According to a 2010 survey released by Jack Hayes International, the leading loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm, dishonest employees steal 5.9 times more than shoplifters which equates to an average of $639.99 per crime.  This number is overwhelming as compared to the average crime per shoplifter at $108.46.  According to the survey this is no surprise as employees have the in-depth knowledge of the whereabouts of the highest value merchandise, along with the in-depth knowledge of security systems and store protocols.

Employers need to be very careful when asking employees to do things that are not on the employees’ job description.  Here is a situation our Workers’ Compensation claims processor shared.

I just read an article from the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) regarding 2 religious bias lawsuits filed by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).  The article stated: “… that a predicted trend in equal employment opportunity claims is coming true ….”.  I decided to look at some EEOC statistics regarding religious discrimination in the workplace.

The Department of Labor (DOL), Wage and Hour Division is now offering attorney referrals!!   As of December, 2010 the DOL and the American Bar Association (ABA) have a joint agreement that helps employees sue employers!    The service is made known via a letter informing the worker that the agency is declining to pursue the workers claim and refers the worker to an attorney in the employee’s residential area.  The Wage and Hour Division resolves the majority of complaints it receives, however, it does not have the capacity to handle all of the complaints.  Complaints totaled over 35,000 in FY 2009 and over 40,000 in FY 2010.  The Wage and Hour Division estimates it has declined approximately 10% of the complaints received in 2009 and 2010 respectively.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has processed 99,922 charges of discrimination in FY 2010; this number is up from 93,277 in FY 2009.  EEOC reports that Retaliation consists of more than one third of the charges: 36,258, (36.3%) in 2010 and 33,613, (36.0%) in 2009.  Race discrimination is a close second with 35,890, (35.9%) and 33,579, (36.0%) and Sex discrimination a distant third at 29,029 (29.1%) and 28,028 (30.0%) respectively.  What is retaliation?  What can an employer do to avoid retaliation charges?

On May 9, 2011, The U.S. Department of Labor announced the launch of its first application for smart phones, a timesheet to help employees independently track the hours they work and determine the wages they are owed.  Available in English and Spanish, users conveniently can track regular work hours, break time and any overtime hours for one or more employers.  This new technology is significant because, instead of relying on their employers’ record, workers now can keep their own records.  This information could prove invaluable during a Wage and Hour Division investigation when an employer has failed to maintain accurate employment records.

Frequently I read about a workplace accident.  An employee is pouring a liquid chemical and the chemical splashes onto the employee’s skin or, worse yet, into an eye.  How can this “accident” happen?  Employers ask this question every day.  Most know the answer.  Still, I feel it is beneficial to repeat some common knowledge known by most employers.

In late February, 2011, ICE announced it was going to audit 1,000 businesses.  They did not have a  targeted industry, they just said “any size company within any industry’ could be audited.  It is quite likely that more audits may occur later in the year.  I have not seen any results of these audits, so I have no idea how many audits have been conducted.  However, the prudent action is “BE PREPARED!”.  

As a Human Resource (HR) professional, I really believe in creating a positive environment in the workplace.  This is not original thinking, who does not want a pleasant work environment?  Lately  I have noticed numerous articles regarding  “civility” in the workplace.  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines civility as “politeness”, “courtesy” and “good manners”.  There are additional words but I want to focus on these words and how they apply in the workplace.

There several costs to a company when terminating an unqualified employee: unemployment compensation, lost productivity, decreasing morale, overtime and replacement costs.   So why not develop and implement a program that will minimize the potential for terminating an unqualified employee??