Quick Hits - January 15, 2020 - American Society of Employers - ASE Staff

Quick Hits - January 15, 2020

Detroit last on list for job growth:  A recent study by WalletHub identifies the best and worst cities for job growth.  At number one is Scottsdale, Arizona.  In fact, three cities in Arizona are in the top ten including Chandler and Tempe.  However, Detroit is at the bottom of the list at No. 182 with poor showings for full-time employment, availability of apprentice-trainee jobs, and employers' disability friendliness. The Motor City also has a large share of workers in poverty and high annual transportation costs.  Source:  Yahoo Finance 1/7/20

Reminder – nondiscretionary bonuses must be included in overtime rate base:  DOL Wage and Hour opinion in FLSA2020-1 addresses the calculation of overtime pay for a nondiscretionary lump-sum bonus paid at the end of a multi-week training period. In the scenario presented, the employer informs employees in advance that they will be eligible to receive a lump-sum bonus of $3,000 if they successfully complete 10 weeks of training and agree to continue training for an additional eight weeks. The bonus is nondiscretionary, but the employee does not have to complete the additional eight weeks of training in order to retain the lump-sum bonus. The question relates to an employee who works 40 hours per week during eight weeks of the 10-week training period, but works 47 hours in week five, and in week nine works 48 hours. Under 29 C.F.R. § 778.209(b) there are two methods of computing overtime pay for bonus earnings that cannot be identified with particular workweeks. The lump-sum bonus paid to employees must be included in the regular rate of pay "as it is an inducement for employees to complete the ten-week training period and it is appropriate for the employer to allocate the lump-sum bonus of $3,000 equally to each week of the 10-week training period.”  Source:  DOL, CCH 1/10/20

LinkedIn will still be the place to recruit in coming years: LinkedIn will grow faster than previously expected, according to eMarketer’s latest estimates. This year, eMarketer estimates that there will be 62.1 million adult LinkedIn users in the U.S., which will grow 4.2% in 2021 to 64.7 million. By the end of the forecasting period in 2023, we expect there to be 68.8 million users.  LinkedIn users make up about a third of all social network users in the U.S., and that will stay approximately the same for the next few years.  “Although, when compared with social platforms like Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn can be considered a slower follow, the social network has recently launched features like LinkedIn Live and Events," eMarketer principal analyst Jillian Ryan said. "While these new experiences aren’t unique to LinkedIn, the use cases for professional audiences can be differentiators for maintaining current users and attracting new ones.”  Source:  eMarketer 1/7/19

Do you have a headphone policy? Many employers permit the use of headphones and music in a variety of industrial and construction settings, presumably to improve employee morale and retention. Other employers play music across the workplace with speakers and stereos, such as in a warehouse or operating room. Industry safety sources warn any benefits gained from the use of headphones in the workplace will be overshadowed by safety hazards. Specifically, headphones can present a safety hazard when operating large machinery by impeding the operator’s awareness of surroundings. Other OSHA regulations require employers to train employees about audio warning devices, for example, fire alarms, and to have the ability evacuate the workplace. The recent standard interpretation echoes other warnings about the use of headphones in the workplace. In its “Protecting Yourself from Noise in Construction” booklet, OSHA indicates that “neither portable music player headphones nor hearing aids are substitutes for hearing protective devices.” In its “Agricultural Safety Fact Sheet,” OSHA directs employers to “instruct workers and operators not to use personal mobile phones, headphones, or any items that could create a distraction”, and “never wear earbuds or headphones when working near farm vehicles and equipment.”  Source: Seyfarth Shaw 1/7/19

Do less, get more done: There is no shortage of advice about and strategies for performing optimally and enhancing productivity.  But what about just doing less? Imagine if you were able to just lop off unnecessary tasks from your to-do list—or find ways to eliminate them in the first place—and still get more done. Cutting unnecessary tasks out of your life and streamlining those must-dos can free up time that’s better spent in other areas. Here are some ways to do just that: Most of us spend too much time in meetings.  Ditch useless meetings.  Don’t multi-task just focus on one thing at a time.   Time-boxing focusing on one project or type of work, such as writing, for a specific period of time. Framework boxing applies a specific process to doing something. By defining a framework, or “box,” around the way something should be done, you streamline the process and eliminate wasteful effort that isn’t as effective.  Shed unnecessary decisions.  Having habits and routines eliminates unnecessary decision-making and allows you to be most productive and have time for what’s important in your life.  Finally, take a break.  No matter how much you try to power through, science tells us that doing so usually leads to diminishing returns. So, take that walk. Go out to lunch. Spend time working out.  Source:  Fast Company 1/7/20

Didn’t like the barbecue sauce company Christmas gift , tweeted, and then lost his job: A Canada-based branch manager for Fastenal, an American company that sells construction supplies did not react well to receiving a bottle of barbecue sauce and a wooden grill scraper for Christmas from the company.  In a since-deleted Twitter post, he asked: "What kind of multi billion company gifts its Canadian employees barbecue sauce as a holiday gift? Yet the USA employees stuff their face with an actual holiday giftbox?" He also tagged the company in the post. After someone made sure Fastenal's human resources department noticed the post, the manager lost his job, opening the company up to a flood of social media criticism. The company's CEO noted that while American and Mexican employees received different gifts, they all received gifts worth $27. The firing was most likely legal. The Fastenal employee manual contained language about not posting language online that would reflect poorly on the company.  Source: Findlaw 1/9/20

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