Planning for New Hires Success

30/60/90 Day New Hire Plan

The purpose of crating a 30/60/90 Day Plan for your new employees is to increase employee engagement and retention.

The plan is a strategic outline of the job expectations for the new employee over the first 90 days. The plan clearly communicates training, culture, and planning for the future to the employee allowing them to easily transition from “the new person” to a full-on contributor to the team and company.

The below guidelines are designed to aid you in setting up your new hires for success and what you should consider when setting up goals for each month.

30 - Days

The goals at this stage are to ensure the employee is aware of their responsibilities and expectations and is building relationships.

• Schedule and conduct regularly occurring one-on-one meetings. 
• Continue to provide timely, ongoing, meaningful “everyday feedback.” 
• Elicit feedback from the employee and be available to answer questions. 
• Discuss performance and professional development goals. Give employee an additional assignment. 
• Provide an extended roadmap that sets clear goals for the first months, so they will know what to expect. Don’t neglect to sit down with them and discuss their progress frequently. 

60 - Days

The goals at this stage should focus more on collaboration and taking on more responsibilities.

• Have employee collaborate with other teams while starting to “contribute to the conversation” more often 
• Ask employee to identify issues or pain points with the roles-develop plans to address and fix the issues 
• Set up a regular meeting schedule with teams and manager going forward 
• Get feedback from other managers, co-workers and senior managers on employee’s progress 
• Continue having regularly occurring one-on-one meetings. 
• Meet for informal two-month performance check-in. 
• Continue giving employee assignments that are challenging yet doable. 
• Ask if needed training is completed. 

90 - Days

The goals at this stage are focused on independence. As the employee starts taking on more responsibilities and working on bigger projects, they need to be more accountable for their work.

• Assign projects employee can work on independently 
• Continue to be upfront about expectation and hold employees more accountable for their work 
• Provide feedback about goals/metrics/KPIs going forward 
• Celebrate successes and recognition of employee’s contributions. 
• Have a conversation with employee about his/her experience at the company to date: 
• Extent to which the employee’s expectations of the role align with reality. 
• Extent employee’s skills and knowledge are being utilized and ways to better utilize them; what’s working, what they need more of, etc. 
• Begin discussing the year ahead. 
• Discuss employee’s professional development goals and identify relevant learning opportunities. 

Lauren Sims is the article’s author and the Director of Human Resources.

Whenever you require professional Human Resources or Payroll guidance to navigate the ever-changing landscape of California and Federal Employment Laws & Regulations, contact us for a no-obligation consultation.

eqHR Solutions provides professional, tactical and strategic human resources support; ADP payroll product implementation/training and payroll processing services for businesses throughout Southern California.

Lessons - Google Fired 48 Employees for Sexual Harassment

Companies need to adopt more comprehensive approaches to preventing sexual harassment. A tone needs to be set from the top down. 

Google recently disclosed that they had fired 48 employees for sexual harassment during the past two years and without providing severance packages. The news came after a report that it had protected some male executives facing sexual misconduct allegations and offered them large financial sums to leave the company. 

The announcement seems to be in response to a New York Times report that the company had dismissed the executive in charge of its Android software for sexual misconduct in 2014 and paid him a large severance package to leave. 

The executive in questions claims that he left on his own accord and has never been informed of any accusations of sexual misconduct. He did, however, acknowledge having consensual sexual relationships with Google employees that didn't report to him, but that it was all within the boundaries drawn by Google policy at that time. 

Google adopted tougher policies in 2015 including requiring all of Google's vice presidents and senior vice presidents to disclose any relationship with an employee, even if they don't work in the same department or have any other potential conflict. 

13 of the 48 workers that Google had fired for violating the company's sexual harassment policies were either senior managers or executives. The Google news provides another example of a Silicon Valley culture that for decades has allowed and encouraged bad behavior from a primarily male workforce. 

