HR Pieces: February 2024

February 2024 News

Dear Lynette,

Greetings from the HR Advantage team! Thank you for subscribing to our monthly newsletter. Each month, we intend to provide timely and valuable tips for maintaining best practices in HR.

We are truly grateful to serve our clients, candidates, and colleagues and want you to know we appreciate working with you!

As you assess your needs for 2024, please keep us in mind as your go-to resource for all things HR!

Sincerely,

The HRA Team-

Lynette, Camille, Karla, Dana, Liz, Seth, Sharon & Erinn

Lynette Weatherford MA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, President

Email Lynette

877.894.0202 ext 4

Camille Knowles PHR, SHRM-CP

HR Advisor

Email Camille

877.894.0202 ext 3

Karla Callaway BS

HR Advisor

Email Karla

877.894.0202 ext 2

Dana Baldwin BS, PHR

HR Advisor

Email Dana

877.894.0202 ext 1

Elizabeth Hurst MBA

Business Development

Email Elizabeth

877.894.0202 ext 5

Seth Bunn BS

Recruitment Advisor

Email Seth

877.894.0202 ext 6

Sharon McElwrath BA

Administrative Support

Email Sharon

Erinn Johnson

HR Advisor Assistant

Email Erinn

HR Hotline | Email | 877-894-0202 ext. 5

February HR News

Workplace Romance: What's Your Policy?
Illinois Enacts Mandatory Paid Leave
CA Employees Receive Valentine's Treat
Missouri Worker's Comp FAQs
OSHA Postings
Career Opportunities

Workplace Romance:

What's Your Policy?

Does your company have a policy on workplace romance? According to SHRM, younger Millennial and Generation Z workers (33 percent) are significantly more likely to say they'd be open to workplace romance than older Millennial workers (15 percent). Generation X workers (27 percent), Baby Boomer and Traditionalist workers (23 percent) are also less inclined to engage in workplace romance.

Romantic relationships, particularly those between leadership/managers and their subordinates, raise concerns about potential power imbalances and conflicts of interest in the workplace. An anti-fraternization policy sends a message against sexual harassment, mitigates legal risk, avoids subsequent toxic work environments, and provides a notice of consequences for employees' actions. However, it may not be in your best interest to forbid any and all types of workplace romance, as research shows romantic relationships are quite common in the workplace and employees may resort to hiding their relationships. A workable policy approach could include:

Outlining the company's concerns with respect to workplace relationships.
Requiring employees to report close personal relationships through designated channels.
Prohibiting romantic relationships between supervisors and their direct (or proximate) subordinates, as well as between sensitive business functions that deal with quality or financial controls.

Source: SHRM

Illinois Enacts Mandatory

Paid Leave

Illinois has now become the third state in the nation to mandate paid leave for any reason. Employees are given 1 hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked. While the Paid Leave for All Workers Act (PLAWA) applies to every employee working in Illinois, it does exclude certain categories of workers.

Source: Illinois DOL

California Employees Receive a Valentine's Treat

Following the passing of Assembly Bill 1076, employers in California must notify all employees (current and former) by February 14, 2024 that the non-compete provisions within signed employment agreements are now void. Written communication must be received by the deadline and must be sent to the last known physical address as well as to the employee's email.

Source: Husch Blackwell

Missouri Worker's Comp FAQ's

As employer's well know, medical care must be provided immediately for any injured employees. However, there has been an increase from $3,500 to $3,700 that employers may pay out of pocket medical expenses; this is allowed as long as no time from work has been missed and the total bill is no higher than $3,700. Employers must still contact the Division of Workers' Compensation when an injury occurs.

Source: MO DOI

OSHA Postings

Feb. 1st - April 30th

Employers covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) record-keeping rule must post a summary (Form 300A) of 2023 work-related injury and illnesses in a noticeable place from Feb. 1 to April 30, and are to make available to workers, if they ask to see them at other times.

Also, keep in mind that a new rule that requires employers with 100+ employees in designated high-hazard industries to electronically submit injury and illness information. This rule took effect on January 1st of this year.

Source: OSHA

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