Apple Employees Win Suit

A quick post to relay the results of a California court ruling.  

The California Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of Apple employees allowing them to be paid for after shift security searches. Apple requires employees of their product stores to be searched after their shift, checking for stolen company products. Employees filed a class action suit claiming that they should be compensated for the time required to complete the searches. Failure to comply with the search policy can lead to being fired.

A federal district court had earlier ruled in favor of Apple. Stating that the employees had to prove that they were being restrained from leaving. The case then went to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court, who returned the case to state court for an interpretation of state law regarding compensation. The California Supreme ruled in favor of employees and the case now returns to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court. The ruling, as of now, does not affect other states as it was not a federal court decision. However, once the U.S. Circuit Court considers California's Supreme Court decision it may rule in favor of employees. Compensation for requirements after an employee is "off duty" may be interpreted differently and cause a ripple effect through the U.S. regarding employee pay and overtime.

This is not the first time a California ruling has affected employee compensation. In 2018, The California Supreme Ruled that employers must pay employees for "off the clock" activities such as locking up, setting alarms, and other administrative duties. There is a federal rule called the de minimis rule that says that employees can be required to work small amounts of time, less than ten minutes say, that would be difficult to track administratively. However, California courts ruled that the federal rule had not been adopted under California wage laws and, therefore, did not apply.

De minimis Rule

The "de minimis" rule came from the Supreme Court in 1946, stating that employers, when considering amount of time worked, may disregard time worked over shift when it amounted to seconds or minutes. The U.S. Department of Labor adopted a similar rule under 29 C.F.R. § 785.47, which states, insubstantial or insignificant periods of time beyond the scheduled working hours may be disregarded. 

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations, 29 C.F.R. § 785.11, if an “employer knows or has reason to believe that the work is being performed, he must count the time as hours worked.” The Portal-to-Portal Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 251-62, amended the FLSA and relieves employers of the obligation to compensate an employee for activities such as: traveling to and from the actual place of performance of the principal activity and activities which are preliminary to or postliminary to the principal activity, which occur either prior to the time on any particular workday or subsequent to the time on any particular workday. 

This is a just a small sampling of the laws and precedents that would go into any court’s decision on compensation of employees after hours. There have been too many cases to cite here regarding compensation beyond work hours. Cases involving employee’s loading/unloading/resupplying company vehicles at home, answering phone calls, emails and texts. If California is the test, then the trend would lean towards the employee.

Small business owners have to take this into consideration as they apply policy. Whether for breaks, meal times, or after work communications, how employers pay employees may be changing.

Link for the Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards

HIring in the Gen Z age

Look out workforce there's a new generation on the horizon. Employers are, hopefully, getting comfortable with the changing hiring landscape that Millennials have cultivated. But not too comfortable. For the first time since Millennials took over the top spot in the workforce, the next wave is coming of age. Gen Z, those born after 1996, are entering adulthood and will be submitting resumes.

The numbers

Millennials are persons born between 1981 and 1996. The Pew Research Center estimated that Millennials surpassed baby Boomers in 2016 and now are the "Old Salts" in the labor force. While Baby Boomer numbers are declining and Millennials are taking the mantel, Gen Z has been sneaking up. Bloomberg estimates that Gen Z will surpass Millennials in 2019 comprising 32% of the world's population. By 2020 they will be the majority in the workforce.

Millennials hit the workforce in such numbers and such differing personalities from Gen Xers and Baby Boomers that they changed the way business was done. Both in marketing and hiring. In order to court new hires from this generation employers had to change practices. The marketing world has gone to great lengths to shape campaigns to attract Millennial customers.  A generation literally changed the way business was done. Just as the business world had things were figured out it appears that changes will again have to be made. 

Who is Gen Z?

Millennials seemed to get a bad rap in the workforce but by sheer numbers were able to change how business is done. Every generation has its own idiosyncrasies. Technology advanced so quickly over the past thirty years children and grandchildren grew up much differently than their parents and even from each other. Gen Z is the first post 9/11 generation and the first generation in which smartphones are bodily attachments. According to Buzzfeed, here are a few things that Gen Z never heard of or are curious about: Payphones, Floppy discs, VHS and cassette tapes, The phrases-"Roll down the window" or "Hang up the phone", pound sign, pencil sharpener, film or film canisters, Gameboys or game system cartridges. At least some early Millennials may have come across these things or their remnants.