Google’s headquarters are in California, meaning that they fall under the requirements of having to provide sexual harassment training for its managers. This news, however calls into question how effective sexual harassment training actually is. Sexual harassment training isn’t necessarily successful in changing attitudes or reducing sexual harassment. 

 Suggested Actions that Companies Should Adopt 

Effective training should be interactive, with multiple training methods, including lectures, videos and role-playing. Follow-up after the initial training should include knowledge assessment tests and annual refresher training courses. 

Workplace culture plays a large role in preventing sexual harassment. Some common risk factors for sexual harassment include workplaces where men outnumber women and most supervisors are male. This dynamic can be seen in the Google situation as well as other recent problems at Uber and other Silicon Valley companies. Hiring more women in leadership positions and creating a civil, respectful culture for all employees can help. 

Companies need to be careful not to dismiss complaints as a "he said, she said" situation. Companies need to have clear policies that sexual harassment won't be tolerated and that perpetrators will be punished, but the process needs to be fair to all parties. 

Bystander intervention training can also help create a culture of awareness in the company. Training employees to be responsible for maintaining a safe office environment, even if it means getting involved in certain situations helps enforce the commitment to harassment prevention. 

However, it may be the shift in cultural attitudes toward sexual harassment that may be the most valuable tool in combating sexual harassment by creating a shared sense of public responsibility and accountability. The #MeToo social media messages revealed how many women have experienced sexual harassment. 

Greater public awareness of sexual harassment and more proactive involvement by companies will hopefully reduce the prevalence of the problem of sexual harassment and we won’t see more stories like Google’s. 

Lauren Sims is the article’s author and the Director of Human Resources. 

Whenever you require professional Human Resources or Payroll guidance to navigate the ever-changing landscape of California and Federal Employment Laws & Regulations, contact us for a no-obligation consultation. 

eqHR Solutions provides professional, tactical and strategic human resources support; ADP payroll product implementation/training and payroll processing services for businesses throughout Southern California. 

Best Practices - Employee Interviewing

The job interview is a critical aspect of the hiring and recruiting process. Here are some best practice interviewer tips that you can use to help find the best candidate for your open position.

A key element in conducting an interview is preparation. Most of the time the candidate comes to the interview prepared. They usually arrive with a list of questions and several statements regarding their past achievements. The interviewer should match the candidate’s efforts by spending time preparing for the meeting. A list of questions should be formulated in advance that key into an exploration of the following traits: attitude, motivation, initiative, reliability, planning, insight, as well as their ability to do the job.

• If the interviewer plans to interview more than one candidate, then a rating system should be devised (ranked 1-2-3) that will allow for objectivity. 
• Remember, also, that your job in the interview is not only to assess the candidate’s skillsets, but to sell them on both the opportunity and the agency. 

Define your interview objectives before you start

• The hiring manager as well as the position peers should agree upon: 
• The position's duties and the technical knowledge and skills required to do the job. 
• Success factors: How did previous top performers in this job behave? 
• Performance expectations: What do you expect this person to accomplish? 
• Select your questions in advance 

Pre-select questions that evaluate whether a candidate has those skills and behaviors you've identified as essential for the job. Don't rely on a job description and a candidate's resume to structure the interview. Pre-selecting questions also ensures that interview questions are consistent and fair across all candidates.

You might include some or all of these types of interview questions:

1. Icebreakers: Help to build rapport and set candidates at ease before beginning the formal interview. 
2. Traditional Questions: To confirm that the applicant’s technical skills meet minimum standards. 
3. Situational Questions: Ask candidates what they would do in a specific situation relevant to the job at hand. These questions can help you understand a candidate's thought process. 
4. Behavior-Based Questions: These require candidates to share a specific example from their past experience. Each complete answer from a candidate should be in the form of a SAR response—the complete Situation, Action, and Result. If a candidate skips any of these three elements, prompt them to fill in the blanks. It’s important to really dig into examples and ask questions until you feel you have a good grasp of whether or not the candidate has mastered the skill in question. 
5. Culture-Fit Questions: These will help you select candidates who are motivated and suited to perform well in the unique environment of your organization. 

