Know your rights! Myths and facts about labor law.

HR professionals hear all sorts of myths, rumors and legal misinterpretations. Here is a list of the biggest misconceptions. Stay tuned in the New Year for a list of strangest misconceptions.

Myth: I don’t have to worry about saving; if I get laid off my employer will pay me severance.

Fact:  There is NO requirement for severance pay in the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act). You employer isn’t required to pay severance but you may be eligible for unemployment benefits.  Call your local Unemployment insurance agency right away to start your claim. Make sure you understand why you were terminated. You will need documentation if you need to appeal the state’s unemployment benefit decision.

Myth: I worked Thanksgiving Day. I’m due holiday pay.

Fact: There is no requirement in he FLSA for holiday pay, vacation pay, sick pay or for any other time that is not worked, even if it is a federal holiday.  Make sure you know what your company’s policy is prior to taking time off.

Myth: I don’t need to worry about my health Insurance if I get laid off.

Fact: The DOL allows employees to continue to use their employer’s group health plan after termination but it will cost you.  Your former employer will expect you to pay the full cost of the health benefit plus a 2% administration fee. The average cost of individual COBRA coverage is $403. ARRA has provided some relief to these costs. If you were laid off between September 2008 and December 2009 you may be eligible for a COBRA subsidy of 65% of your cost. When you leave your position make sure you talk with HR about your coverage options and the costs. And remember- your former employer is legally obligated to provide you with COBRA information within 60 days of your termination date.

Myth: I’m just a temp. I have no proof of anything the agency told me.

Fact: The laws vary by state but in Illinois and New York, state law requires staffing agencies to provide you written notice of your hourly wage, assignment location and supervisor contact information.  In states without notification regulations, you should always expect clear communication about wages and work locations regardless of employment status.

Myth: Managers just have to wing it. We don’t have required training.

Fact:  Most states require training for mangers in specific industries, but many states including California and Virginia, require training for everyone in management positions. Check with the DOL in your state for requirements. In California, for example, you are required to be trained in sexual harassment and discrimination.  If you aren’t getting required training contact your HR department. Fines for non-compliance are high!

Myth: I just got fired. I should be paid right away.

Fact: the rules regarding final paychecks vary by state. Depending on where your employer is located it can take as long as 30 days (in Wisconsin) to process a final paycheck. Other statutes (including Indiana’s) require you to demand you final check.

Myth: I just got summoned to jury duty. My employer will pay me for that time.

Fact: Jury duty is also regulated by state. There is no federally mandated compensation for jury duty. Currently, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut require employers to pay for all or part of an employee’s wages for jury duty absence.

Myth: I’m pregnant. I should be getting paid leave.

Fact: Maybe if you live in Canada. In the US FMLA provides 12 weeks of leave, but your employer doesn’t have to pay you. Your employer sponsored health benefits must be maintained and your job is protected. You would only be paid if your company has a policy in place to pay employees on leave.

Make sure you know your company’s policies. Don’t assume you will be paid for hour not worked. Talk to your HR department if you have questions about your company’s policies.

What a Difference a Sense Makes

Original post found on the Printing Impressions Blog site – Printblogalooza

 

I was born and raised in a family printing business. The experience gave me a vast love of the industry and I credit it for my work ethic and many of my views on honor and integrity. I am also very much interested and active in Social Media and Virtual Worlds. That all said, I would like to start off my blog series with Printing Impressions looking at an area where print has an advantage over the Internet.

Please note I am not addressing other elements of print where it is integrated with Social Media and Internet marketing. There are many valid reasons why it makes sense to work in both mediums. In this particular blog post I am beginning to look at the differences of the two based on the five human senses.

Let’s face some facts. In regards to the dissemination of immediate information, digging into topics and engaging and continuing discussions the Internet is the better venue. Business and people in general will always go the direction that is faster, cheaper and improved. The Internet is the better choice here. If you have never searched out a topic on Wikipedia and clicked on the various hyperlinks found within any topic, I suggest you do so to understand how it all works.

When looking at the five human senses, one must respect that the Internet has just two of them covered, sight and sound. Printing, takes the lead with the ability to interact with all five senses. This is a major advantage in a myriad of areas, some of which we will touch upon here, but the majority can be left to our creative resources.