Generational differences

A Cultural trends report by Endeavor Global Marketing lists three major differences between Millennials and Gen Z. Gen Z is described as having non-binary beauty or gender fluid beauty concepts. They are a progressive foodie culture in which stories are part of the experience. The report says, "Expect to see a shift from photogenic, Instagrammable, food to the emergence of the stories of those behind the dishes". Gen Z will expect a more connected theater experience in which shows are releasing soundtracks early and streaming shows which generate more viral interest.

According to Inc.com, Gen Z prefers conversation to mass communication. Instead of being absorbed in social media they are more interested in quality, personal relationships. While Gen Z is less interested in their friend count, they are interested in getting their news via social media or the Internet. Compared to Millennials Gen Z is more interested in entrepreneurship.

Hiring Gen Z

What does all this mean to employers and hiring? Knowing what is coming next and how to adjust. Just as you know the qualities you are looking for in an employee you need to know what qualities the employee pool has to offer and is expecting. As you and your business age, the hiring pool is getting younger. Gen Z has aged in a different time from Millennials. Knowing about what will soon become the largest generational workforce is how employers will attract and retain employees.

Concordia University-St Paul released a study on what to expect from Gen Z in the workforce. Gen Z tends to be more like their grandparents when it comes to privacy and practicality. As mentioned, they have never known life without a digital connection at their fingertips. They are multitaskers, using on average of five screens. They believe that social media is a big part of their lives but crave more personal relationships and worry that social media erodes this. They are frugal shoppers and distrust big brands. 35% plan to start retirement savings in their 20's. 

The study continues with an assessment of Gen Z in the workplace. This generation is hard working. They are deeply driven by security and are motivated by salary and health benefits. They are willing to put in the extra hours if they are rewarded for it. They prefer to work independently and value skills and self-improvement. They feel that they are responsible for driving their own career. They view technology as a tool. They want to be coached and trained.

There you have it. Everything you need to know about hiring the perfect young candidate and providing them with a long and successful career. Well, not everything. But it's a good jump on knowing who will be sitting in your interview chair. The point is, there is so much more than just putting up the Help Wanted sign. Knowing your candidates will go a long way in making the proper hire and saving everyone a lot of headaches.  

More blogs on generations and the workplace at https://mazzellainvestigations.blogspot.com/search/label/millennials

Millennials are changing everything

The year 2019 will see Millennials overtake baby boomers as the largest generation. They already make up the majority of the U.S. workforce and are considered the world’s most powerful consumers. They are also the most technologically engaged. If your business has been overlooking them as potential employees or customers, you may be making a big mistake.

Hiring

My July 2018 post, A generation changes hiring explains how business has had to adjust their hiring process to attract this pool of candidates. Millennials are not shy about talking to bosses or jumping jobs. They’ll move until they find the right fit and expect salary increases and better working environments. 

Declines or poor planning

As far as consumers, they are driving the marketplace and causing change. A variety of recent studies regarding business and products have claimed that Milliennials are to blame for their decreased sales. A few examples are fabric softener, bar soap, canned tuna, casual dining, and department stores.

Proctor & Gamble believes that Millennials are unaware of what is the intent of fabric softener. Market research company Mintel found that 18 to 24 years believe that bar soap is full of germs. The Wall Street Journal reported in December 2018 that canned tuna sales have declined due to this generation’s decision that the cans are too difficult to open. There was also a report that breakfast cereal sales are declining due to claims of the product being too messy. This may also explain the lack of interest in casual dining restaurants, which have claimed that Millennials are not interested in sitting down for longer periods of time to dine. They’d rather eat on the go. Department stores may have trouble blaming a generation more than a technology phenomenon. While it’s true that Millennials are less interested in brick and mortar stores, e-commerce is probably more to blame. Consumer goods companies that have not adjusted are filing Chapter 11.

All of these products or services have seen sales decline. They’ve had to resort to price reductions, closings, or even bankruptcy to adjust. Are they looking for something to blame for declines or excusing poor planning? Some of the reports and research were based on interviews while others were based on declining sales and attributed to Millennials. Of course, claims run rampant on the Internet further fueling Millennials as scapegoats.

Reviews

They read them and they give them.  Online reviews and apps like Yelp cannot be ignored. Millennials make informed decisions about large purchases and where they are going to eat. How many stars and positive reviews your business has can drive business as well as detract. If you’re noticing a decline of business from a certain demographic, check your reviews. 

Make sure your business has listings set up on Google, Yelp, and any other app that may service your industry. Encourage reviews and be interactive, for the good and the bad. If there are bad reviews try to respond in a way that shows empathy and what is being done to correct the problem.