How to Interview Candidates: The Interview Process & Beyond

Before the Interview

• Put candidates at ease -- do your best to help candidates relax. Make sure each candidate is greeted and escorted, if necessary, to the interview location. Start with an icebreaker.

• Don't judge on first impressions- withhold judgment until you've had the chance to thoroughly evaluate a candidate's capabilities and potential. 

During the Interview

• Tell the candidate a little about the job- start with a brief summary of the position, including the prime responsibilities, reporting structure, key challenges, and performance criteria. 
• Don't be afraid to improvise- plan your questions, but don't feel you must ask only those you've chosen in advance. 
• Listen- a general guideline is to spend 80 percent of your time listening and only 20 percent talking. 
• Take notes- write down important points, key accomplishments, good examples, and other information that will help you remember and fairly evaluate each candidate. 
• Invite candidates to ask questions - Why do they want to be here- is it the challenge of the job, advances in the industry, or something specific about your company? Or is the candidate fixated on salary, benefits, and time off? If the candidate has no questions this should be a red flag, especially for senior-level employees. 

After the Interview and the Debrief

• Let candidates know what they can expect. Be clear about what the next steps will be. 
• Compare notes and reach consensus. The post-interview evaluation is the time to compare notes and advance the hiring decision. Each interviewer should be prepared to back up remarks and recommendations with specific examples and notes from the interview. 
• Deepen the questions as you narrow the field: Subsequent interviews with finalists are valuable opportunities to learn more about them. Consider adding "show me" exercises such as a strategic planning exercise or a "walk me through what you'd do" activity involving a real business challenge the individual would be facing. 

Interviewig Dos and Don’ts

Interview questions that imply preferences to race, color, religion, age, sex, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, and disabled status, are violations of federal and state laws. Questions to avoid include the following subject:

• Age 
• Arrest Record 
• Birthplace 
• Citizenship 
• Disability 
• Family 
• Marital Status 
• Memberships that would reveal race, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, or disability status 
• National Origin 
• Photographs 
• Pregnancy 
• Race or Color 
• Relatives 
• Religion or Creed 
• Sex 
• Sexual Orientation 
• Workers’ Compensation- any inquiry regarding past claims, injuries, etc. 
• Carefully planned questions and a structured interview process that is the same for all candidates will ensure equal treatment of all who apply. Keep the focus on what the job requires and how each candidate has performed in the past. Perhaps most importantly, make fair hiring part of your company's mission and value statement, championed from the top down and an integral part of the selection process 

Lauren Sims is the article’s author and the Director of Human Resources.

Whenever you require professional Human Resources or Payroll guidance to navigate the ever-changing landscape of California and Federal Employment Laws & Regulations, contact us for a no-obligation consultation.

eqHR Solutions provides professional, tactical and strategic human resources support; ADP payroll product implementation/training and payroll processing services for businesses throughout Southern California.

Jennifer Cadena - Newest Team Member

Jennifer Cadena

We are excited to announce the on-boarding of Jennifer Cadena, the newest memember of our team

Jennifer has over 10 years of human resources experience working at various financial institutions and a local university. At the height of her career, she served as the Director of Human Resources for a bank and has worked in specialty areas including benefits, retirement plans, worker’s compensation, recruitment, and employee relations. She also has over 5 years of experience working in an administrative capacity supporting both internal and external customers.

Jennifer actively tutors college students in writing. She earned her MBA with a concentration in Human Resources Management from California State University, Long Beach.

Carolina Romero - newest team member

We’re excited to announce the onboarding of Carolina Romero, the newest member to join our team.

Carolina has over 20 years of experience in Administration and Human Resources.   Carolina has experience working in manufacturing, software training, medical management, auditing and loss control, medical DME supply distribution, retail and most recently working with clients in medical imaging industry. 

