Edwardsville (KSDK) - Guns at work. It will be the new reality for some Illinois businesses, as owners adapt to the new concealed carry law. But not every workplace is allowing guns. The new law allows companies to ban firearms on their property. And since the first concealed carry licenses are set to go out in a few months, many business owners are still deciding whether to allow enact a ban.

Kandi Mensing owns an HR consulting business called Elite HR Team. She's still deciding whether to allow people to carry guns on her property._

"You have to be able to trust their judgment, and how they're going to utilize that weapon," said Mensing.

But she says there is also risk in banning firearms.

"You have to consider whether your employees' safety is at risk then because you didn't allow them to carry a gun if they wanted to," said Mensing.

So she's attending a seminar to learn more about the law. She'll also use the information to advise her clients.

"Whether you are for it or against it, you still have to have a written policy," said Todd Sivia, whose law firm, Sivia Business and Legal Services, is helping host the seminar.

Sivia says if the policy's not clear, it could create problems for the establishment, and its patrons.. Whether that's a store, church, or restaurant.

"The waitress sees a gun on the person you don't want them to run around saying 'I see a gun, I see a gun.' That's going to create a panic," said Sivia.

So businesses who ban firearms will have to post a sign at the front of their building to alert people before they walk in the door. And it's especially important for Illinois businesses to be clear about their policies, because having a gun where you're not supposed to is a misdemeanor in the state. That's one reason firearm safety trainer Allen Keilman is attending the seminar.

"I want to make sure I'm giving the right message to our clients," said Keilman. "They're good people. They want to do things the right way."

The seminar will be Thursday, January 16th, from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. It's being held at the SIUE Morris University Center in the Hickory/Hackberry Room. The event is free and open to the public.


Source: KSDK News

Many female workers in the United States do not know their rights when it comes to lactating in the workplace. I hear of women pumping their breast milk in their vehicles, or in the bathroom (yuck!) for lack of having a suitable space in the workplace. I firmly believe that female workers should be afforded the right to work outside the home AND breastfeed their baby. When it comes to infant nutrition, breast is the best. I'm not going to go into the benefits of breastfeeding (you can look that up on your own), nor am I condemning those that choose to formula feed; to each their own. I will, however, be addressing a mother's rights when lactating as it applies to U.S. law.

A lot of women think they only get protected lactation benefits if they work for an employer with 50 or more employees. That's not true. They're thinking of FMLA (the family & medical leave act). FMLA addresses medical leave, not breaks for pumping breast milk. Employers with less than 50 employees are allowed an exemption in some cases, and that is outlined below.

The laws that apply to protected lactation benefits include:

• ADA (Americans with disabilities act)
• PDA (pregnancy discrimination act)
• ACA (affordable care act)
• EEO (equal employment opportunity)
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• FLSA (fair labor standards act)

In its 2014 guidance, the EEOC takes the position that the PDA requires employers to offer temporary light-duty assignments to pregnant employees with work restrictions if the employer provides the same accommodation to nonpregnant employees who have similar work restrictions. The guidance also makes clear that the PDA covers lactation, current pregnancy, past pregnancy, and a woman's potential to become pregnant in the future.

Nearly all states have their own laws on pregnancy leave, and most of these mirror the PDA. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (29 U.S.C. Sec 207) by requiring that employers provide a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child's birth each time the employee has a need to express milk.

Employers must provide a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.

The Department of Labor's (DOL) "Fact Sheet #73: Break Time For Nursing Mothers Under the FLSA" provides general information on the break time requirement for nursing mothers in the ACA, including general requirements, time and location of breaks, and coverage and compensation during break time. If the employer already provides compensated breaks to employees, the covered employees must be paid for that portion of time expressing milk equal to the time paid to other employees during breaks. The employer does not have to compensate for time that exceeds the paid break time. DOL states that breaks for expressing breast milk would not be properly be considered FMLA or count against the FMLA leave entitlement. DOL encourages employers to permit nursing employees to make up unpaid break time.

According to the DOL, the frequency of breaks needed to express breast milk varies, depending on factors such as the age of the baby, the number of feedings in the baby's normal daily schedule, whether the baby is eating solid food, and other factors. Therefore, DOL has stated that it expects that nursing mothers typically will need breaks to express milk two to three times during an 8-hour shift, and that longer shifts require additional breaks to express milk.