Home delivery

Even fast food restaurants are getting into the home delivery game. Partnering with services like Grub Hub and Door Dash major franchises are providing home delivery. More than likely another way commerce is changing to accommodate a generation of buyers. To keep up or ahead, delivery or some sort of convenience offered to customers may be another consideration in your business model.

It is yet to be seen if the largest generation will become the next greatest generation, but, currently, they are a powerful economic force. Recognizing this and adapting could literally mean the future of your business. 

Visit the blog archives for more articles on how Millennials have affected the marketplace. http://mazzellainvestigations.blogspot.com/search/label/millennials

Ban the box update

NOTE: This post was originally published in August 2016 and has been updated with more recent data.

The Ban the Box movement was initially reviewed in this blog in the 2013 post, Should the box be banned? The movement continues to grow and this blog has updated the progress.
Since the last update in September 2018 there hasn’t been much in the way of new legislation. However, some states are refining their Ban the Box laws. Massachusetts passed a Ban the Box law in 2010, which included private employers when most states have laws only covering State job applications. 

In October 2018, a Massachusetts criminal justice reform bill went into effect that included further Ban the Box regulation. The new regulations include disclosure of misdemeanor convictions for three years instead of five. Employers cannot inquire about expunged records. Applicants that have had records expunged may legally answer “no record”.

While past private employer Ban the Box bills have failed in Colorado (Law already cover State employers), the 2019 legislature may be amenable to idea.

What is “Ban the Box”?

For the last several years there has been a movement to remove from employment applications the “box” that asks the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime” or any inquiry about criminal history. What has become known as  “ban the box”, the campaign feels that one’s criminal history should not be a consideration of employment at the time an application is submitted, rather, at a later time during the interview process. It is felt that asking this question on the application reduces the chances of those with criminal records to be employed. Employers should meet applicants first, get to know them, give a chance to explain themselves and then get to the criminal history. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated its policies, issuing guidelines in 2012 suggesting that employers wait until after a personal interview before making inquiries about criminal history.

In January 2014, there were fifty-six cities that had “banned the box”. As of September 2018, that list included over 150 cities and counties, and 32 States (Eleven of which have laws that include private employers)

CURRENT STATE LIST

Arizona

California*

Colorado 

Connecticut *

Delaware 

Georgia 

Hawaii*

Illinois*

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana 

Maryland 

Massachusetts*

Minnesota*

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Nevada

New Jersey*

New Mexico 

New York 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

Oregon*

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island* 

Tennessee 

Utah

Vermont*

Virginia 

Washington*

Wisconsin

*States with laws that also cover private employers

The Society for Human Resource Management posted a good article that breaks down laws State by State, which can be viewed at Ban the Box Laws by State and Municipality .

Maryland Ban the Box

            Maryland’s law took effect October 1, 2013, and applies only to State of Maryland employment applications. State government cannot ask about criminal record or criminal history of an applicant until the applicant has been provided an opportunity for an interview. Exempt from the law are positions in the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Baltimore passed a similar law in 2014, restricting employers with 10 or more workers from asking a candidate about criminal records until after a conditional employment offer is made.

In 2017, Louisiana became the first state to enact a ban the box law for state institutions. Maryland passed a law in 2017, but the Governor vetoed it. In January 2018, the Maryland legislature overrode the Governor’s veto, reinstating the law.

As the laws regarding criminal history continue to evolve the legislative season is a good time to review your interview and questions and job application content.

Click here for other posts relating to Ban the Box.

Experience v. Youth

Speaking to a friend about retirement she told me that she had a few more years to go. She wanted to get her financial foundation a little sounder before making the decision. She went on to say that she recently received a retirement assessment package from her employer outlining her current and future pension options. The package was personally addressed and written as a response to her inquiry. The thing was, she hadn’t made an inquiry. As time went by she heard from other employees similar to her age and seniority who had also received their “requested” retirement materials. When it came to hiring and promotions of late there appeared to be a bias towards younger people. Was the company sending a message with the retirement package mailings?

It is not unheard of. Some corporations feel older employees are more expensive due to their salary and benefits. Younger, newer hires do cost companies less money. They can be hired for a substantially less salary and are willing to accept it. Many companies are eliminating pension programs, instead, offering new employees 401(k) matches and other savings programs. Saving the company money in the long term. Companies embracing a youth movement are looking for new ideas from employees who are more familiar with current technology. 

