Politics and the Workplace, Part I

 This is a difficult era for politics.

And not surprisingly politics have bled over into the workplace.

Sometimes because of the conduct of owners and managers.

Sometime because of the conduct of employees.

And sometimes because of the conduct of customers and patients and protesters.

What to do?

General Rule:

Politics should be kept out of the workplace.

Reality:

This may not be possible.

Who can be caught up by this?

Employees, employers, customers, patients, vendors, the community, and potential customers, at a minimum.

Rights vs. Responsibilities

This is where the tension lies and this is where the complexity begins.

More in following posts.

Employee Conduct Off the Job

 Can an employer factor in employee conduct off the job?

Say an employee is involved in some sort of radical political activity and makes the news, and your company is mentioned.

Or gets a misdemeanor pot citation? 

Or makes the news for domestic abuse?

The answer to your business and personal response is - "it depends."

Depends on federal law, state law, the type of job, the severity of the activity and etc.

If the job involves handling funds or dealing with sensitive information this may be more urgent. If the job is public facing this may be more urgent. Other types of jobs (roofer) not so much.

Thinking about this ahead of time is important.

And keep the lawyer on speed dial.

Employment at Will (Part 1)

 Employment at will is a legal doctrine (this is not legal advice) that allows employers to terminate employees at any time or for any reason or for no reason at all, in the absence of a contract, and subject to legal restrictions (race, gender, age disability, etc.).

Employers like this doctrine because it gives them lots of power and flexibility.

Employers forget the doctrine cuts both ways, employees can quit at any time or for any reason or for no reason at all. The "Great Resignation" has hurt many employers, some deservedly so.

Employers may try to bind employees, say with a requirement for two weeks notice in order to receive accrued vacation, but this is not an absolute.

(As usual, employers must be versed in both federal and state employment law, and have a qualified lawyer on speed dial).

Treating employees like humans, and not cattle, is the place to start. Poor management and poor supervision are ultimately very expensive.

More to follow.

Business Parable #1

True story (without identifying the business):

A business owner became angry and told his employees that if they would not come back to working live in the office they could just quit.

The employees started job hunting and determined they were underpaid according to the market.

So they quit.

Remember the parody prayer:

      Lord may my words be tender because I may have to eat them.

Tax Time

 The IRS is struggling with outdated computer system, not enough employees and a Covid-driven backlog.

A couple of tips:

keep copies of everything you file

file via express, certified or priority mail and keep the receipts (the postmark date is what really counts)

respond to corespondence soon

keep your CPA in the loop on information

More in following posts.

Quick Hits #1

 

If you depend on your voice mail to take calls, check your voice mail frequently.

And after you make notes on the calls delete the old messages.

Yes, we called a business today and received a "voicemail full" message.

The Great Resignation Part 1

 The pandemic has created a historic mess in the labor markets.

Shutdowns, layoffs, work at home (WAH), medical leaves, changing business models, quick reaction to new events, --- all of this has made a mess of the labor market.

Some employers took the pandemic seriously, others treated it as a personal and business insult to be worked around.

So what do we know:

 Employers prefer employment-at-will, that is an employee can be let go anytime for any or no reason. Employers forgot that employment-at-will goes both ways, the employees can walk at any time.

A lot of older employees took the retirement option. Can they be seduced back into the work force? Worth a look.

Moms are having trouble with day care. We need both business and government to work this probblem. so far not much.

After decades of minimal bargaining power for employees, and the proliferation of low wage service jobs, the situation has been reversed. Employees are taking advantage and the market is playing catch up with wages.

"Bad bosses" the screamers and bullies are having trouble retaining help. This also covers supervisors, many of whom have minimal training and minimal skills.

Part-time jobs with irregular hours are difficult to staff, except perhaps for young people looking for less than full time. 

More information and recomendations in Part 2.