What's new in HR (Proceedings)

1. Background Checking

• Why?

• How?

• When?

2. Drug Testing

• What is the least you need to know?

• How will this affect your practice?

• A step by step plan

3. I-9 – Electronic Verification (E-Verify) voluntary program run by the Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration to help certify that employees hired by companies are legally authorized to work in the United States. Some states require it, others do not want employers using it until it is further perfected.

• Arizona – All employers to use E-Verity

• Mississippi – 7/14/2010 Private employers with 30 or more employees; 7/1/2011 All employers

• Rhode Island – 1/1/2010 Private employers with 50 or more employees; 1/1/2011 All employers with 3 or more employees

• South Carolina 7/1/2010 All employers must be in compliance

• Texas, Hawaii and Michigan employers are strongly urged to use E-Verify

• E-verify is in litigation in Illinois at this time and not required.

4. Retention – Critical to long-term health and success of your practice

• Know what makes employees unhappy – listen to them, build trust – two way communication

• Competitive salary

• Great benefits

• Employee recognition – Thank you, gift cards, bonuses

• Career development – opportunities to cross train, personal growth, education, responsibility

• Work/life balance

• Involve team members in discussions about company mission, values, goals

• Cost of ownership (see attached file from Bureau of Labor Statistics)

5. Management of team members

• Keep them informed

• Offer team support i.e. stress management

• Coach

• Counsel

6. Facing the Generational Issues –

• How does client service vary by generation?

• What do these people want anyway?

• Being open to new ideas

7. Compensation for doctors

• Competitive salary

• Compensation statement

• Offer letter

• Incentives

8. Americans with Disabilities Act – 1/1/09 the ADA expanded who was covered by being considered disabled. Employers no longer may take into account mitigating measures such as hearing aids or insulin when determining whether someone has a disability.

• Provide Training to supervisors

• Evaluate your policy to make sure it complies with the changes

• Review your job descriptions and determine what are the essential functions of each job

• Develop protocols on how to approach ADA situations

• Develop tools, forms, letters and processes to handle accommodation requests

9. FMLA - The Department of Labor has issued an update to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA affects employers with 50 or more employees. These changes clarify employee notification of need for leave time, employer response to employee, military leave, definitions of "Serious Health Condition" and many other topics. We are including an article by the Society of Human Resource Managers that gives some detail to these changes.

Some states have more restrictive guidelines than the federal guidelines. Always know what your state requires and follow the most restrictive guideline.