In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Mark Schickman discussed basic guidelines for supervisor training. Today, more tips for supervisors, plus an introduction to BLR’s audit-by-checklist program.
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Your supervisors aren’t technical experts on HR matters, and they‘re not going to be, but you can train them to act in a way that preserves HR’s options, says Schickman, a partner with Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP in San Francisco. He offered his tips during a recent webinar sponsored by BLR® and HR Hero®.
When Employees Bring Personal Problems
For example, when an employee comes to the supervisor with a personal issue, says Schickman, keep the conversation businesslike. The employee needs time and space to deal with the problem, but you have to focus on the work situation. Perhaps the employee says he or she has no place to stay. Say, I‘ll talk to HR, but I need you to do work.
- You’d like to resolve problems at the lowest practical level, BUT
- Supervisors need to know when to bring in HR, AND
- How to contact HR. (Surprisingly, that’s a major problem, says Schickman.)
Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities
As another example, with requests for accommodation, no matter what the questions are (I need a new chair, I can’t work more than 4 hours, I can’t lift more than 20 pounds), the supervisor should gather information from the employee (but not ask about the diagnosis), find out what accommodation the employee is asking for, and then go to HR.
The company is obligated to consider the request. If right off the bat the supervisor says, “We can’t do that,” that’s not considering the request. Even if you “know” there’s no feasible accommodation, you must engage in the interactive dialog.
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Request for Medical Leave
This is a very tricky area, says Schickman. It is not the supervisor’s job to figure out whether this is legitimate. Take it to HR.
Encountering Harassment
If the supervisor is hearing anything about possible harassment, contact HR. If there is a harassment claim, the supervisor should listen without making any judgment. If the supervisor responds, “Oh, I can’t believe that Ralph would do that,” already he or she is not a neutral observer.
NLRA
Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), “concerted activity” means more than one person making a comment about work conditions. “I hate this company, they treat us terribly” is the beginning of protected activity, Schickman says. Remind supervisors that they aren’t allowed to prohibit an employee from sharing such thoughts.
Wage and Hour Issues
The biggest misconception in HR is that salaried means exempt, says Schickman. In addition, he says, tell supervisors:
- Do not ask employees to skip lunch or breaks.
- Do not ask employees to work off the clock.
- Never permit or encourage false recordkeeping.
- Take wage and hour records and rules seriously.
Training supervisors opn your policies, and making sure those policies are up to date, never-ending challenges. What’s going on in the trenches? There’s only one way to find out: the HR audit. But for many managers, it’s hard to get started—Where do you begin?
BLR’s editors recommend a unique product called HR Audit Checklists®. Why are checklists so great? Because they’re completely impersonal; they force you to jump through all the necessary hoops one by one. They also ensure consistency in how operations are conducted. That’s vital in HR, where it’s all too easy to land in court if you discriminate in how you treat one employee over another.
HR Audit Checklists compels thoroughness. For example, it contains checklists both on Preventing Sexual Harassment and on Handling Sexual Harassment Complaints. You’d likely never think of all the possible trouble areas without a checklist; but with it, just scan down the list, and instantly see where you might get tripped up.
Using the “hope” system to avoid lawsuits? (As in: We “hope” we’re doing it right.) Be sure! Check out every facet of your HR program with BLR’s unique checklist-based audit program. Click here to get HR Audit Checklists.
In fact, housed in the HR Audit Checklists binder are dozens of extensive lists, organized into reproducible packets, for easy distribution to line managers and supervisors. There’s a separate packet for each of the following areas:
- Staffing and training (incorporating Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rulings in recruiting and hiring, including immigration issues);
- HR administration (including communications, handbook content, and recordkeeping);
- Health and safety (including OSHA responsibilities);
- Benefits and leave (including health cost containment, COBRA, FMLA, workers’ compensation, and several areas of leave);
- Compensation (payroll and the Fair Labor Standards Act); and
- Performance and termination (appraisals, discipline, and separation).