Check out this month's issue for news and updates related to Employment Agreements, Paid Sick Leave & Annual, Discounted Webcast Subscriptions Now Available!
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Beware the Written Word:
How You Say, What You Say
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Employment agreements have been making headlines lately. If you have or are thinking about using arbitration, non-compete and/or some other employment agreements, consider this.
Arbitration Agreements #1
. On December 6th, Democrats and Republicans from six different states filed
S. 2203
/
H.R. 4570
"Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Act." Interestingly (to me), while the bill references Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it effectively makes invalid and unenforceable only a pre-dispute arbitration agreement "if it requires arbitration of a sex discrimination dispute." OK, I get it. With all the headlines and attention on sexual harassment in the news, I understand what is driving this. But, perhaps related to the article below I believe there may be an unintended consequence here. Does sex discrimination deserve any greater attention or protection than discrimination based on race, religion, color, creed or national origin? Ask someone with such a dispute.
Non-Competes
. If you use non-compete agreements ensure they comply with the state law. For example, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana court recently
found
an employer's non-compete agreement unenforceable. While the agreement was restricted to a 50-mile radius, which may seem reasonable, it failed to list the "specific parish, municipality or parts thereof" as required by state law. Now, here's a conversation I often have with business owners contemplating the use of non-competes. What's your business goal or objective? What are you trying to prevent or protect? If I hear, "I don't want this person to leave us and then try to take our clients or employees away from us." Ah, then what I hear is that you really don't care where or for whom this person works when they leave you. What you want is a no-solicitation agreement. Or I might hear, "I don't want this person to leave us and then share our trade secrets or other proprietary information." Voila! So, again I hear your goal is to prevent disclosure of corporate information, not restrict where or for whom an individual works. What you want is a non-disclosure agreement! Ensure the agreement you use is tailored to your business goal.
Arbitration Agreements #2
: Remember October's
newsletter
, where we referenced another challenge to arbitration agreements, which will be heard by the US Supreme Court.
Stay tuned and ensure your employee handbooks, agreements and other written policies, procedures and practices say what you want, do
not
say anything you did not intend, and comply with applicable federal, state and local laws.
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A SHRMStore
Great 8 Best-Seller
6 Years in a Row!
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Upcoming Events, Seminars & Presentations
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Taking a break this month!
May you and yours enjoy a warm and wonderful holiday season, a bright and very Happy New Year!
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Unintended Consequences:
The Paid Sick Leave Debate
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Remember the line, "I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning" from the song "
Dizzy
" by Tommy Roe? I think I have heard that in my head at least once a day over the last month or so. Many of us have been working together to develop diagrams, flow charts, something,
anything
to help navigate the maze of if/then decision points in administering paid leave. It's not so bad at the federal level, we have a few like FMLA and protected military leave. At the state level, as of this writing there are at least seven states that have one or more statewide sick leave laws. But, whew! The local level is awash with them. From federal leave mandates to state to local, it can be an overwhelming task to administer paid leave programs. Take New Jersey for example. There are at least 13 local jurisdictions that have their own paid leave mandate! California has seven. And the mandates cover not just sick leave but leave for the jury duty, bereavement, pregnancy, witness leave, military service (the employee's own or that of a family member), leave to vote, to attend your child's school activities, parental leave and more! Check out this
interactive map
to see the latest mandates in your states of operation.
So what's the down side? These increased costs result in unintended consequences that adversely impact employees. Here are just a few examples some of you have shared with me.
- An employer currently offers a one-hour, paid meal period. If a paid sick leave mandate is implemented, it may have to reduce the hour to just 30 minutes, reducing non-exempt employee's compensation by 2.5 hours per week.
- Another employer testified before a committee of his state legislature that when they consider the cost of a proposed, paid leave mandate on top of an increase in the minimum wage, they may move to automating certain customer service jobs thereby eliminating paying jobs for one or more of its employees.
- An academic institution will have to provide paid leave to nearly 900 additional part time student workers, adjunct faculty and temporary employees.
- One small business owner estimates a fiscal impact to the tune of $65,000.
What are your metrics? How will a paid (sick) leave mandate adversely impact your employees or business operations?
Click here
to share your story. Then click
here
to see, hear and learn more about federal legislation that offers a paid leave option for employers. Share your thoughts in the Twittersphere and follow #WorkFlexBill.
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This publication does not constitute the rendering of legal advice. You should consult your company's legal counsel for guidance on any particular matter.
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FiveL Company | info@FiveL.net | www.FiveL.net
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