Targeted “retirements”

In March 2018, ProPublica, an independent non-profit newsroom, published a report claiming that IBM systematically laid off 20,000 employees age 40 and over between 2013 and 2017. Up into the 1980s, IBM was the technology giant. As the technology rapidly changed over the next twenty years and companies like Apple challenged IBM, they were faced with a massive and aging workforce. To compete, IBM felt that they needed to reduce their workforce and begin hiring younger, more tech-savvy employees.

ProPublica’s investigation revealed, in part, that IBM devised performance point-rating systems that favored younger employees with fewer years on the job. Older employees were rated as their skills being out of date. These employees were offered retirement packages or were relocated to an office across the country with the ultimatum to move or retire.

The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) was passed by Congress in 1990. The OWBPA prevents employers from discriminating in benefits based on age, firing only older workers when cutting staff, or demanding that older workers waive rights and without taking safeguards into consideration. However, the burden of proof is on the employee to show that the company let them go based solely on age. Without records, overt acts, or documentation this can be difficult for an individual employee to prove. In the IBM case, the corporation went so far as to have employees who accepted packages to sign agreements that they would not take part in any future class actions.

But what about experience? 

Is it worth pushing out experienced workers to make room for youth? Does cost cutting make up for the loss of institutional knowledge? Older employees have a lot to offer. They’ve been with the company through thick and thin. They are able to mentor younger employees in systems and procedures. Historically, older employees are dedicated to doing the best possible job and are often the ones who find and correct errors. Errors that could cost the company lots of money if overlooked. While a new set of eyes is always welcome, past experience can sometimes save hours of work that will eventually end up at the same conclusion.

Savings?

Cutting bloated salaries and benefits might sound good but the overall cost of turnover may not justify it. Jack Altman, CEO of Lattice, posted an article in the Huffington Post in January 2017, How much does employee turnover really cost? Altman cites research by the Center for American Progress who determined that the average economic cost to a company of turning over a highly skilled job is 213% of the cost of one year’s compensation for that role. He uses the following example, ”If you are a 150 person company with 11% annual turnover, and you spend $25k on per person on hiring, $10k on each of turnover and development, and lose $50k of productivity opportunity cost on average when refilling a role, then your annual cost of turnover would be about $1.57 million.”

Altman summarized by saying that companies should analyze four major areas:

·       Cost of hiring

·       Cost of onboarding and training

·       Cost of learning and development

·       Cost of time with an unfilled role

He also provided this link to Calculate the Cost of Employee Turnover for yourself. 

The quick decision to cut costs through salary and benefits should be closely examined. There are not always textbook answers to everyday issues. You need veterans of your business to lead and show the way. 

How AI affects finding a job

AI hiring is making finding a job difficult

When my children were looking for jobs I so wanted to tell them to print a bunch of resumes and go door to door. That was five plus years ago and the old ways of applying for jobs had already changed. October 2018 had the news that Amazon was abandoning its use of AI (artificial intelligence) recruiting software. 

Watching my kids search I realized how hard it was to get yourself in front of a real person in order to sell yourself. Being at the end of a long career and not having had to look for a job in a long time, I felt for them in this new world. A majority of companies have online applications. Which saves a lot of time and effort as applicants can sit at home and get their resume to as many businesses and recruiting companies as they can. The problem then and now is knowing how to write your resume and complete the applications. Not that’s its any great discovery, but I long suspected that companies used algorithms to filter the resumes. If your application doesn’t hit the right marks it may never make it to a hiring manager.

AI Recruiting

In November 2018, Amazon admitted to having a secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias towards women. Reuters reported that Amazon had been developing software since 2014 that would review applications. The hiring tool would assign candidates scores of 1-5. Developers realized that the program “learned” by reviewing resume patterns over the last ten years. During that period a high number of resumes came from men. The models developed skewed towards assigning men higher scores. The system taught itself to rank lower the word “women” and downgrading women colleges.

Amazon tried to program in gender-neutral terms but eventually abandoned the project in 2017. Amazon officials told Reuters the program was an experiment to find a way to aid in recruitment of the best candidates. The AI program was never used in actual hiring. Reuters reported, however, that Amazon did not deny that recruiters reviewed the recommendations made by the program. 

The Reuters article cited a 2017 CareerBuilder survey of U.S. human resources managers finding that 55% would be using AI over the next five years.

