June 19, 2012

 

Here is the latest issue of “This & That” Tuesday. I hope you find it to be informative and useful.

 

FLSA and Retaliation

Even purely internal FLSA complaints by employees can support an FLSA retaliation claim. The fourth circuit court recently interpreted the words "filed any complaint" to require even "intracompany complaints to be considered protected activity within the meaning of the FLSA's antiretaliation provision."

 

The court emphasized that not every situation in which an employee "lets off steam" to an employer is protected under the FLSA. Drawing upon the U.S. Supreme Court's 2011 ruling the Fourth Circuit framed the question as being whether an employee's complaint is "sufficiently clear and detailed for a reasonable employer to understand it, in light of both content and context, as an assertion of rights protected by the statute and a call for their protection."

 

Under the FLSA, the liability for unlawful retaliation can include more than just back-wages, liquidated damages, attorney's fees, and the other, more traditional remedies. Instead, the exposure can also consist of awards of compensatory damages, reinstatement for a terminated employee or "front pay" in the alternative, and (in many jurisdictions) even punitive damages.

 

EEOC Settles Disability and Age Discrimination Suit

Albuquerque, N.M. – DXP Enterprises, Inc., has agreed to settle a disability and age discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC for $120,000 and other relief, the agency announced today.

 

The EEOC’s lawsuit, charged that DXP hired an employee and then fired her a few days later after learning she had had a prior back injury. The EEOC alleged that DXP terminated her because of her disability and/or the intersection of disability and age.

 

Disability discrimination violates Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits employment discrimination based on age (over age 40). The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation voluntary settlement through its conciliation process.

 

In addition to monetary relief for the employee, the consent decree settling the suit provides for other important relief, including an injunction prohibiting further discriminatory practices; institution of policies and procedures to address disability and age discrimination; training for employees, managers and human resource officials on disability and age discrimination; posting a notice advising employees of their rights under the ADA and ADEA; and a letter of reference for the employee.

 

Does "Manager Knows Best" Still Have Value?

Here is how today's young people think about communications according to a survey conducted by Cisco.

 

They are devoted to connectivity. In a recent survey of more than 2,800 college students and young professionals in 14 countries, Cisco found that more than half said they could not live without the internet, and if forced to choose, two-thirds would opt to have an internet rather than a car. This intense desire to be connected leads to a demand for greater flexibility: Two out of five people said they'd accept a lower-paying job if the position offered greater flexibility on access to social media, the ability to work from where they chose, and choice on the mobile devices they could use on the job. Tomorrow's young managers will share these attitudes, and workplaces will inevitably become more flexible.

 

Also, social media is quickly overtaking phones and email and becoming the dominant form of communication. Young people are driving this change, with the one-to-one mode of interacting giving way to a one-to-many mind-set. Young leaders will use social media to create a running dialog with their employees and colleagues, issuing constant updates about their projects and ideas. Employees will use it to provide instantaneous input and feedback. Workers, via this medium, will insist on having a voice in shaping the company's vision and strategy.

 

The demand for increased connectivity and flexibility and greater use of social media will shape and change companies from the inside out. Companies will need to think hard about these questions:

• What is the appropriate level of openness? Should employees be prevented from slamming their bosses' ideas, for example? Should managers be restricted in the kinds of things they can say to or about employees? 
• How much blurring of public and private life is too much? Social media encourages people to mix work- and nonwork-related communication, but some workers prefer to keep their social lives strictly off-limits. 
• How can the company prevent abuse of social media? Employees and managers need to know that there will be serious consequences for any misuse of this potentially combustible form of communication. 
• When employees from VPs to interns are sharing company information on Twitter, on Facebook, and in blogs while your competition is watching, how do you ensure that your employees understand what information is confidential and what is public?

As companies resolve these issues, management styles will evolve. The days when a leader can confidently say "I know best" will come to an end. Managers will no longer be able to communicate with just a small circle of trusted advisers — they'll be expected to interact digitally with a much broader range of people both inside and outside the company.

 

Not every company will be pleased by this turn of events, of course, but those that embrace it will have new competitive opportunities. With knowledge flowing more freely throughout the organization and decisions being made more quickly, the company will be able to react more nimbly to the ever-increasing pace of change.

 

Factoids

• In 2012, 37% of workers said they expect to retire after age 65. In 1991 only 11% said the same thing. 
• 51% of workers say they have less than $1000 in savings for emergency expenses. 
• 73% of workers who say they are very satisfied with their benefits package also say they are very satisfied with their job.

Obesity

Being overweight adds about $1,850 per year to medical costs, smoking only adds $1,274. Morbid obesity (BMI over 40) adds $5,530. Morbid obesity increased from 0.9% to 6% of the population in the last 50 years.

 

Don't use a big word where a diminutive word will suffice.

~ Author Unknown ~