Carolina has designed and delivered team-development programs, customized for both large- and small-group presentations. She has been successful in effectively educating and delivering guidelines, regulations, and policies and procedures. 

Most recently Carolina’s focus has been on employee relations, compliance and development and implementation of policies & procedures.

Carolina holds her B.A. in Education with a minor English Literature. She is an active member of Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). BIG PLUS…she bilingual in Spanish!

Unlimited PTO - Is it Right for Your Company?

Unlimited paid time off (PTO) is an increasingly popular option for employers to attract and retain key talent. However, unlimited PTO or vacation is not right for every company and employers must understand how it will impact their companies before they implement. 

Unlimited PTO allows employees to decide when to take time off and how much time to take. The only requirement is to make sure everyone is up to date on the employee’s work and that the employee’s absence will not damage the business. The rationale is that employees will manage their own time well because it is in the best interest of their careers to do so. 

Advantages of Unlimited PTO 

• Frees up staff resources from tracking accrued paid time off 
• Attractive to candidates during recruitment 
• Leads to a more engaged workforce because management is trusting employees to manage their own time 
• PTO is no longer an accrued expense for the organization 
• No rush at the end of the year to take unused time that does not carry over 
• Employees feel more in control 

Challenges of Unlimited PTO 

• Need to ensure that all mandated leaves such as FMLA are tracked and that job remains protected 
• Determine when the unlimited PTO has been excessive or otherwise abused and apply standard consistently 
• Can be difficult to manage and administer for non-exempt employees 
• Some positions may require people to be present 
• Can create tension if workers in some jobs can take more time than those in other positions 
• Employees may have the perspective that the policy removed the monetary value of the vacation days that they have accrued 
• Must pay out all the unused vacation of PTO time they had accrued before the implementation of unlimited PTO—either upon the employee’s departure or on a specific date 
• California employers must ensure that they are also provided the state or local mandated amount of paid sick leave either as part of this policy or separate from an unlimited PTO policy 

An unlimited vacation policy is best suited to work environments that are project-oriented and don't require employees to perform their duties onsite at fixed hours. Communication and preparation are critical before implementing an unlimited vacation policy. 

Lauren Sims is the article’s author and the Director of Human Resources. 

Whenever you require professional Human Resources or Payroll guidance to navigate the ever-changing landscape of California and Federal Employment Laws & Regulations, contact us for a no-obligation consultation. 

eqHR Solutions provides professional, tactical and strategic human resources support; ADP payroll product implementation/training and payroll processing services for businesses throughout Southern California. 

Should You Conduct Exit Interviews?

When an employee resigns, it’s routine to have one last meeting with the employee. Beyond collecting employer property and materials, such as swipe cards, laptops, company-issued mobile phones and keys, exit interviews can be structured to determine why the employee is leaving and how the employer can improve retention efforts.

Effective exit interview questions should be structured with the goal of gleaning information about their separation from the company, and maybe identify policies that need to change or any problems or issues. 

These interviews are presented as no-pressure meetings, because the employees have already terminated their relationship with the employer, so they may be more open about the issues involved. However, there is a school of thought that these interviews are a waste of time, and the information provided may lack credibility. 

Pros of Exit Interviews: 

• Provide the company an opportunity to gain information about the reasons behind employee turnover, which may help to reduce turnover in the future if the information is acted upon. 
• Gather insights into problems in the organization that were not otherwise obvious. For example, they may highlight problems with specific managers. 
• Ideas for additional workplace training that could be useful. 
• Structured to for the employee to return employer-owned equipment and for the employer to provide final paperwork, final paycheck, and information about benefit continuation. 
• Provides a final opportunity to emphasize any obligations the employee may have regarding the confidentiality of trade secrets and employer data. 
• Obtain information about the employee’s new job—and about the new benefits that were attractive enough to entice someone to leave. It may include new insights about what is on offer with other firms. 