The analysis of reasonable time must also include the time it takes to get to the lactation site, the time it takes to gather, set up, and clean a breast pump and other supplies, and to secure and store the milk. DOL encourages nursing employees to give employers notice of the intent to take breaks and states that the employer may ask an expectant mother if she intends to take breaks to express breast milk.

According to EEOC's 2014 guidance, lactation is also a pregnancy-related medical condition. An employee who is lactating must be able to address lactation-related needs to the same extent as she and her coworkers are able to address other similarly limiting medical conditions. For example, if an employer allows employees to change their schedules or use sick leave for routine doctor appointments and to address nonincapacitating medical conditions, it must also allow female employees to change their schedules or use sick leave for lactation-related needs.

Smaller employers with fewer than 50 are exempt from the break time rule ONLY if the employer can demonstrate that compliance that the statute would cause the employer "significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the employer's business." Where practicable, employers should make a room (either private or with partitions for use by multiple nursing employees) available for use by employees taking breaks to express milk. Where it is not practicable for an employer to provide a room, DOL says the requirement can be met by creating a space with partitions or curtains. Any windows in the designated room or space should be covered to ensure the space is shielded from view.

With any space provided for expressing milk, the employer must ensure the employee's privacy through means such as signs that designate when the space is in use or a lock on the door. The employer is not obligated, says DOL, to maintain a permanent, dedicated space for nursing mothers. A space temporarily created or converted into a space for expressing milk or made available when needed by a nursing mother is sufficient, provided that the space is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.

In order to be a functional space, DOL says the room must contain, at a minimum, a place for the nursing mother to sit, and a flat surface, other than the floor, on which to place the pump. Ideally, the space should have access to electricity so that a nursing mother can plug an electric pump, rather than use a pump with battery power. DOL recognizes that there are a range of additional features that some employers have included when providing spaces for their employees to use to express breast milk, such as sinks within or nearby the room for washing hands and cleaning pump attachments, and refrigerators within or nearby the room for storing expressed milk. While such additional features are not requires, says DOL, their provision may decrease the amount of break time needed by nursing employees to express milk. Employers are not required to provide refrigeration options for nursing mothers for the purpose of storing expressed milk; however, they must allow a nursing mother to bring a pump and insulated food container to work for expressing and storing the milk and ensure there is a place where she can store the pump and insulated food container while she is at work.

Ensure you check your state specific laws as well as your company policies in addition to knowing the federal laws I've just outlined.

Additional Source: HR.BLR

On July 21, Governor Pat Quinn signed into law the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, which will prohibit most private-sector employers and employment agencies with 15 or more employees from asking applicants about their criminal histories and conducting criminal background checks until after applicants are deemed qualified for a job. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2015.

Illinois joins eleven other states that have enacted “ban-the-box” laws that prohibit employers from inquiring about applicants’ criminal history on employment applications and during the selection process. They include Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico,  California, and Hawaii.

Under the law, employers may not inquire about, consider, or require disclosure of an applicant’s criminal record or criminal history until he has been deemed qualified for a position and has been notified that he has been selected for an interview. If there is no interview, the employer may not inquire into the applicant’s criminal record or criminal history until after making a conditional offer of employment.

The law contains some exceptions, including positions involving fidelity bonding, employers employing licensees under the Emergency Medical Systems Act, and employers that are required to exclude applicants with certain criminal convictions because of federal or state law.

In signing the legislation, Governor Quinn stated, “Everyone deserves a second chance when it comes to getting a job. This law will help ensure that people across Illinois get a fair shot to reach their full potential through their skills and qualifications, rather than past history.”

What does this mean for you? Illinois employers should plan now for the new law. By January 1, 2015, covered employers must ensure that application forms and hiring processes do not inquire into a candidate’s criminal history until he or she is selected for an interview. If there is no interview, you must wait until a conditional offer of employment is made to inquire into an applicant’s criminal history.

Many businesses grow faster than they can keep up with. As they add more employees, they feel like they're just treading water in the realm of HR procedures. The procedures they do have tend to evolve with the company, so they may not be the most efficient methods, and since business owners are busy running their business, they may not realize what laws and regulations apply to them or be able to step aside to realign responsibilities and improve processes. Many businesses cannot justify a full-time Human Resources professional, based on their size, so they divide the HR tasks between several departments or assign them to an Office Manager or similar role. If any of these circumstances apply to your business, the smartest course of action is to hire an outside human resources consultant to create HR Procedures to get your business operating efficiently and compliantly.