Let’s start with the sense of smell. I commute to work via public transportation a vast majority of the time. There is a popcorn vendor at the North Station (Boston) MBTA. The smell of that popcorn is one of most amazing smells I encounter on a daily basis. Each and every time I smell it, I am hard pressed to avoid immediately buying that popcorn. If I were in the popcorn business and was looking at advertising, I would rely heavily on that smell. Smell entices humans and causes a physical reaction within them. This is a quick link to some information that will help you start your learning journey on this subject.

Recently PIAG (Printing and Imaging Association of Georgia) sent out their monthly magazine Georgia Printer with a bubble gum smell on the cover. Like popcorn, bubblegum has a very enticing smell to many people. All of my staff, including myself, smelled the cover and had a strong urge to buy bubble gum. Interestingly enough, when I looked at the PDF of the magazine, I saw the picture of the bubblegum, but without the smell it had next to no impact on me. What a difference a print makes.

I spoke to Peter Cook from Concord Litho at a recent PINE (Printing Industries of New England) awards gala. Concord Litho has been adding scented varnishes to various printed pieces for over five years. They were the first official sheetfed and web printing test site for the application ofmicroencapsulated Scentisphere^TM scented varnishes.

While sharing my North Station popcorn experience, Peter quickly completed my thought and added, “If you have a client such as cable provider and they are debuting a new movie on their on-demand network, take the popcorn smell, add it to a printed piece announcing the new movie availability date.” Made perfect sense … or should I say “scents” … to me.

Going from the printer to the producer of the scents lead me to James Berard from Scentisphere. He had a tremendous amount of information on the subject. Most often we think of scented pieces attached to fragrance companies. I suspected, and now James has confirmed, that it goes well beyond that. In fact, some companies are looking at something called a Corporate Scent. The idea is to select and market a scent that makes one think of a specific firm when ever they … “catch wind” … of it. Could we see a day when a company’s scent is every bit as important as its logo?

Adding scent to printed pieces using a varnish is not as expensive as older methods. In fact, adding varnish is very easy and part of the printing process if you have the right equipment. This makes it cost effective for your clients and for a printer to add as an option to their product mix. However, the most important question to have a solid answer for is and always will be, “What is the ROI?” Doing something because it is cool or neat doesn’t always generate a result. For companies whose products are based on fragrance it is a no brainer to use those scents on their print marketing pieces. Adding scent to pieces for companies that don’t have scent in their products will take some creativity, much like Peter Cook’s example above with an on-demand movie and the scent of popcorn.

I will go into the other senses in future blog posts. I hope by now your mind is working on how much impact print can have. While the Internet is quickly replacing some of the past uses of printing materials, there are still some real strategic advantages that print has in the marketplace. Creativity and thinking anywhere but in the box can help you take advantage of things like we discussed here.

In the mean time…

• What scents stimulate you?

• How could they be used to sell a product?

Job satisfaction – Your attitude is a big part of it.

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks with family, friends and loved ones. This year, what are you giving thanks for at work?

If all you are thankful for is 5 Pm on Friday and your paycheck, you are not alone. 19.5 % of food workers are somewhat or very dissatisfied at work. When looking at all industries, the number jumps to 35% according to a Salary.com survey.

Before you consider making a move, make sure you don’t have “the grass is greener” syndrome. For example, benefits won’t always be better elsewhere. Consider this: only 15 of Fortune’s top 100 employers pay 100% of their employees’ health-care premiums.  Think you have the lowest salary? Check Department of Labor for median salaries in your industry. Even industries popularly seen as highly compensated aren’t necessarily better paid than your current position. Look at the banking and legal industries: The median income for a job in a law firm is $49,940 and banking is $50,150.  When you think about your income in your current position consider your total package: benefits plus pay plus commissions, rewards and bonuses.  The value of your benefits package added to your salary makes the picture a little brighter. The average employer-sponsored premium for a family of four costs close to $13,400 a year. http://www.nchc.org/facts/cost.shtml. Check with your HR department they may be able to create a report showing the total value of your salary and benefits package.