Cons of Exit Interviews: 

• Employees may be fearful of burning bridges, which may mean they have little incentive to be completely open. 
• If the situation surrounding the employee’s departure is tense, the exit interview may be tense, too. It could be spreading tension and creating unnecessary difficulty without necessarily having a clear benefit. 
• Even if actionable information is found, if there’s no process in place to follow up and make changes, the point will be lost. Exit interviews need a formal structure and process to follow for improvements to occur in the coming days, weeks, and months. 
• An exit interview may be seen as “too little, too late” by an employee who is leaving, and it could engender frustration that it took leaving to be asked for an opinion. 
• If word gets around that employees who leave are giving input that is never acted upon, that could decrease morale among the employees who stay. 

Sample Exit Interview Questions 

Explain that the purpose of the interview is to help the company improve its processes and retain its valuable employees. Also tell employees that their statements will be kept confidential to the greatest extent possible. 

1. What prompted you to seek alternative employment? 
2. What ultimately led you to accept the new position? 
3. Did you feel that you were equipped to do your job well? 
4. Before making your decision to leave, did you investigate other options that would enable you to stay? 
5. How did you feel about your salary and the employee benefits? 
6. How frequently did you have discussions with your manager about your career goals? 
7. What did you like most about your job and/or this company? 
8. What did you like least about your job and/or this company? 
9. What does your new job offer that your job with this company does not? 
10. Do you have any suggestions for improvement? 
11. Would you recommend this company to a friend as a place to work? 
12. Additional comments about your job or this company 

When an employee is leaving, they may be able to open up about problems they were previously afraid to bring up. The employee no longer has a fear of reprisal, so it may be a chance to get more feedback than an employee would normally provide.

Employers must be prepared that exit interviews may uncover major problems, such as harassment or discrimination claims, that will need to be investigated or acted upon immediately. If the employer does not have mechanisms in place to follow up on exit interview findings, they may want to consider not conducting the interviews. 

Lauren Sims is the article’s author and the Director of Human Resources. 

Whenever you require professional Human Resources or Payroll guidance to navigate the ever-changing landscape of California and Federal Employment Laws & Regulations, contact us for a no-obligation consultation. 

eqHR Solutions provides professional, tactical and strategic human resources support; ADP payroll product implementation/training and payroll processing services for businesses throughout Southern California.

CA A.B. 2282 - Salary Ban - Clarified

On July 18, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed A.B. 2282 clarifying the state's law that prohibits questions about an applicant's salary history. 

A.B. 168 was previously enacted prohibiting California employers from asking job applicants for salary history information. Under this legislation, California employers must provide applicants with the pay scale for a position upon reasonable request. 

The following are the clarifications included in A.B. 2282:

• An “applicant” is an individual who seeks employment with the employer, not a current employee.
• Pay scale is defined as a salary or hourly wage range and does not include bonuses or equity ranges.
• A "reasonable request" is defined as a request made after the applicant has completed the initial interview.
• Although A.B. 168 prohibits employers from asking for the applicant's salary history information, employers may ask about an applicant's salary expectations for the position.
• Clarifies aspects of the Equal Pay Act as well stating that: "Prior salary shall not justify any disparity in compensation. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to mean that an employer may not make a compensation decision based on a current employee's existing salary, so long as any wage differential resulting from that compensation decision is justified by one or more of the factors listed in this subdivision." 
• The factors are: (1) a seniority system, (2) a merit system, (3) a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, and (4) a bona fide factor other than race or ethnicity, such as education, training or experience. 

Hopefully these clarifications will aide employers in navigating the recent legislations. We often receive questions where the employer can ask for salary expectations, and now it is clear that they can which should make recruiters and hiring managers happy. 

Lauren Sims is the article’s author and the Director of Human Resources. 

