June 2014
Welcome to June! As we approach the middle of 2014 and the balmy summer months, employers are likely to face numerous workplace matters, such as an influx of vacation requests, the implementation of alternate summertime workplace attire, the engagement of summer interns and the implementation of flexible summertime work schedules. Your HR Professionals are available to guide you through these matters to ensure a seamless transition from your regular practices to seasonal adjustments that your organization may encounter in the coming months.
HR Alerts
New Model COBRA Forms Available
The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed new regulations that would revise the COBRA requirements in an effort to increase visibility of the available options available in the Health Insurance Marketplace. While the proposed regulations will only become effective after a comment period and final review, the DOL has already released an amended Model General Notice and a revised Model Election Notice. The updated forms contain more information than the previous documents regarding the Health Insurance Marketplace including a statement that insurance coverage through the exchange may be less expensive than COBRA coverage and that COBRA-eligible individuals may qualify for a special enrollment period under the parameters of the exchange.
These up-to-date forms are available in the HR Support Center in the Forms section of the Essentials tab. We recommend that you immediately begin using these model notices in place of your current COBRA notices.
Summer Interns: Help or Hindrance
In one my favorite episodes of “Seinfeld,” Kramer secures the help of an NYU intern, Darin, for his imaginary company, Kramerica Industries. Darin is an eager learner and a meticulous achiever as he sets appointments with Kramer’s friends for the coffee shop, takes detailed minutes during social coffee talk conversations, and shares Kramer’s vision of an “oil bladder” to protect the oceans from contamination in the event of a tanker crash. Eventually, NYU takes Kramer’s intern away from him, pointing out that Kramerica Industries consists of only “a solitary man with a messy apartment…”
Whether your organization is as small as Kramerica or a Fortune 500 Company, you may be considering offering a summer internship program. Below are a few benefits and drawbacks of such programs as well as some important compliance and liability items to consider before accepting the services of an intern.
The most resounding benefit that employers report when offering an internship are the fresh ideas and perspectives that students bring to the company. Employers also state that most interns of the millennial generation hold a wealth of technical acumen and ideas for strategic technology that may be beneficial to the organization. Employers develop vital relationships with universities when recruiting interns. Additionally, employers benefit by creating a pipeline of talented job candidates for future open positions. Another benefit that is often overlooked is that internships provide the opportunity for non-managers in your organization to gain some supervisory experience. Therefore, you may wish to consider assigning the intern to report to an employee who you are developing for a future leadership position.
Before diving into the internship world, there are certainly some drawbacks to internship programs to consider. Employers often report that internship programs are very time consuming and tend to hinder the organization’s operations and productivity. Employers hold the time-consuming obligation of training and mentoring interns, as well as completing paperwork for the university attended by the intern. Some employers liken the experience to hiring a new employee, but losing that employee as soon as the worker is able to proactively contribute to the organization.
The organization must consider wage and hour compliance issues when implementing an internship program. While most interns must be compensated at least minimum wage plus applicable overtime in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the US Department of Labor has laid out specific circumstances under which an organization may utilize the resources of an unpaid intern. If all of these six conditions are met, your company may be able to classify the worker as an unpaid intern:
The training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to what would be given in a vocational school or academic educational instruction;
The training is for the benefit of the intern;
The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under their close observation;
The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern, and, on occasion, the employer’s operations may actually be impeded;
The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period; and
The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time engaged in training.
If all of these six criteria are not met, an employment relationship exists and the intern will be entitled to at least minimum wage plus applicable overtime to remain in compliance with the FLSA.
Another important factor to consider is liability for intern injuries that occur in your workplace. An unpaid intern would generally not qualify for automatic coverage under the company’s workers’ compensation policy, as this benefit is based on earned wages. Therefore, it is important to speak with your workers’ compensation carrier to discern how to obtain additional coverage for unpaid interns.
Last year, Google received over 40,000 applications for internships. This astronomical number demonstrates that enthusiastic interns are actively seeking the opportunity to obtain some real-world work experience. Thus, upon weighing the pros and cons as well as considering compliance and liability issues, should you decide that an internship program may be right for your organization, the recommended first step will be to contact local colleges and universities to obtain information on the types of internship programs that are available in your geographic region.
Question & Answer
Q: What are the rules with respect to salaried, exempt employees clocking in and out using a time clock system?
A: Whether you require exempt employees to use a time clock is a matter of preference. There is no requirement to track the hours of exempt employees. However, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has made it very clear that tracking an exempt employee’s hours in no way jeopardizes the exemption, as long as the organization follows the salaried basis of pay guidelines (i.e. only deducts from exempt employees under the circumstances defined by the DOL).
