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The Retail Employer

 January 2007

Reminder of Notice-Posting Requirements

by David E. Nagle

Are you aware of the notice-posting requirements that apply to your business? You get flyers in the mail from companies that want to sell you the posters. Buying the posters from them makes it easy, but you may not be required to post all of them, and the companies often fail to mention state law posters. In addition, you should know that you can get all of the required posters for free from the agencies which issue them.

Posting requirements are not simple or uniform. Federal agencies issue some, state agencies issue others. Some posters must be put up by all employers, others only apply to employers with more than a specified number of employees. Other posters only need to be put up for a limited period of time (e.g., OSHA’s annual summary of work-related injuries must be posted on February 1). Some notices can be provided in alternative methods (e.g., distribution to employees). The penalties for failure to post a required notice vary too, from as little as a small fine, to something as significant as removal of the time limits that employees have to file certain kinds of complaints. So, here is a quick reminder of the key posting requirements.

All employers should be posting:

“Your Rights Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” issued by the U.S. Department of Labor ( DOL), addressing minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor. Look for a new poster to be issued in the near future, when Congress passes a minimum wage hike.

“Your Rights Under USERRA: The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act”, issued by the DOL.

“Notice: Employee Polygraph Protection Act”, also issued by the DOL.

An Occupational Safety and Health Act poster. All employers must display either the federal or the state version. The federal poster from DOL begins, “You have a right to a safe and healthful workplace” while the state poster, from the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, begins, “Job Safety & Health Protection”. For certain employers, an annual Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses (OSHA form 300A) must be posted no later than February 1, 2007and must remain posted through April 30, 2007. Fortunately for RMA members, most retail establishments are considered low-hazard worksites and thus need not post annual data.

“Notice to Workers”, available from the Virginia Employment Commission, is about unemployment compensation benefits.

“Workers’ Compensation Notice”, available from the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission.

Most employers are subject to additional posting requirements, including some or all of the following:

“Equal Employment Opportunity is THE LAW.” This is the big one, the most important poster. Posting is required for employers with 15 or more employees. It provides notice to employees of their rights to be free from workplace discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, or disability. It is issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and is not only available in English and Spanish (like most required posters), but also in Chinese and Arabic.

“Your Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993”, available from the DOL. Posting of this is required for employers with 50 or more employees.

Other posters are required of those employers who have employees working on government contracts, or working on federally funded construction projects. Another must be posted by agricultural employers utilizing migrant and seasonal agricultural workers.

All of these posters must be posted in prominent and accessible places where notices to employees and applicants are customarily maintained. For questions about the applicability of these requirements to your business, contact the agencies or your trusted employment counsel. All posters can be ordered from the agencies over the internet. For posters from the DOL, click here. For OSHA posters, click here. For the EEOC poster, click here. For all of the Virginia posters, click here.

David E. Nagle frequently conducts seminars for members of the Retail Merchants Association, and has been retained by the Association to assist retail members through the Labor Law Information Program. David has advised and represented employers with respect to legal issues in the workplace for 25 years. Recently David joined Jackson Lewis, and opened the firm’s Richmond office. Jackson Lewis has 400 attorneys in 27 cities across the country, representing management exclusively in workplace law and related litigation. He may be reached at (804) 648-4077, or by email at nagled@jacksonlewis.com

Calls requesting information on the Labor Law Information Program should be directed to Preston Perrin with the Retail Merchants Association at 804-662-5500.

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Becoming a Preferred Place to Work. . . Start by Understanding Employees' Needs

The labor force is changing, and businesses everywhere will feel the effects within this decade. In fact, by 2010 a striking 40% of the current U.S. workforce will be eligible for retirement. What does this mean for your business? Now more than ever before, establishing your business as a preferred place to work is crucial to making sure it thrives.

With turnover and retention as top concerns for employers everywhere, it’s important to engage your employees by focusing on their needs. A recent study by the Gallup Organization showed that 19% of employees are disengaged, meaning they do just enough work to get by without being fired. On the other hand, employees who are engaged perform 20% better than their disengaged counterparts, according to research by the Corporate Leadership Council. Add to that the fact that engaged employees are 87% less likely to quit than other workers and you can see why employee engagement is crucial to your business.