Whenever you require professional Human Resources or Payroll guidance to navigate the ever-changing landscape of California and Federal Employment Laws & Regulations, contact us for a no-obligation consultation. 

eqHR Solutions provides professional, tactical and strategic human resources support; ADP payroll product implementation/training and payroll processing services for businesses throughout Southern California.

FEHA - New National Origin Regulations

National Origin is considered a protected class by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (FEHA), but beginning July 1, 2018, FEHA has expanded the rules relating to national origin discrimination and addresses specific actions that may constitute national origin discrimination. 

Definition of National Origin

National origin previously was interpreted to mean the country from which the applicant, employee or their ancestors came. National origin is now broadly defined. It includes, but is not limited to, an individual’s or the individual’s ancestors’ actual or perceived: 

• Physical, cultural or linguistic characteristics associated with a national origin group; 
• Marriage to or association with persons of a national origin group; 
• Tribal affiliation; 
• Membership in or association with an organization identified with or seeking to promote the interests of a national origin group; 
• Attendance or participation in schools, churches, temples, mosques or other religious institutions generally used by persons of a national origin group; and 
• Name that is associated with a national origin group. 

Employers with English Only Policies Take Note 

The new regulations expand the existing prohibition on English-only policies in the workplace. Language restriction policies (including English-only policies) are unlawful unless an employer can prove that: 

• The language restriction is justified by business necessity; 
• The language restriction is narrowly tailored; and 
• The employer has effectively notified employees of the circumstances and time when the language restriction is required to be observed and of the consequence for violating the restriction. 

Employers can no longer impose a language restriction that is purely based on customer or co-worker preference. Employers can also never require that employees speak English during no-work time such as rest and meal breaks or unpaid employer-sponsored events. 

Other Considerations 

FEHA Regulations also prohibit: 

• Employment decisions based on an individual’s accent unless the employer proves that the accent interferes with the individual’s ability to perform their job; 
• Requirement of English proficiency unless the employer proves the business necessity of English proficiency; 
• Requirement that the employee can speak, read, write or understand any language, including languages other than English unless if doing so is justified by business necessity; 
• Height and weight requirements that exclude individuals of a certain national origin from being considered for a position unless the employer can show that the requirement is job related and justified by business necessity; 
• Seeking, requesting or referring applicants or employees based on national origin; 
• Assigning positions, facilities or geographical areas of employment based on national origin, unless done to business necessity or any other permissible defense; and 
• Asking about an applicant’s or employee’s immigration status, or to discriminate against an applicant or employee based on immigration status, unless the employer can show by clear and convincing evidence that it was doing so to comply with federal immigration law. 

What is “Business Necessity” under FEHA? 

“Business necessity” means an overriding legitimate business purpose, such that: 

• The restriction is necessary to the safe and efficient operation of the business; 
• The restriction effectively fulfills the business purpose it is supposed to serve; and 
• There is no alternative practice to the restriction that would accomplish the business purpose equally well with a lesser discriminatory impact. 

These new regulations protect both applicants and employees from unlawful discrimination and harassment based on national origin and also to applicants and employees who are undocumented. 

Harassment can take the form of epithets, derogatory comments, and slurs or non-verbal conduct based on national origin, including threats of deportation, derogatory comments about immigration status, or mocking an individual’s accent or language. It also is an unlawful for employers to retaliate against employees who have opposed discrimination or harassment based on national origin; participated in filing a complaint; or testified, assisted or participated in a proceeding alleging national origin discrimination. 

Best Practices for Compliance with the FEHA New Regulations

• Educate HR and managers about the new broad definition of “national origin”; 
• Identify any policies that may be affected by the new regulations, such as English-only policies and height and weight requirements. Ensure the policies demonstrate business necessity; 
• Broaden recruitment efforts to ensure that potential applicants are not being excluded based on national origin; 
• Ensure that employment decisions, including transfers, salary changes, promotions, hiring, and firing are based on objective criteria that are consistently applied; and 
• Don’t use customer preference as a justification for discrimination based on national origin.

