1. E-Mails, Phone Calls and Wage & Hour Problems
Some experts believe that the business world is about to be hit by a new wave of litigation in which workers will seek overtime compensation for all the hours they've spent clicking away on their devices.
2. Establishing a Culture of Compliance
3. Lawsuit Side Effect: A Bad Reputation
Highly publicized allegations of employee mistreatment can tarnish a company’s reputation with consumers, damage its employment brand and diminish the company’s value in the eyes of investors.
Rather than relying strictly on the human resources department or online training programs, organizations should consider enlisting trusted leaders throughout the organization both to disseminate technical information about compliance and to sell others on its importance.
By Patrick J. Kiger Comments 0 | Recommend 0
reating training and documentation systems is a crucial part of staying within
the legal requirements regarding lunch breaks. But experts say it’s equally important
to convince people throughout the organization that compliance is an important part
of achieving the corporate mission, rather than a hindrance to it.
"A lot of managers have heard over and over again that
productivity is paramount," says Chris Bauer, a Nashville, Tennessee-based psychologist
and consultant who focuses on the impact of ethics upon organizations. "You can
train them about wage and hour rules, but if they still think deep down that the
bottom line supersedes everything else, your impact is going to be limited."
He adds: "I talk to a lot of managers and executives
who see wage and hour mandates as annoying suggestions, rather than something that
must be followed. It’s not entirely unlike the way that people talk about EEOC mandates.
There’s generally a lack of respect for these laws."
"You can train [managers] about wage and hour rules, but if they still think ... that the
bottoms line superseded everything else, your impact is going to be limited." —Chris Bauer, psychologist and consultant
Rather than relying strictly on the human resources
department or online training programs, Bauer recommends enlisting trusted leaders
throughout the organization both to disseminate technical information about compliance
and to sell others on its importance. "If there’s a lack of trust in the messenger,
the implementation will suffer," he explains.
Bauer says it’s also crucial to augment training sessions
with face-to-face follow-up. "There are some very good online courses," he says.
"But I know of too many places where there’s an answer key to the online test that
circulates around. You really need to have someone on the ground, talking with managers
and employees and asking some blunt questions about their understanding of what
they do regarding wage and hour requirements—and just as important, why they do
it.
"You need to get frontline managers and workers to believe
that we all have some power to change things, at whatever level we’re at. That’s
how you accomplish change."
Workforce Management, September 8, 2008, p. 44
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Patrick J. Kiger is a freelance writer based in the Washington, D.C., area. E-mail editors@workforce.com to comment. Next Article: 3. Lawsuit Side Effect: A Bad Reputation
Highly publicized allegations of employee mistreatment can tarnish a company’s reputation with consumers, damage its employment brand and diminish the company’s value in the eyes of investors.
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reating training and documentation systems is a crucial part of staying within
the legal requirements regarding lunch breaks. But experts say it’s equally important
to convince people throughout the organization that compliance is an important part
of achieving the corporate mission, rather than a hindrance to it.