Application tracking

Until AI is further developed, hiring managers will continue to use Application Tracking Software (ATS). Very simply, ATS reviews applications by word according to parameters set by the company. Back to my rather obvious suspicion online applications are filtered. If your resume doesn’t hit the right notes, your application goes nowhere. It’s also the reason applicants rarely hear back from companies after submitting a resume. It never reached a person who could reply with a polite, “Thank you, but no”.

A JobScan blog posted in 2016, The History of Applicant Tracking Systems credits the first ATS to Canadian Martin Ouellett who created an early form in 1996. Since that time ATS has been refined and developed. As of 2016, over 300 ATS are being used by 90% of companies.

You can definitely feel for people looking for jobs today. The market is tight and getting your resume in front of a real person is difficult. Knowing the playing field and learning the rules of job hunting is a job within itself. If not an education.

Please feel free to share this and any post. See the blog archive for more posts about Hiring.

Seasonal hires

Hiring seasonal workers may be more difficult this season. With wages increasing and applicants looking for better benefits and long-term employment, you may have to change your tactics.

CNBC reported that while job openings are on pace with last year, lower unemployment rates mean that there are fewer people to fill those openings. There appear to be twice as many openings as applicants. Leaving many retailers shorthanded as a booming economy sends shoppers out in full force this holiday season. 

You will be fighting for the same applicants as the mall retailers and bigger corporations. Some of the big names like Kohl’s, Target, and Macy’s began seasonal hiring campaigns as early June. They are also raising wages and offering bonuses similar to those afforded permanent employees. You may need to do more than put a sign in the window.

Think about what makes your business unique over your competition, including those vying for the same applicants. Don’t be so prideful as not to negotiate. These are different hiring times and a new generation of workers. Just because it’s seasonal and may not be permanent doesn’t mean you will have to put in an effort. Applicants looking for seasonal work have too many options and may use that against you in negotiating a position and benefits. 

Monster suggests these five tips for seasonal hiring.

Hire your customers- They already love your brand, why not offer them a job

Start hiring efforts before the competition

Write specific job descriptions-The company, the skills, attitude, schedule, incentives

Ask existing employees for referrals

Attract retirees

As a job seeker, you should take in all that is offered and draw comparisons between employers. Don’t jump at the first offer. Employers need to be aware of their competition and find ways to be more attractive to a smaller pool of applicants. 

Good luck and Happy hunting!

A generation changes hiring

What benefits are you willing to provide to attract today’s workforce? The U.S. Millennial generation is poised to outnumber Baby boomers by 2019. The Pew Research Center estimates that Millennials will number over 73 million while Boomers decline to 72 million. This population surge also translates to the workforce as Pew reported that Millennials did, in fact, surpass Baby Boomers in 2016.

So the chances of your hiring pool being populated by Millennials is very high. What you were offering in the way of incentives and hiring packages in the past may not be of interest today. Applicants may turn down your offering because of a better package elsewhere. And that doesn’t always mean money.

Companies know that the job marketplace is changing. In order to be competitive, incentives to hire are being reconsidered. Pension plans are being phased out as companies look to save money and retirement accounts have become portable. While one business may pay well another may have a more “millennial” conducive atmosphere. The younger workforce seeks independence and freedom to make choices. You don’t need brick and mortar to start a business and these potential employees know that. Today is easier than ever to follow the dream of being your own boss and launching a business that will change the world. Attracting and retaining talent is becoming difficult and competitive. Companies need to tap into the energy that is driving the marketplace. But how do they draw potential talent into the corporate world? By downplaying the corporate label and integrating freedom and flexibility into the workplace.

Being aware of massive student loan debt facing today’s graduate, companies are offering better than average salary options as well as paying for postgraduate degrees and training. The cube farms of yesteryear still exist to some extent, not everyone can have a corner office. But the office decor is more upbeat and well lighted encouraging a more productive environment. Playing to the work-life balance many companies have embraced the idea of unlimited leave. Which may sound like a pathway to abuse but past studies have shown that employees with unlimited time off benefits actually took less leave. If a business doesn’t have a gym on the grounds they offer access to established gyms nearby. Team bonding events, both on and off-site. Nurseries. Pet sitting services. Meals and snacks. The list is ever growing and is only limited by the employer’s imagination and of course what they can afford.

Studies have shown that the Millennial generation is changing the marketplace. They are also changing the workplace. If not by their expectations of what employers should offer but how the company is managed. The entrance level employees ten years ago are upper-level management and CEO’s today.