How can you make sure your workforce is loyal and actively engaged in their work? The answers may surprise you—it’s not all about money in this case. In fact, 89% of managers believe that money is the main issue contributing to turnover. However, only 12% of employees say money is the reason they left a company. What does this mean for you? It’s time to focus beyond simply providing your employees with a job and a paycheck.

Start by realizing that your employees are people with needs that go beyond the basics of food, shelter and security. Taking a look at Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs illustrates that physiological and security needs are a good place to start, but it doesn’t end there. The next levels in the hierarchy are social, esteem and self-actualization needs.

Maslow

The bottom two levels—physiological and safety needs—are where most employers focus. It’s important to address these needs—people don’t respond to their esteem needs being met if they’re not receiving a paycheck or if they’re uncertain about their job security. However, employers who go above and beyond the basics will find they have become the greener pasture to which workers will flock.

As the worker shortage continues, you will find that people are looking for more than just a job. They are looking for something fulfilling, and because of the decline in skilled workers, they will be in a position to settle for nothing less. Now is the time to start building up your company’s reputation as a great place to work by fulfilling each level of your employee’s needs.

This article is reprinted with permission of www.ExpressPersonnel.com . Contact Mr. Lars Nordin at Lars.Nordin@ExpressPersonnel.com if you would like to be added to their distribution list.

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Setting Goals with Subordinates

The New Year seems to be a time for setting goals. Your objective when setting subordinate’s goals is to be clear and participative.

It is easy to confuse goals with the activities or tasks to achieve a goal. The goal is the result you want to achieve; the action plan is what you see the subordinate doing i.e.—sales contests and crew training are examples of activities.

An effective goal has four main components:

  1. Quality—Specify how well do you want the work done. For example “while maintaining excellent service” or “with 100% customer satisfaction.”
  2. Quantity—The result you want to attain. Use a measurement that is common in your industry. Set an expectation with the subordinate not for the subordinate i.e. “to increase January’s revenue by 5% over prior year.”
  3. Cost—Quantify allowable expenses; define how much money or which resources can be used on their project. For example “while controlling labor expense to 20% of revenue.”
  4. Time—The actual period of time during which the performance will measured i.e. week, month, or quarter. An example: January’s 2007 goal is to achieve a 5% sales increase in revenue over last January while maintaining payroll costs at or below 20% while providing excellent service.

Only after your goal is defined can the subordinate develop the action plan for your approval.

Providing interim meetings for the subordinate to report on progress gives you an opportunity to train and develop your subordinate.

This article is reprinted with permission of Mike Dunleavey, mikedunleavey@iib.ws, Executive Associate - Business Support Center - Retail Merchants Association.

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CAA MVP

January 18, 2007

Dear Business Leader:

We have a wonderful opportunity to offer your organization/company a win-win promotion. The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men’s Basketball Championship will be hosting their 18 th consecutive tournament at the Richmond Coliseum March 2-5, 2007.  The tournament champion receives an automatic bid into the NCAA March Madness.

We need your help. Here’s the play.

Attached is a flyer to Become a CAA MVP.  Please review the details but its highlights include tickets good for any one of the six sessions of the championship. The tickets are great for employees or clients. Your company will be listed as a MVP sponsor in the program and two people designated by your company will be invited to a special reception. If you respond by February 1, 2007, your company will receive a complimentary half-page, four color ad in the program and as a bonus, your company will be entered to win the use of a suite for one session of the Championship. The suite comes with sixteen tickets, drinks and light snacks – a $750 value!

In previous years, the Championship generated $5 million in economic impact to the Richmond Region. Over 30,000 fans came to the Richmond Coliseum last year to see some of the best college basketball in the country. We hope you’ll help us support this effort again this year!

Cordially,

William H. Baxter
President & CEO
Retail Merchants Association

John F. Berry, Jr.
President & CEO
Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau

James W. Dunn
President and CEO
Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce

Jon Lugbill
Executive Director
Richmond Sports Backers

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