If you still want out, look at improving your current situation before making a rash decision. Beat a long commute by looking for ways to make it bearable. Classes, lectures and audio books can be downloaded to play on a long drive. Remember though- safety first. Texting is NOT a good way to pass the time if you drive. If it’s the stress that’s getting to you, take time out every day for a break even if you don’t have time. Close your eyes and breathe. Five minutes of deep breathing will make you more relaxed and more productive. The voicemails will be there when you open your eyes. Ask yourself how you can work with management to make your 9-5 bearable. If it is an individual you loathe, how do you get along? If you can’t solve the problem on your own, ask HR to help you with team building or mediating activities.

 

A Boston area HR consulting firm considers attitude as the # 1 factor affecting success or failure of an employee. Your attitude is often the worst part of your job. Listen to what you say to yourself about your position. If you tell yourself it is the worst job ever then that’s how you will feel. Change your attitude, change your workday.

 

If you need motivation to change your attitude toward your current position, look at the labor market. New labor statistics are showing that it is more difficult to get a job that into get in to Harvard. CNN’s Tim Foreman estimates there are 16 million unemployed, including those who have given up their job searches.

Rather than join the ranks of the unemployed, join the 65% of employees who admit to passive job searching. Passive job search activities include surfing jobs lists (63%), updating resumes (47%), networking with friends (40%) and posting resumes (33%).

So what does make people happy at work? Women and workers younger than 35 report work/life balance as the most important component to their overall job satisfaction. Fortune defines work/life balance as companies where employees feel “encouraged to balance their work and personal life.” Perks to achieve this balance include Job sharing program, Compressed workweek & Telecommuting.

As anyone can imagine, compensation and benefits are important to employee job satisfaction in all age groups. It is interesting to note, however, the discrepancy between the reality of what makes employees happy and the employees’ perceptions. Many cite bad relationships as reason for leaving yet on a SHRM survey, employees don’t list relationships with supervisors or co-workers as very important aspects of job satisfaction.

Remember- your attitude and perceptions are everything. Create a positive attitude this Thanksgiving. Appreciate what you do have at work, including the intangibles, such as you relationships with co-workers. Your success depends on your attitude!

PIA and NAPL work towards a closer relationship

Looks like PIA and NAPL have heard the opinions expressed from their members and the printing community and have acted. This is a good move on their part and one that will hopefully lead to a combined entity. For now this step does a lot in the sense of uncovering how they can work together, assessing each groups leaderships styles when working on joint programs and eventually how one organization can run.

I certainly think it a good first step.

The below is the release we received today.

NAPL and Printing Industries of America, the two largest graphic arts trade associations in the country, are pleased to announce a formal plan to collaborate on a number of projects going forward.

The leadership of the two organizations met earlier this month in Charlotte to explore where collaboration made sense for the benefit of their collective memberships. Both associations were represented by their respective Chief Executive Officers, as well as their current and immediate past Chairmen (Michael Makin, Bill Gibson, and Ken Kaufman for Printing Industries of America, and Joseph Truncale, Keith Kemp, and Steve Johnson for NAPL).

“We are pleased with the progress we made during these discussions,” said Joseph P. Truncale, President and Chief Executive Officer of NAPL. “We were able to identify opportunities to bring greater value to our members and to the industry at large.”

“In the current economic environment, it is critical that we explore how we can work together,” added Michael Makin, President and CEO of Printing Industries of America.

Two immediate projects were identified and agreed upon.

1.) Both associations have agreed to work with their Graphic Arts Show Company partner, NPES, to develop a spring management conference beginning in 2011. This industry-wide event will combine the Printing Industries of America President’s Conference, NAPL Top Management Conference, and NPES Annual Spring Meeting into one comprehensive event that will bring together the best that each meeting has to offer. Oversight and management of the event will be shared among all three organizations through the GASC structure.

Planning for this event will commence early in 2010 and benefit from the combined efforts of each association’s professional staff and volunteer leadership. A conference steering committee will be formed to provide direction and oversight to the program planning and promotion.

“We are very excited to see this consolidation of events so that industry leaders no longer have to choose a top leadership program each year,” said Makin.

“We believe this event will be a ‘must-attend’ for all industry executives,” said Truncale.