There are many reasons why an employer may opt to track the hours of an exempt employee. Some reasons for doing so may be to track internal job costs, bill clients, management of performance/efficiency, track attendance/tardiness, for a company’s paid time off program or to account for the number of employees located onsite in an emergency situation, etc. We simply recommend setting a policy in this regard based on the organization’s preferences/needs, and remaining consistent with this process for all exempt employees.
Employers and Summertime Events
As an employer, it seems that the appearance of firework advertisements and white clothing bring along with it a reminder for companies large and small: the onset of the summer season. The unspoken rule is that the summer season runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and this is the time of year when employers might find themselves debating flexible work schedules, less restrictive workplace dress codes and planning summertime activities and events.
The goal is to prepare events and activities that encourage camaraderie between employees as well as an opportunity to enjoy warmer weather and, depending on the industry, a decreased volume in work.
Before debating what best removes barbecue sauce from white linen pants, it is recommended that employers partner with their Human Resources professionals in establishing a plan for summer-specific topics and activities. It is important to ensure that a proactive agenda, rather than a reactive response is formulated with regard to these topics.
The topics that often cross a Human Resources professional’s desk are the following:
Compressed Workweeks/Flexible Work Schedules
Casual Dress Code
Vacation Requests
Summer Internship Programs
Work-sponsored Activities
With respect to work schedules, due to extended daylight hours and enticing warm weather, especially for those residing in the cooler regions of the country, employees may show interest in working an alternate work schedule during the summer season. As many businesses experience a decreased workload during this timeframe, it is recommended that the senior management team considers an alternate or compressed work week schedule. Employers should, however, keep in mind that this alternate schedule must be applied equitably to employees and its implementation must assure that adequate staffing will remain in place.
Casual summer dress codes are another subject that often leaves managers perplexed. Whereas many otherwise professional business or business casual oriented work environments may craft a relaxed summertime dress code, especially in regions where the temperatures may rise along with the humidity, it is essential that dress code expectations are clearly disseminated to all employees in order to assure clarity with regard to the appropriateness of attire in a relaxed summertime dress code. It is recommended that a memo is distributed companywide prior to the onset of the warmer season. This will provide employees with an opportunity to review and acknowledge the parameters in place for a relaxed dress code during the summer months. It is imperative to clearly communicate that the standard dress code may be implemented at any time during the summer months, especially if the company will have clients or prospective customers visiting its location.
Vacation and Paid Time Off requests are another area of dilemma for many managers. With summer being a sought after time of year for employees to travel and enjoy their time off, companies should incorporate a strategic and equitable process by which they grant vacation. Some organizations require employees to submit vacation requests at the beginning of the calendar year; others have more lenient procedures. Whatever vacation approval procedure your organization chooses to elect, it is imperative to ensure that a consistent process is in place to avoid a perceived or actual situation of discrimination or favoritism. When employees submit vacation requests earlier in the year, it enables managers to plan accordingly with staffing availability as well as work with employees on altering the requested time off. Whether the company uses seniority or a sequential method to decide which employees will be granted time off per their requests, employees will perceive a process that is consistent to be more equitable, in turn reducing the company’s exposure to liability.
Finally, an employer planning summertime activities has several factors to address, including whether an event will be during business hours or outside regular working hours; whether family members will be included in the activity and whether alcoholic beverages will be permitted at the employer-sponsored event.
Company picnics are a popular choice as they provide employers with an opportunity to host a casual, relatively inexpensive event for employees. Permitting family members to attend is an ideal means of encouraging employees to introduce their colleagues and their family members to one another.
Employers and HR professionals should keep in mind that although such an event may be casual in nature, it is an employer-sponsored event, and therefore, employees are expected to adhere to the employer’s policies with regard to their behavior at the event. Employers should therefore have a clearly designated drug and alcohol policy in place which includes company sponsored events whether offsite or onsite within its guidelines regarding employee behavior.
Summertime is a great time of year for employees to feel more relaxed as they anticipate lower work volumes, vacation time, less stringent dress codes and flexible work weeks. By implementing clearly drafted workplace policies regarding the topics discussed in this article, an employer will be well-prepared to address the summer season and the workplace changes that arrive with the influx of white and brightly colored fabrics.
Tool of the Month:
It’s important that your employees project a professional appearance at all times; one that is consistent with your corporate culture and environment. The best way to communicate this and other policies to employees is through the Dress and Grooming Policies housed in the employee handbook. This month’s tool is a recommended policy that you may customize in accordance with your organization’s needs in this regard. It is important to make room in your policies and practices for religious accommodations when warranted. You may locate this month’s tool by searching ‘Dress and Grooming Policy’ under the Policy Library section of the Essentials tab in the HRSC.