HR Procedure Implementation is one of the top four Outsourced HR Tasks. Elite HR Team specializes in procedure creation and implementation. Whether we’re auditing your personnel files, creating recruiting and termination procedures (along with forms and checklists), or providing an “HR Playbook” for supervisors to reference, we can work with you to establish a legally compliant HR function. If you prefer to learn the ins and outs of HR Procedures on your own time and at your own pace, our Elite HR Business School™ can walk you through the policies and procedures you need, from recruiting to termination and everything in between. If you have an Office Manager who handles most of the human resources duties, we have specifically created HR Training for Office Managers to teach them what they need to know.

You spend so much time and energy starting a business and running it—making a business model, hiring the best employees, working toward customer satisfaction—that you deserve to have the Human Resources side of your business run seamlessly and flawlessly. With all the government laws and regulations, you could be facing costly lawsuits and government fines if you don’t do things the right way, so getting things set up the right way is the smart move.

HR Procedure Implementation includes things like:

• New hire procedures with checklists and timelines for necessary paperwork
• Proper documentation—what, why, and how
• Record keeping—what to keep, where, and for how long
• The performance review process and how often to conduct them
• Necessary HR forms
• Effective and compliant recruiting processes
• Legal discipline and termination procedures
• And more!

Running your business with peace of mind comes from knowing the best way to handle common problems and situations, and HR Procedure Implementation will give you the tools to do just that.

If you missed last week’s article on staff training, or any of the articles in the “Top 10 Outsourced HR Tasks” you can catch up on our blog.

There are a slew of reality shows that focus on crisis intervention in small businesses. Restaurants, hair salons, and various family-owned businesses are usually highlighted. While these accounts are edited to focus on the most dramatic incidents, it seems that a common theme runs through them: lack of good management. This is a common problem in small businesses. Whether they actually are family businesses or not, small businesses tend to feel like a family, and sometimes Brother Bob shouldn’t be in charge of Purchasing and Sister Sally isn’t cut out for Customer Service. You want to use the talents that your staff demonstrates naturally and train them in the areas where they’re weak. And that’s why management training & development made our list at number six!

It has been said that people are promoted to the level of their incompetence. This is known as the Peter Principle. The best worker in the department doesn't necessarily have the skills and knowledge it takes to manage others. By investing in management training, you build strong management in the ranks of your organization, you promote loyalty among your workforce, and you show the team there is room for advancement.

Managers also need to be trained on compliance issues in the workplace. A simple getting-to-know you conversation before an interview can lead to a lawsuit if your manager asks an illegal question (for example, one that exposes a protected class, such as marital or family status or sexual orientation). “Do you have any kids?” might seem like a polite inquiry, but if you fail to hire a woman without properly documenting why she wasn’t chosen, she could sue you for discrimination!

Managers aren't born with the innate knowledge of how to inspire a team, conduct a performance review, or discipline or terminate an employee. Some may think that being "friends" with everyone on the team is the most important thing, instead of being a leader, and others may think that being a leader means making your employees afraid of you. Make sure you train them to use a management style that reflects your company's values and builds up employee morale, promotes loyalty, and reduces turnover. 

Management training reduces turnover by developing the talent you already have, and increases productivity, thus making the company more profitable. Your managers are there to ensure that your staff is living up to their potential, and having effective managers increases your return. Recruiting in-house also allows you to attract and retain quality people, as they are more likely to see their “job” as a “career” when they know there are paths of growth available to them. This is especially important to Millennials, as their generation is used to instant gratification, but it works equally well on employees of all generations who want to find long-term, stable employment.

Elite HR Team recommends that managers go through training on various subjects at least annually. These subjects include things like mitigating employee issues, handling disability accommodation requests, conducting performance reviews, compliant and effective recruiting and much more! The increase in productivity, decrease in potential fines and lawsuits, and improvement in morale alone are well worth the cost of training. You will also find that employees thrive when they know what's expected of them and your business will thrive as well.

If you've missed any of the previous articles in our series, make sure you catch up on our blog.

Firing an employee is often one of the worst tasks an employer faces, because they get emotionally involved. Bosses tend to second-guess themselves. They don't want to hurt the employee, or the employee's family. Small businesses may especially feel like employees are an extension of their own family and that they have invested a lot in the person. Employers also worry about the extra work involved in hiring a replacement and the possibility that a new person might be just as bad—or worse—than the last! And, of course, every employer is worried about the possibility of being sued.