2.) The organizations have agreed to collaborate on major issues facing the printing and graphic communications industry today, including the need to craft and communicate a positive message about print to media specifiers, educators, and legislative and regulatory bodies. While acknowledging the efforts currently being made in these areas, both organizations believe the added strength from the combined efforts of Printing Industries of America and NAPL can generate even greater results that will benefit all industry stakeholders.

The organizations will meet again in early 2010 to monitor progress on these initiatives and assess continuing discussions.

 

My bosses can’t tell me how to live… Can they?

The economic outlook remains gloomy. Many employers are still laying off. The staff who is left is working, work longer hours than ever before. More work = less personal time. While personal time diminishes, is personal choice also diminishing? Workplace rules & laws are getting stricter all the time. They are covering more and more of what used to be looked at as personal choices.

These factors contribute to the blurring lines between work life and personal life.

Lets look at some numbers:

Nearly all companies have an IT policy preventing employees from using the companies’ resources for personal online use. In spite of these bans a study released October 14th of this year, shows that 50% of workers say they will shop while at work this holiday season. 10% of these workers will spend at least 30 hours shopping online. Company policies vary, but consequences for violations can be harsh.

Concerned about your rights to privacy in your company computer? Your safest bet is to assume you don’t have any and don’t look for federal government protection. Federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) states an employer-provided computer system is the property of the employer. California allows for some minor adjustments. In general employees can expect very little electronic privacy on company owned computer equipment. Don’t risk termination or disciplinary action; limit your personal computer use to your personal time. Make sure you are familiar with your company’s IT policy. Ask you HR department to provide you with your company’s policy if you are unsure.

Employers don’t stop with company owned computer equipment. Some employers are now attempting to ban obesity in the workplace.  The numbers behind this decision are staggering. Employers with a BMI greater then 40 (18.5 to 24.9 BMI is normal) had 11.7 workers comp claims per 100 workers, compared to 5.8 claims per 100 for normal BMI employees.

Injuries aren’t the only costs. Health benefit costs to employers has SKYROCKETED due to employees with obesity related conditions. The average health spending for the 15 most expensive obesity -related condition climbed 55 percent form 97-05.

Think you are protected against your employer’s decisions regarding obesity? Think again. Discrimination laws very narrowly define protected classes of workers. Only Michigan and DC protect overweight workers. To many employers’ credit, they are working with health care companies to design programs to help employees lose weight. Initiatives include gym memberships, discounted weight loss programs and more mundane solutions such as serving fruit at morning meeting rather than pastries.

Employers aren’t the only ones pushing change in personal choices at work. Many states & localities have a ban on smoking in the workplace. American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation says that currently 71% of the US population lives under a smoking ban of some kind. Many of these bans are administered by OSHA. Employers: ignore enforcement at your own peril.

Are the positions these employers and enforcement agencies taking too paternalistic? These statutes that have been challenged in court, and the courts are upholding the employers decisions. Whatever your personal opinion of these “intrusive” rulings, your employer is still within his/her rights to make these personal choices for you.

Q3 Questionnaire Analysis – Oct 2009

To more accurately reflect this informal review we have decided to rename it a Questionnaire.

Another quarter, a drop in respondents indicating profitability showing the ups and downs of the recovery.  The quarter started weak but July and August showed increasing strength in most areas. The stimulus seemed to have had an impact but the responses seem to indicate that September ended on a decidedly weaker note. It was nice to see a positive GDP number come from this past quarter but we suspect a downward revision and are increasingly concerned for the last quarter. I know that the reported GDP strength was not uniform countrywide with the Northeast showing another 1.1% decline.

Lets get into the numbers-

Profitability: 46% profitable 54% unprofitable clearly a down quarter overall. The question relating to business over the last 2 weeks showed the concern we mentioned above. Things seem to be softening demand wise with less reporting a pick up or decrease and staying the same winning the majority. The question addressing how you felt about the next quarter highlights the feeling that things are not rebounding in a strong V shape but rather very up and down as sales expectations showed a decidedly average leaning.