You may offer a traditional employment package with a higher salary but if your competitors' benefits and culture are better, you’re losing talent. If not at the hiring phase but during retention. Changes to the hiring and benefits culture may be a slow drag for some employers into a new era but it should also affect the workplace in its entirety in a positive manner.

See the blog archive for other posts relating to the Millennials workforce.

Hiring in the Millennial age May 2017
Customer service in the Millennial age March 2017
Not like all the others September 2016

History of leave

With the passing of mandatory paid sick leave by the Maryland legislature in January 2018 the idea for this post began as a look at the history of sick leave in the American workplace. Research revealed the reason why there are paid leave advocates. Leave from work, whether for sick or personal, is a relatively new concept as it applies to the American workplace. Still, this is probably a good topic for a little background.

During the agriculture phase of the America people worked as the farm dictated. Once the Industrial Revolution arrived factories sprung up with no shortage of workers. People lined up waiting for jobs. Employers could set wages and hours are they saw fit. There was little to no regulation. People worked six days a week for pennies an hour in deplorable conditions. If you missed work you weren’t paid or lost your job. These conditions continued well into the 20^th century until a president floated a new concept.

Starting a conversation

The idea of employee paid leave in the United States started with President William Taft in 1910 who thought that workers should have three months of vacation per year. Congress never bought into it but the conversation was started. Sixteen years later the work schedule began to change. The Ford Motor Company was one of the first, if not the biggest, company to offer employees a five day, 40 hour workweek. The policy went into effect in may 1926 at the urging of Henry Ford’s son, Edsel, who thought every man needed more than one a day a week for rest.

By the 1930’s, countries around the world had begun adopting paid time off for employees. The U.S. Department of Labor took up the fight again creating the Committee of Vacations with Pay to study why the U.S was so far behind the rest of the industrialized world. Nothing came from this committee.

It would be sixty some years later before the U.S government made significant changes. In 1993 the passage of the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) mandated twelve weeks of unpaid time off for workers to attend to their own or a family members medical issues. Leave from work agreements were, and still are, between employer and employee with no mandate for payment. While FMLA provided for leave without retribution from employers, the leave was still unpaid.  

There is not a statutory requirement for paid vacation in the U.S. Individual employers decide on what leave and type of leave to offer employees. Employer’s decisions on leave run the spectrum. A few companies are experimenting with unlimited leave while the majority offer some sort of paid time off. There are still small percentages that offer no leave.

Regarding statutory paid sick leave, currently nine U.S. states mandate it (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington). Expect that number to grow in the coming years.

Please share this and any post. See the blog archive for other posts about employee benefits.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em? August 2017

Employee implants July 2017

What's in your wallet? May 2017

Workplace monitoring May 2016

Overtime history May 2016

The mighty have fallen

One of the biggest and repeated subjects of news for 2017 were charges of sexual harassment. Most notably the coming forth of victims in the entertainment industry. The topic so dominated the news that Time magazine made their 2017 Person of the Year all the women who came forward about sexual harassment.

Although it seems obvious, not everyone may know what constitutes sexual harassment. Especially in businesses with a small, familiar workforce. This is not a defense of the aggressors. Any reasonable person knows that touching and sexual comments have no place in the workplace, especially between supervisors and employees. But lesser degrees of harassment too include verbal, written, or pictorial may be thought of as accepted behavior. When in fact they meet the definition of harassment. This applies to the harassers and the victims. Victims either don’t realize that simple offenses rise to the level of complaint or do not feel that they can report the smaller incidents. Lines get crossed everyday.

Small business owners have to stay educated on changing cultures, how to protect themselves, and provide safe work environments. What was perceived as an acceptable work environment in the past is not today. This post hopes to address some of those questions.

Definition

Sexual harassment is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which applies to all employers with 15 or more employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) defines sexual harassment as:

unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature and also can include offensive remarks about a person’s sex (male/female/orientation). Harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment. Both victim and the harasser can be either a woman or a man, and the victim and harasser can be the same sex. The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

In 2016, EEOC received 6,758 charges alleging sexual harassment. Although the majority of cases are female victims, males filed 16.6% of the charges. The EEOC figures do not include charges and complaints filed with state authorities. Also not tabulated is the number of cases handled within the workplace and, of course, unreported cases.