Lauren Sims is the article’s author and the Director of Human Resources.

Whenever you require professional Human Resources or Payroll guidance to navigate the ever-changing landscape of California and Federal Employment Laws & Regulations, contact us for a no-obligation consultation.

eqHR Solutions provides professional, tactical and strategic human resources support; ADP payroll product implementation/training and payroll processing services for businesses throughout Southern California.

How to Effectively Use a Performance Improvement Plan

Performance Improvement Plan 

Often when discussing employee performance issues with clients, I ask them if they want to go the progressive discipline route with this employee or do they want to do a performance improvement plan (PIP). Usually when I ask this question I get a confused, look: “what’s the difference between a verbal or written warning and a PIP?”

A PIP is more of a commitment from the manager to help their employee improve, not just a way to begin documenting the termination process.

Performance improvement plans (PIP) are best used in situations where: 

• There an actual performance or behavioral issue that can be documented with a list of performance issues, including dates, specific data or detailed explanations, and any previous counseling given to the employee. 
• The manager is committed to helping the employee improve rather than beginning the process of termination. 
• The performance issue can be improved through a formal plan. Quantifiable problems such as sales goals, quality ratings and quantity objectives are better suited to a PIP than issues suchs as insubordination. 

The employee has not received proper training to succeed and additional training goals can be set to help correct the oversight.

Effective elements of a PIP should include:

• How the employee’s current performance is unacceptable; 
• What acceptable performance levels are; 
• SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) objectives. Typical timeframes for PIPS are 30, 60, or 90 days; 
• Commitments from management on how they will assist employees in achieving their goals. This can include additional training and coaching; 
• Details on how often the manager and employee will meet to discuss progress; and 
• Clear consequences for not meeting the objectives of the plan. 

Once a PIP has been created and discussed with the employee it is now up to the manager to monitor the plan’s progression. The manager should ensure all progress meetings are scheduled and occur on time. Progress toward goals should be documented and discussed, seeking to identify why improvements have or have not been made.

If an employee responds positively an meets all plan objectives, possibly before the expiration date of the plan, the employer should formally close the PIP, recognize the employee's success and allow the employee to continue employment.

If an employee is unable to improve or if his or her performance worsens, the PIP should be closed, and a possible reassignment, demotion or termination should be considered, based on the specific circumstances.

Properly planned and executed PIPs can be an effective way to retain an employee who may have potential but falls short in certain areas and can be an important piece of an employee discipline program.

Lauren Sims is the article’s author and the Director of Human Resources.

Whenever you require professional Human Resources or Payroll guidance to navigate the ever-changing landscape of California and Federal Employment Laws & Regulations, contact us for a no-obligation consultation.

eqHR Solutions provides professional, tactical and strategic human resources support; ADP payroll product implementation/training and payroll processing services for businesses throughout Southern California.

Physical Requirements and Job Descriptions

Physical Requirements and Job Descriptions

(LANGUAGE FOR ADA COMPLIANT JOB DESCRIPTIONS)

Many employers have written job descriptions for positions at their companies. However, most companies don’t realize that including the physical requirements and working conditions of a position is as important as the duties and qualifications. If there are environmental, psychological, and or physiological requirements that applicants or employees must meet, these should be included in the job description.

Documenting the physical requirements and working conditions is useful in determining accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It is also helpful in defending a claim of disability discrimination.  When a charge of discrimination is brought under the ADA, and initial issue will be whether the disabled individual could perform not only the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation but could also perform the physical requirements. 

When listing physical requirements, a task should state that specific physical exertion, such as lifting, standing, bending, or reaching, is required. Remember to consider whether a process is truly an essential part of a task.