There was mention on Bloomberg News that the American Staffing Association had indicated that the use of flex staffing was up in September for the first time since the downturn started. They mentioned an inflection point had been hit, signaling that within three to six months we will start to see a rebound in hiring full time people. The rule of thumb is flex staffing recovers a quarter ahead of the economy in general since most companies will use flex labor when they start to get busy rather then hire directly. Sensibly, since they are unsure if the recovery is sustainable. The question focused on hiring indicates companies are trying to stay the same at this point trying to get a hard feel if this recovery has any legs.

With the huge debates on healthcare nationally and locally, the question addressing highest labor costs focuses again on healthcare concerns with a full 70% indicating being concerned. When we asked what area of revenue was under the most pressure Offset still takes a high 46% of the total. Seems that for the last five quarters this area has been under significant duress pricing wise.

The last area I would bring up from the questionnaire regards the concerns area. I took a look at “other,” the largest category, representing 30% of the responses. An interesting component of the responses addresses the lack of demand in general. For example “Lack of qualified buyers,”  ”Sales” or “printing budgets have not yet recovered from the economic downturn.”  Clearly the fear is that budgets will never return and normal demand will not either. As this wise person states “A changing marketplace is requiring us to either broaden our product line to meet new media needs, or commoditize our product by cutting prices to the bone” there are things we can do to survive and create demand. I do believe that even with demand changing, the drop in current demand in printing and in almost every other industry is so severe that the issue is less about printing and more about the wider economy.

We have enclosed the entire Questionnaire results below; if you have questions or would like to see additional areas explored please let me know. If you wish to be added to the survey please email us daver@semperllc.com

Semper

Click here to view the Survey, PDF Format

Are Web and Offset skills like Strippers to Digital prepress in the 90’s

More and more as I speak with offset and web press operators I find myself asking if they have exposure to digital printers. Its not just me thinking that things are going more in that direct, but that it is what my clients are asking me to provide them. What this reminds me of is the way it went for strippers in the 1990’s.

During the 90’s there was a fundamental shift in printing firms on how prepress was done. No longer were companies using traditional strippers, they were installing digital prepress systems. While the traditional stripers had a lot of critical experience such as understanding color separation and the capabilities of the printing presses, they were no longer needed unless they also had digital prepress skills, both software and hardware. This change had very telling effects on the prepress positions. First, those that did not want to learn new skills were no longer able to find work and when they did, it was at substantially lower payrates. Those that did make the effort and invested in themselves to learn the new skill sets were able to stay in the industry as digital prepress people. At first those with traditional and new skill sets were in the biggest demand. As time has gone by digital prepress workers no longer need the skills of the traditional strippers and people with just digital prepress skills have all the tools for the modern prepress jobs.

Traditional offset and web press operators are now in a very similar situation. Those segments of the industry are shrinking and with that comes fewer jobs. Those that are relectant to increase their computer skills and spend time learning about the new digital equipment will find themselves with fewer and fewer job options. While I do feel at this time that having both offset/web skills and digital print skills will be valuable in some situations, it seems that a digital printer doesnt need to rely only on an ink on paper back ground. Many digital prepress operators are able to run the digital printers at this point. In fact most firms will ask for someone  with offset backgrounds OR prepress backgrounds to be trained on a digital printer.

If you are an offset or web press operator and pondering your career moving forward, please heed the lessons of strippers in the 1990’s. Look at gaining better computer skills and seeking opportunities to get your hands on digital printers. Do this while your current skills can still keep you employed. This way you will be positioning yourself for your future, as it is likely you may need both skills sets to finish out your career.

Where does Print fit in?

Three bits of data caught my attention last week. They had a very large impact on where the state of the Printing Industry is today. While it is unclear to me whether or not printing will remain in the realm of printers in 50 years, it is clear that the change from trade to an automated business process is well underway.

In regards to the lose of the trade side of things and the reality that printing is a business process is clear as major non printers are now able to more readily jump into the printing business. From the office super stories to the UPS stories we see many large corporations offering print services. Digital printers are a lot easier to work with from a business stand point than offset and web printers. Again, its not a craft/trade any more.