Mind of the harasser

Dr. Ellen Hendriksen, provided four characteristics of a sexual harasser in an article written for the Psychology Today website Four Psychological Traits of Sexual Harassers November 9, 2017. Briefly, Dr. Hendriksen described harassers as someone who has a personality that enjoys exploitation, deception, and manipulation. They have the ability to disengage morally allowing them to justify their actions and create their own version of reality. Next harassers are employed in a male dominated field. This is important because women are the minority gender and more significantly targeted as victims of harassment. The last characteristic described by Dr. Hendriksen is an overall hostile attitude towards women. Harassers justify their actions as being normal and/or deserved. They feel they have done nothing wrong. Dr. Hendriksen summarizes by saying that, “harassment indicates a willingness to exploit and manipulate as a way to maintain or gain power. It demonstrates carelessness toward the victims and aims to keep them in their place.” Which might explain the powerful men who have had their harassment exposed.

Not reported

The majority of victims do not feel safe reporting any inappropriate behavior. Fear of retaliation is one of the main reasons victims do not come forward, that and humiliation. #WhyWomenDontReport has been viral several times since being started as an outlet for victims to share their stories. Just reading a few of the posts explains why victims may not report attacks for years or decades. Most of the posts support the reasons of retaliation and humiliation. Others relate how the victims believe that nothing will happen even if they do report the incident.

Unless the aggressor is publically boisterous with their behavior incidents of harassment rarely have witnesses. The strength in the complaints comes from the victims speaking out and sharing their stories. Even if complaints are made, the aggressors do not usually see a courtroom. Many states do not have specific sexual harassment laws or even workplace nondiscrimination laws. Charges are usually filed under the umbrella of other laws or in civil court. In order to get the complaint heard at the federal level charges must be filed with the EEOC. This is why you see quick dismissals with lawsuits filed at later times.

Companies are protecting themselves from legal action as well as their brand. They do not want to be seen as having a culture of harassment. If it can be shown that a company encouraged or did nothing to stop sexual harassment the employer could find themselves in court along with the aggressors.

Training and Education

A 2012 Supreme Court ruling held that a company could not be held responsible if there was an exercising of reasonable care to prevent and correct sexual harassment incidents.

A lot of small businesses view training as requirements for certifications or skills associated with the job functions of their employees. They sometimes miss the need to educate employees on issues facing the workplace. Employees not only need to improve their job skills, they need to learn how to conduct themselves in the workplace.

Be proactive. Don’t wait for a legal requirement to provide training. Twenty-five states have no requirements for sexual harassment training in the workplace. The other half range from: encouraging employers to provide training - only training supervisors - training for all employees. Some states, such as Maryland, will take into consideration a company’s training and education efforts when hearing complaints of sexual harassment. If a complaint is made against your business, you’ll want to be able to show the steps taken to prevent incidents and support provided to victims.

Training and education of employees should be held at regular intervals. Ensure all employees are made aware that any type of harassment will not be tolerated. They have to know that owners/executives/managers do not approve of and will not tolerate any form of harassment. Do not assume that everyone knows what constitutes harassment. Educate everyone on the basic definitions and provide the outlets necessary to receive and process complaints.

Have outreach efforts to ensure victims feel they have a safe environment in which to report incidents. This goes back to the company’s stance on the issue. If victims do not feel that they will be taken seriously and no action will be taken against aggressors, they will not file complaints. And even though a training and education program is in place, a hidden culture may still exist.

All reports must be taken seriously and employees must feel that they can make reports against any employee or supervisor without fear of retaliation. Which itself is a crime. But it is not enough to only take complaints. Management must conduct serious investigations and implement penalties when warranted.

Please share this and any post. See are blog archive for other posts on this topic.

Health history discrimination May 2016

Languages spoken? June 2017

Ideologies in the workplace August 2017

Workplace safety November 2017

Cleaning Up Your Online Presence

Ever been asked at checkout for your phone number? You haven’t been in the store for a long time, if ever by your recollection, but the clerk wants to know if you’re in the system. You provide a phone number and surprise surprise you are in there! Phone number, name, and address. It’s probably not a retail conspiracy to create a super database of shared data. What it does reveal is how our lives and personal data are intertwined within the world of information.

When information was written on paper there was less of it and it was more fragile. Tear it up, burn it, poof it’s gone. Carbon paper, mimeographs, and copy machines (Younger readers will have to look those up) changed that. Documents were being copied and filed in triplicate. Computers, of course, made it all easier but it wasn’t until the ol’ World Wide Web came along that hiding in plain sight became difficult.