When writing job descriptions, it is very important to use the correct language.  Certain words can exclude individuals with disabilities.  It is better to select words that convey the actual requirements of the job without limiting the physical demands to certain abilities.  The following table contains examples of words that tend to be exclusionary and substitutes for these words. 

If a physical demand is not essential in the performance of the job, then reference to that demand should be omitted.

Amount of Time	Wording
None	Omit from Job Description
Under 1/3	Seldom to Occasionally
1/3 to 2/3	Occasionally to Frequently
Over 2/3	Constantly

Physical Demand	ADA Compliant Words	Job Description Language Example
Stand or Sit	Stationary position	Must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time.
Walk	Move, Traverse	The person in this position needs to occasionally move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc.
Use hands/fingers to handle or feel	Operate, Activate, Use, Prepare, Inspect, Place, Detect, Position	Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery such as a calculator, copy machine and computer printer.
Climb (stairs/ladders) or balance	Ascend/Descend, Work atop, Traverse	Occasionally ascends/descends a ladder to service the lights and ceiling fans
Stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl	Position self (to), Move	Constantly positions self to maintain computers in the lab, including under the desks and in the server closet
Talk/hear	Communicate, Detect, Converse with, Discern, Convey, Expresse oneself, Exchange information	The person in this position frequently communicates with students who have inquiries about their tuition bill or financial aid package. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
See	Detect, Determine, Perceive, Identify, Recognize, Judge, Observe, Inspect, Estimate, Assess	Must be able to detect funnel clouds from long distances.
Taste/Smell	Detect, Distinguish, Determine	Occasionally must be able to distinguish sweet and bitter flavors when creating desserts for Applewood customers.
Carry weight, lift	Move, Transport, Position, Put, Install, Remove	Frequently moves Audio/Visual equipment weighing up to 50 pounds across campus for various classrooms and events needs.
Exposure to work environments	Exposed, work around	Constantly works in outdoor weather conditions.

Source: Office of Human Resources - Mott Community College

Lauren Sims is the article’s author and the Director of Human Resources.

Whenever you require professional Human Resources or Payroll guidance to navigate the ever-changing landscape of California and Federal Employment Laws & Regulations, contact us for a no-obligation consultation.

eqHR Solutions provides professional, tactical and strategic human resources support; ADP payroll product implementation/training and payroll processing services for businesses throughout Southern California.

Minimum Wage Changes Effective July 1, 2018 - Are Your Postings Up to Date?

There are multiple labor law and minimum wage changes going in to effect to July 1. This is a good time to make sure all your labor law postings are up to date:

Minimum Wage Changes Effective July 1, 2018

City	New hourly rate
Los Angeles (City and County), Malibu, Pasadena, Santa Monica (26 or more employees)	$13.25
Los Angeles (City), Malibu, Pasadena, Santa Monica (25 or fewer employees)	$12.00
West Hollywood (for 25 or fewer employees)	$12.00
Belmont (all)	$12.50
El Cerrito (all)	$13.60
Emeryville (55 or fewer employees)	$15.00
San Francisco (all)	$15.00
Milpitas (all)	$13.50
San Leandro (all)	$13.00

 New July 1st Posting Requiements

• Santa Monica- 72 hours or 9 days paid sick leave beginning July 1, 2018.

• San Francisco- The Consideration of Salary History Ordinance bans employers—including City contractors and subcontractors—from considering the current or past salary of an applicant in determining whether to hire the applicant or what salary to offer the applicant. The ordinance also prohibits employers from (1) asking applicants about their current or past salary or (2) disclosing a current or former employee’s salary history without that employee’s authorization unless the salary history is publicly available.

Lauren Sims is the article’s author and the Director of Human Resources.

Whenever you require professional Human Resources or Payroll guidance to navigate the ever-changing landscape of California and Federal Employment Laws & Regulations, contact us for a no-obligation consultation.

eqHR Solutions provides professional, tactical and strategic human resources support; ADP payroll product implementation/training and payroll processing services for businesses throughout Southern California.