worked 4 weeks in April and she also had 5 hours of overtime.
Sally is owed:
$1600 ($10 x 40 hrs.x 4 weeks) +
$75 ($15 overtime rate x 5 hrs.) = $1,675
Now, let’s assume Sally received a $1,000 production bonus for the month of April. The bonus amount is considered part of Sally’s regular pay, so now her monthly salary is $2,600 ($1600 + $1,000); and that changes her hourly rate to $16.25; and her new OT rate is now $24.38.
Sally should have been paid $121.90 in overtime ($24.38 x 5 hrs.); but she was only paid $75; so now we owe Sally $46.90.
This seems a relatively small amount in the example above, but the recalculation applies to the period covered by the bonus. Since bonuses are generally annual – they will trigger a recalculation of all overtime for that year. An administrative nightmare.
Are all bonuses triggers – no. But the most common are, including:
- attendance bonuses
- production bonuses
- year end bonuses
- holiday bonus gifts
- lump sum payments (in lieu of a salary increase)
Bonus payments that are discretionary (meaning they are not tied to a specific action, time of year, or announcement, and so are not expected) do not trigger the recalculation. The following description is from a DOL Opinion Letter dated 4/27/06:
As indicated in 29 C.F.R. § 778.211(b), “[i]n order for a bonus to qualify for exclusion as a discretionary bonus under section 7(e)(3)(a) the employer must retain discretion both as to the fact of payment and as to the amount until a time quite close to the end of the period for which the bonus is paid. The sum, if any, to be paid as a bonus is determined by the employer without prior promise or agreement. The employee has no contract right, express or implied, to any amount. If the employer promises in advance to pay a bonus, he has abandoned his discretion with regard to it. Thus, if an employer announces to his employees in January that he intends to pay them a bonus in June, he has thereby abandoned his discretion regarding the fact of payment by promising a bonus to his employees. Such a bonus would not be excluded from the regular rate under section 7(e)(3)(a). Similarly, an employer who promises to sales employees that they will receive a monthly bonus computed on the basis of allocating 1 cent for each item sold whenever . . . the financial condition of the firm warrants such payments, has abandoned discretion with regard to the amount of the bonus though not with regard to the fact of payment. Such a bonus would not be excluded from the regular rate.”
As further explained in 29 C.F.R. § 778.211(c), “[t]he bonus, to be excluded under section 7(e)(3)(a), must not be paid ‘pursuant to any prior contract, agreement, or promise.’ . . . Bonuses which are announced to employees to induce them to work more steadily or more rapidly or more efficiently are regarded as part of the regular rate of pay. Attendance bonuses, individual or group production bonuses, bonuses for quality and accuracy of work . . . are in this category.”
Non-exempt employee bonuses may be a critical part of your compensation plan – just make sure you know if they are considered discretionary or non-discretionary; and follow the applicable overtime calculation rules.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Site To See
www.talkfusion.comTalkfusion allows you to eMail video to your clients, and also provides video conferencing, live broadcasting and video responders.
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Reading Corner
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
Keith Ferrazzi, Tahl Raz
Keith Ferrazzi demystifies the process of establishing a strong network of relationships. Excellent reading if effective networking has you stumped.
BONUS ALERT: Keith Ferrazzi is a featured speaker at the:
2011 Inc. GROWCO Conference in Las Vegas (4/6/11 – 4/8/11).
Hope to see you at the conference!
