Happy New Year!

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

 

Announcements

You can always check out my website for upcoming speaking engagements that are guaranteed to be of value to business owners. More details about the events and Human Resources 4U can be found on my website.

 

My next engagement is entitled "Labor Law Update: 2013" It will be held on January 23 and is sponsored by the Irwindale Chamber of Commerce. For more information please go to my website.

 

Labor Law Update 2013: If you are interested in having me give a “Labor Law Update for 2013” presentation to your organization early next year, please contact me so we can schedule the event.

 

HR4U 101 for 2013Workshop

My all day workshop that will be held on January 9, 2013 is now full. If you are interested in attending a future HR4U 101 workshop, let me know and I will put you on the preferred list. Thank you all for making this workshop a success. You can download the flyer for all the workshop details as a future reference.

 

ADA May Now Require the Assignment of Disabled Employees to a Vacant Position

The Seventh Circuit court reversed itself and issued a new opinion. An employer's duty to accommodate a disabled employee now includes reassignment to an equivalent, vacant position for which the employee meets the minimum qualifications, even if a more qualified candidate has applied, so long as doing so would not pose an undue hardship.

 

For employers with operations in the Seventh Circuit (California is in the Ninth Circuit), the new decision will make it somewhat more difficult to establish that they met their duty to accommodate a disabled employee. In addition to traditional accommodations such as modifying facilities or work stations, job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, or acquiring or modifying equipment, employers in the Seventh Circuit must add reassignment to an equivalent, vacant position (assuming one exists) to the list of possible accommodations, notwithstanding the existence of a more qualified candidate. Although employers can refuse to reassign a disabled employee if doing so would pose an undue hardship, employers should remain mindful that generalized conclusions will not suffice to support a claim of undue hardship. Instead, to show undue hardship, employers must make specific, individualized, non-speculative assessments of the difficulty or expense of a particular reasonable accommodation.

 

U.S. Workforce Illness Costs $576B Annually

Poor health costs the U.S. economy $576 billion a year, according to a new study by the Integrated Benefits Institute. From absenteeism due to illness to the cost of disability and workers’ compensation, poor health costs the U.S. economy more than a half a trillion dollars a year, according to a new study by a nonprofit research organization.

 

Of that amount, 39 percent, or $227 billion is from “lost productivity” from employee absenteeism due to illness or what researchers called “presenteeism,” when employees report to work but illness keeps them from performing at their best.

 

The Institute represents some of the nation’s biggest employers, including Caterpillar, Chevron, Google, Microsoft, and Wells Fargo. The Institute also represents municipalities, unions and universities. The Institute is hoping the study brings attention from the president, who institute officials say has focused on the cost of health care but not on the “impact of health and productivity,” an institute spokeswoman said.

 

US Foods Settles EEOC Race Discrimination Suit for $165,000

US Foods, Inc., formerly known as U.S. Foodservice, Inc., a Rosemont, Ill.-based food product distributor, will pay $165,000 and furnish other relief to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC.

 

In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that US Foods violated federal law by firing an African-American employee who worked at its Memphis facility because of his race. Specifically, the EEOC said, the company discharged the black employee after he failed to stop a Caucasian driver who reported to work under the influence of alcohol from making deliveries on his route. US Foods did not terminate the Caucasian driver for being under the influence, or another Caucasian safety specialist who saw the driver at the first stop on his route. Instead, the company discharged the white driver later for an unrelated matter.

 

Besides monetary relief, the 18-month consent decree settling the lawsuit enjoins US Foods from further discriminating against employees on the basis of race. The decree requires training on employee rights under Title VII and requires US Foods to maintain records of discriminatory complaints and provide annual reports to the EEOC. The decree also requires US Foods to post a notice to all employees about the lawsuit that provides the EEOC's contact information.

 

US Foods distributes food products, cleaning supplies, and food service equipment throughout the country. The company employs more than 25,000 associates in more than 60 locations.

 

Factoids

Effective January 1, 2013. According to the IRS, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:

• 56.5 cents per mile for business miles driven;
• 24 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes;
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.

 

Computer Software Workers to Earn More in 2013

California’s Department of Industrial Relations has announced increases to the minimum pay required for computer software employees to maintain their status as exempt from overtime (assuming other exemption requirements are met). Specifically, the computer software employee’s minimum hourly rate of pay for exempt status will be raised from $38.89 to $39.90, the minimum monthly salary from $6,752.19 to $6,927.75, and the minimum annual salary from $81,026.25 to $83,132.93. The changes become effective January 1, 2013.

 

The licensed physicians and surgeons employee’s minimum hourly rate of pay for exempt status will be raised from $70.86 to $72.70. The changes become effective January 1, 2013.

 

Benefits

• 91% of workers said that getting health benefits through work is just as important as getting a salary
• 79% said my health benefits are one of the reasons I work where I do.

 

Quote

“You know you’re getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.”

~Bob Hope~