In the old days it was easy to disappear. You simply moved to another town. Started using a new name and slowly built your new persona. As technology progressed information began being stored on computers. Those computers could be accessed for information stored about you, but only for the specific information the entity had stored. Once computers became connected one entity could access another’s information. Then they began sharing information between each other and saving the data locally. The more digitally involved you are the bigger your online presence. As young people enter adulthood they have little to no digital footprint in the context of financial databases. What they do have is a social footprint, more on that later.

Google yourself

Have you ever searched your name? If not, give it a try. You might be surprised what pops up or how many of you are out there. The more you are in the public eye the more information that is going to be out there and, thus, the harder to clean up your online presence. A regular Joe should have limited occurrences as the result of a search. But even regular Joe’s can have an online presence depending on their interaction with social sites and images associated to their name. And that is what you need to be controlled.

Information for sale

Think about the seed system of a watermelon. You can take out a portion from the middle, but there are going to be all those strands extending throughout the melon. That is how it is in the digital world. Things truly do live forever on the Internet. You can have a record expunged from a database, but any reference to or sharing of that record in other databases is going to give it new life. Data has become a big commodity. Everything is for sale on the Internet. Data is being collected on every interaction you have on the Internet. The data collected by brick and mortar businesses is sought after. Once government databases went online (real estate, court information, etc) information brokers snatched up this data. All of this information is bought and sold and resold. The original purveyor of the data may have deleted it but the new entity has it saved and published it their own way.

Everyone that has data is looking for revenue sources, especially governments. Data mining companies buy data from phone companies (landline and wireless) and the government (real property and court records). The information is legitimately offered for sale on the Internet through pay sites or resold. Ever get those mailings and wonder how Joe Realtor knows how long you’ve lived in your house and what you can sell it for?

Your Job image

Younger people may not be in databases for real estate or financial institutions but they are using social media and sharing the media. Even someone with little life experience will pop up in a simple Google search, most likely under images. This is what haunts the 20-somethings when they start their job searches. Over the last few years’ different surveys have revealed that 40% of college admission offices and 40% of HR professionals research social media regarding applicants. Staying aware of your online presence is especially import when trying for a job.

Cleaning up online presence

You’re first step should be stop the flow of information. Review and change your social media privacy settings. Remove information from online shopping and other accounts that are old or unnecessary.

Whether it’s the garage, the basement, or the Internet before starting any clean up job you have to assess the situation. Start by searching your name and then different variations with your name, town, occupation, and any other identifier that you feel has a strong attachment to your name. Would suggest using Google as it is the most powerful, but using other search engines wouldn’t hurt. You’ll probably get different results.

Make note of the sites in which you pop up and what they are referencing. Find the source of the material you want removed and contact the source directly. Many will want sound reasoning why the post/picture should be removed. May want to read the companies privacy statements before you make the call to know where you stand and/or how to make the request.

Even though the source removes the post once it has been shared it lives on in other sites. You’ll have to track the posts digital trail and contact those companies as well. The tedious part is finding every link that’s associated with your name and going through the process each time. As with any situation where you are fighting an issue Document Document Document. Keep copious notes of your efforts in case you need to prove your attempts later or make subsequent requests.

After all that you are still going to be able to “find yourself” on government public access sites like real property and courts. People search sites and phone number search sites sell the information you are trying to keep private. Matters of public record like newspaper articles in which you’ve been mentioned are going to pop up.

To get your name removed from marketing lists there are organizations that can help. Similar to the national do not call registry, these services allow consumers to opt of marketing offers. You would be adding your name to another database, which may be counterproductive to what you’re trying to accomplish, but it does keep marketers from contacting you. Maybe. Who knows if it really works?

One such service is run by the Direct Marketing Association and allows consumers to have their names and addresses removed from direct marketing mailing lists. There is a fee-$2 for 10 years if you register online. The site can be found at www.dmachoice.org. The second removes the consumer from credit card and insurance offers. The service is provided in a joint venture between Experian, Equifax, Innovis, and Transunion. The site can be found at www.optoutprescreen.com.

You won’t be able to eradicate everything. If you’re serious about removing yourself from the Internet you’ll have to have as much as possible redacted. The rest will have to get buried in the voluminous amount of data filling the Internet. The less that is out there the more specific the search will have to be to find you. Not gone but harder to find.

Your personal information may be in myriad retail databases but at least you can try to keep what others read about you to a minimum. You can’t just completely disappear but can clean up your online presence so that you’re not easily searched.

See our blog archive for more posts about online presence.

Should social media rants get you fired? March 2017

Social media checks July 2016

Convicted? Never convicted October 2014