Proper disciplinary procedures are also an area that many employers find troubling. Many wait until problems have become too big to ignore, or drop the bomb in an annual review instead of practicing good communication on a regular basis. There are some things to keep in mind that will help employers with a problem employee.

First, take a step back. Despite your best intentions, becoming emotionally involved in the situation will only make it more difficult. You have to think about what's best for your business, and delivering the news in an even, unemotional way will make it much easier for both parties.

Analyze your records—do you have the documentation you need? Focus on making sure you have recorded past incidents, with all the relevant facts. If possible, you should have performance evaluations and evidence of meetings with the employee to discuss their issues with concrete plans for improvement.

Is there a possibility of discrimination? Be sure to ask yourself questions about the appearance of discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, national origin, religion, handicap, or age (or any of the protected classes).

Finally, when it's time to terminate, decide when and where. Make sure you have a private place in which to speak with the employee. Rehearse what you're going to say and be prepared for a negative reaction. Remember, this is a decision that has been made. You don't need to keep justifying it once you spell out the reasons (and make sure you give them the real reason), and you don't need to argue. Calmly and firmly state your position. If you've had successive meetings about performance issues or the employee has committed a zero-tolerance action, the employee shouldn't be surprised, although they may be upset.

Every business should have a termination checklist that spells out the process for any employee leaving the company. Is there any equipment that needs to be returned before the person leaves? Key codes or passwords that need to be deactivated or reset? Ongoing tasks that need to be reassigned?

Terminations should be few and far between, but you can still handle them like an expert if you are prepared ahead of time.

*More great information like this is available in our Elite HR Business School™! We walk you through everything you need to know from hiring to firing. 

Many businesses will probably want to sit up and take notice. One of the top conversations we have with small business owners, office managers, or managers/supervisors revolves around a problem employee.

Unfortunately, many small businesses don't contact an HR Consultant such as Elite HR Team until after they've gone through a difficult termination. At that point, they need a lawyer to help them with any litigation threats. The average settlement for wrongful termination is $500,000, along with an average of $85,000 in legal fees. Different discrimination claims have resulted in payouts of millions of dollars. The safest way to terminate an employee is to have documentation and discipline procedures in place before a problem arises. It starts with an employee handbook and job descriptions, which outline your expectations for employees and show the consequences if they aren't met.

Employee terminations are often a last resort, and most small business owners don’t like dealing with the process of discipline and termination. Unfortunately, if you’ve repeatedly warned an employee and their performance isn’t improving, termination is necessary. Replacing an employee can be costly, but not as costly as the lost time, poor effect on morale, and inefficiency of a bad worker.

We recommend that you spell out in your employee handbook the “zero-tolerance” policies—what actions could lead to immediate termination—and include a disclaimer that other situations may also qualify. If an employee endangers him- or herself or another employee, customer, or the facilities, the business’s reaction should be immediate and severe. You also need to understand if you are in an at-will state, and what that means. Basically, the terms of employment can be terminated at any time by either party for any or no reason—as long as it’s not for an illegal reason. So while you can terminate an employee at any time, you still may need to prove that they weren’t discriminated against.

If you haven't gathered yet, let us repeat it for you. Documentation is especially important when it comes to firing an employee. If you don’t have proper documentation, it may take longer to sever the relationship as you build up a record of incidents and warnings against that person. If you’ve made the decision to terminate someone, this can be a stressful and tension-filled time.

Elite HR Team wants to help you avoid terminations by building a strong, loyal, and happy workforce, but when termination is necessary, we can walk you through the best procedures to do so. Contact us now and get solutions before you have a problem! 

This is the fourth installment in "Top Ten Outsourced HR Tasks." If you've missed any of the previous installments, you can catch up on our blog.

It can be tempting to write your job requisition and then just wait for the resumes to come flooding in. It may seem redundant to have a job application as well, when all the job applicant's information is hopefully already on their resume, but here are some reasons why you need an application.

• An application allows you to compile all the information you need in one place.
• An application is the perfect place for a permission statement, which gives you the authority to call former employers and check references. You can also include at-will and false information statements, which inform candidates of your requirements.
• You can customize the application to gather the information you need, including education requirements or certifications, to make a preliminary decision what candidates to bring in.
• Although you can't make hiring decision based on protected classes, if your company is required to meet affirmative action benchmarks, the application is a good place to allow candidates to willingly self-identify.