What I find very interesting is that the combined profits off all printers is less than half the worth of Steve Jobs.  Steve Jobs wealth: CLICK HERE

Printers profits: CLICK HERE

One just has to see the rate of iPhone adoption to help understand why Apple and Steve Jobs have been able to generate such wealth.iPhone Adoption: CLICK HERE

The fact that a tremendous amount of marketing dollars are shifting the web and even smart phone advertising is forcing print to figure out where it fits in the advertising mash-up. What I would love to see if a very powerful advertising push from the print industry explaining its value and how it is an intricate piece to the grand scheme of things.

* The craft is gone

* Non printers more easily offering print

* More marketing going to the Internet and Smart Phones.

Challenging times or sure.

Q3 Survey Analysis – July 2009

Another quarter, this one shows an increasing number of establishments becoming profitable! I understand June was as usual an iffy month for many but not as bad as expected. Seems like all the positive talk and the increase in the stock markets just maybe having a positive impact. With GDP contracting for 4 consecutive quarters, the saying only the strong survive has an entirely new meaning. More than strength is required, foresight and a solid conservative bent are also needed. I suspect that keeping EQUITY within a company, enabling it to weather tough times, will have an entirely reinforced band of supporters. The practice of distributions to owners at all costs being the loser.
The first draft of the GDP numbers came out indicating the contraction was 1% in the 2nd quarter. The second and third drafts will likely show that is a conservative number. The latter part of July appears to be showing promise however!
Lets get into the numbers-
Profitability: 59% profitable definitely an improvement from the 53% profitable we reported last survey. We suspect intelligent cost cutting and controls have had an impact- those that use labor and other resources wisely win in this environment. The question regarding business increasing or decreasing over the last two weeks reflects the Independence Day holiday. From our vantage point, we suspect the reduction in sales was normal or less than normal – a positive.
One sign companies are very cautious is the caution in sales expectations- with a 4% drop in the numbers of companies expecting sales to increase this coming quarter. Time will tell if we are at the bottom or even starting the recovery of this recession, but one sign that is positive is the hiring expectations of companies has increased. Considering also the source of this hiring is referrals from internal staff, we suspect rehires are happening as demand warrants.

With all the talk on health care federally, we see for the first time in several surveys a reduction in concern for healthcare costs (in several cases we are hearing of reduced premiums per worker this renewal season!). Base pay, workers comp and state requirements all show hefty increase in concerns. When will the powers that be understand to DECREASE costs in labor will INCREASE hiring rates? Seems very simple for most to understand.
For additional results please download the survey results provided-

We have enclosed the entire Survey results below, if you have questions or would like to see additional areas explored please let me know.

daver@semperllc.com Semper

Click here to view the Survey, PDF Format (http://www.semperllc.com/index.cfm?page=president)

The more noise social media creates the more clarity print provides.

Received a “Thank You” card in the mail last week that excited me. Please check out the brief video I made in regards to it.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

My excitement spilled over into adding it as a discussion point I had with varies print industry people. Many of them also agreed it had some potential. As Social Media (SM) grows it becomes harder and harder to keep up with and filter out the noise that it generates. In fact at this point the noise of SM is at a roar level. That simple Thank You card coupled with SM had a very profound impact and most importantly, it made me LOOK at the website and possibly become a buyer on that site.

Sitting in Dallas last week with Joe Polanco from PIA-MidAmerica helped further expand on this SM noise. By the time we finished 2 beers and a nice conversation the tag line “The more noise social media creates the more clarity print provides” had been formed.

Dont get me wrong I am a huge fan of SM and think it is an extremely valuable tool in many ways. It is the combining of the two that I find interesting. It is similar to how I look at things like Google AdWords. The first few results in a search doesnt mean legitimacy in my mind, it can also mean someone that is good at getting top rankings for key words, but otherwise not having much value. Thus as many people do, I look at the paid for advertising as a solid option.

The coupling of the two mediums is a strong fit. What better way to filter out the noise than to receive a card in response to something connected with on SM. In fact it is a barrier of entry as the printed piece costs a small amount of money to send and thus acts a good filter from spammers and others that just use free communication tools aggressively, but have a product that has no value or limited value.

Better filters will certainly come soon for SM and like all things the adaptation of the new tools will need to be assessed and relooking at the value proposition of print will need to happen.

Brian