Job applications are one more thing that a company can do to protect itself. If someone threatens legal action for discrimination because you didn't hire them, you can use the paperwork provided in the job application to prove that you hired based on fair practices. Applications are easy to create with our HR Form Templates. 

Filing paperwork is a dreaded task in most businesses. Did you know you are required to keep more than one file per employee? Are you keeping your I-9 forms separate from your personnel files? There are a lot of regulatory requirements around personnel files, and internal audits can help uncover them before you face steep fines. The I-9 form alone contains potential fines of $110 to $16,000 per violation. Filing medical information in the wrong place could lead to a potential lawsuit, with lawyer’s fees averaging $85,000. And wrongful termination lawsuits, which can have payouts in the millions, can be avoided with proper documentation—if you can find it when you need it! That's why Personnel File Audits are number eight on our list of the Top 10 Outsourced HR Tasks. If you missed the first two issues, you can catch up on our blog.

Personnel File Audits are a great way to get your file drawers organized and legally compliant. Having an outside source come in and audit your personnel files ensures that you are starting fresh, keeping only the information you need, and filing it compliantly. Elite HR Team's color-coded label system makes keeping the files organized a snap.

We’ve always saved clients more than their investment to audit their files and correct non-compliance. Much like finding dust bunnies under the bed, our audit “deep cleans” your files and searches for every possible fine. We leave you with files that are separated into personnel, medical, and financial, and labelled with necessary documents that should be contained within. We can’t promise to bring you joy in filing, but we can make it easier!

Elite HR Team wants to give you the tools to organize your office and do things right. A Personnel File Audit can get you back on the right foot. Check out our solutions for your personnel files here.

Elite HR Team™ works with a variety of small businesses. Many of them don't have a dedicated human resources (HR) department, and sometimes, it isn't even just one person handling the HR function. For example, the office manager may be in charge of paperwork and filing, while the accounting department keeps track of hours, payroll deductions, and insurance matters, and the manager or supervisor oversees discipline. One of our resources published a list of the top essential skills that are needed in human resources management.* Below is their list of must-haves, along with our comments.

1. Organization. Organized files are a must in human resources, not only to keep the business running smoothly, but also to create a paper trail in case of audit or lawsuit. Compliant recordkeeping helps avoid costly lawsuits and government fines. 

2. Multitasking. Human resources requires many hats. You not only have to find new employees, deal with personnel issues, and ensure that everyone understands their benefits package, but you also have to know what the laws say about all of it. Everyday is a new and exciting challenge, if you're ready to accept it.

3. Dealing with Grey Areas. Is it discrimination? Is it harassment? What is "reasonable" accommodation? What do you do when faced with a he said/she said situation? Dealing with human resources situations means remaining professional, documenting decisions, and using your best judgment based on the facts you had at hand.

4. Negotiation. Negotiation is an important skill to help navigate the grey areas. Do you have the ability to help people to compromise and be happy with the solution, even if it's not what they wanted. Some negotiations are routine, such goes along with deal as a request for a raise, while others may be more rare.

5. Communication. Communication is so important across all lines of business that it should maybe be higher on the list! Keeping in constant communication with your employees not only shows that you care, but also lets them know what's expected of them, which keeps your organization running smoothly.

6. Discrete and Ethical. Discretion is essential, especially in our business. You will notice that Elite HR Team never shares the names of our clients, and instead just says "A Large Manufacturer." We find that people don't like to discuss their business problems, even if they've found the solution.

7. Dual Focus. The HR tightrope is stretched between the employees and management. You want to keep employees happy, while simultaneously protecting the business's bottom line.

8. Conflict Management and Problem Solving. It would be a beautiful day if we could all learn to get along! We've had HR complaints on things so small as the smell of someone's oatmeal in the kitchen to an employee not realizing that it was dress-down day and crying that she missed the chance to wear jeans. Although these issues may seem small, they obviously affected the employees enough to ruin their day, and human resources has to sometimes act not only as a sounding board but must also comfort them and find a reasonable solution.

9. Change Management. In the previous eight skills, we listed several day-to-day issues that human resources must juggle. But you must also be able to keep the big picture in mind as you run your business. Where are you going and how are you going to get there? Strategic HR Planning can give you a road map to the future. 

If you feel that you're missing some of these attributes in your company's human resources management, we have solutions. You might want to consider a program such as Elite HR Business School™, which walks you through establishing compliant HR function. We also have retainer options that allow you to learn to do it yourself all the way through handing over HR function to a team of consultants. Find which one is right for you.

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