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<b style="color: blue">Human Resource Associates</b>
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<span class="heading">HR - On The Job</span>
<p class="issue">The Company Christmas or Holiday Party</p>
<p>December is the magic month, the center of the American holiday season. Most companies will be hosting an employee party this month. If you're one of those companies, good for you and thanks for adding to the magic. But it can also be one of those good deeds that will not go unpunished.</p>
<p>Planning your party requires some serious thought ahead of time so that you won't be facing serious problems later, particularly with legal ramifications later. Here are several key issues for you to consider:</p>
<p class="section">The Title</p>
<p>Is it a 'Christmas' party or a 'Holiday' party? There is no law that forbids or requires either title. If you view this as being too politically correct and you feel that no one will be offended, you may decide to call it a Christmas party. If diversity, inclusion or defensive avoidance is your focus, you may decide on Holiday. What do your employees say? This party is for them.</p>
<p class="section">Serving Alcohol</p>
<p>Many Court rulings have held that persons (and employers) who serve liquor may be held liable to guests and third parties as a result of accidents and injuries caused by intoxication. So you may not want to serve alcohol at all. But if you do, here are some practical tips to consider:</p>
<ul>
<li>Make sure that employees have received a copy of the company's substance abuse policy.</li>
<li>Consider having the party off the premises and on non-working hours.</li>
<li>Since buying the liquor can also make you liable for damages, consider allowing employees to bring their own, possibly as a collective effort.</li>
<li>Control the flow. Limit those who overdo it. A two drink limit is workable. Consider having a professional bartender who knows how to do that.</li>
<li>Consider closing the bar early and focus on food, music and fun.</li>
<li>Establish designated drivers who will not drink and will provide transportation to anyone who needs it.</li>
Also
<li>Do not conduct company business at the party.</li>
<li>Don't require attendance. Don't even recommend it. Invite them and make it voluntary.</li>
</ul>
<p>A survey on office party drinking by M. Lee Smith publishers resulted in following answers to the question: Will your company serve alcohol at its Christmas party?</p>
<span style="float: left">No Alcohol</span><span style="float: right">39%</span><br />
<span style="float: left">Yes</span><span style="float: right">26%</span><br />
<span style="float: left">Yes, But With Limits</span><span style="float: right">20%</span><br />
<span style="float: left">No Party</span><span style="float: right">9%</span><br />
<p class="section">Sexual Harassment</p>
<p>As always, sexual harassment can be a complicated and divisive issue. For example, imagine that an employee felt compelled to be at the party, either because he felt it was required or that attendance was important to his career. Further, imagine that the company provided alcohol, and he drank to excess and, in this actual case, raped a co-worker. The employee went to jail, the court ruled that this was a work related event and the company paid out a great deal in damages.</p>
<p>Post your sexual harassment policy, assure that all employees have read and understand it. No sexual harassment!</p>
<p class="section">Workers' Compensation</p>
<p>Some states have specific laws saying that company parties are not covered under workers compensation (WC). Whether a state does or does not have this law, if the party is considered to be work related, the employee may claim WC or sue in court. How does WC or the court decide if a company party is work related? Here are the questions they tend to ask:</p>
<ul>
<li>Was the function on company premises?</li>
<li>Did it take place during company or work hours?</li>
<li>Were employees paid for attendance?</li>
<li>Was attendance mandatory or strongly encouraged?</li>
<li>Did this function further the company's business interests? (Example: Were customers invited? Did marketing or business take place?)</li>
<li>Was the cost deducted as a business expense?</li>
</ul>
<p>If the answer is yes to several of these questions, your function may be considered a work related event. If yours looks like a work-related event, that doesn't mean that you should cancel the party or even change it. It just means that you must be doubly sure that it is safe and that everyone gets home in good shape.</p>
<p>I might just mention that making a fool of yourself and laughing at the boss's bald head won't get you a WC case but it might get you some unemployment checks. </p>
<p>We here at Planet and HRA want you to have a job and a company to come back to. Have a good time but give careful consideration to what's involved in hosting an office party and/or to your conduct during the party.</p>
<p>OK, my Scrooge duties have been completed. Happy Everything To Everybody!</p>
<hr />
<p align="center"><b><i>Have an employment question?</i></b></p>
<p align="center">Send it to <a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=From HR On The Job">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p align="center">Please include Company Name and Association in your e-mail. Company identification will be kept confidential.</p>
<hr />
<p class="heading">Hitchhiking on the Information Highway</p>
<p><b>Dateline:</b> December 2009</p>
<p><i>(Note: Although we attempt to provide the HRU update on the first of each month, we are normally delayed awaiting the release of several monthly government statistical reports. We will hereafter update the information as each report becomes available without waiting for all of them to be released.)</i></p>
<p class="section">IRS Lowers Mileage Rate Allowance for 2010</p>
<p>The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the new mileage rate allowance for 2010. For the second year, the allowances have been lowered.</p>
<span style="float: left">2010 Business miles allowance</span>
<span style="float: right">.50 cents per mile (formerly .55 cents)</span><br />
<span style="float: left">2010 Medical or Moving miles allowance</span>
<span style="float: right">.16 cents per mile (formerly .24 cents)</span><br />
<span style="float: left">2010 Charitable Services miles allowance</span>
<span style="float: right">.14 cents per mile (unchanged)</span><br />
<p>The independent firm Runzheimer International conducted the annual study which is intended to calculate the total costs of operating a vehicle including fuel, maintenance and depreciations etc. There are however, several restrictions:</p>
<ul>
<li>If you use the IRS mileage allowance, you may not use any other form of deduction allowance.</li>
<li>If you pay your employee the IRs mileage allowance for him/her using their personal vehicle for company business purposes, the employee may not use any other form of deduction for that vehicle.</li>
<li>The business rate may not be used for any vehicle that is used for hire (taxicabs, trucks for rent etc).
The IRS tax rate may not be used for more than four vehicles.</li>
</ul>
<p>The company or taxpayer also has the option of calculating the actual cost of fuel, maintenance, repairs, taxes, depreciation estimates etc.</p>
<p class="quote">"When there is no penalty for failure,<br />
Failure will proliferate"<br />
- George Will</p>
<p class="section">Dead Beats R US</p>
<p>Did you ever wonder about that employee who came with such outstanding references but after 5 months still can't to seem to find his butt with both hands? Or how about the employee who's missed so much work but yet his excuses were so good, so authentic that you felt ashamed to question them? You may be a victim of a new service that dead-beat employees are finding useful.</p>
<p>Some employees are always looking for excuses for not showing up at work and some ex-employees are always in need of references from former companies they never worked for. Now there's a growing industry that wants to supply those needed services. Although we're not going to reveal the names of such companies (you wouldn't want that kind of temptation), we can tell you something about how they work.</p>
<p>One company offers quality excuses for your absence from work (or in some cases absences from home) for a subscription fee and monthly payments. They will provide doctor's statement, phony hospital records, accident reports, phony phone numbers where real people answer and impersonate doctors, or business representatives. They will initiate phone calls or send faxes to the employer to seem more authentic. They provide background noises or sound effects with their phone calls befitting your specific excuse. Attempts to pursue these companies with legal charges have so far been unsuccessful.</p>
<p>But the demand for these services is growing and now includes job references. One specific company charges $65 down and $20 a month for continuing back-up services. They supply fraudulent job references on a grand scale. In addition to glowing reference letters, they supply check stubs and fraudulent websites and emails responses. The dead beats refer to their vendors as "virtual companies". Their customer (the candidates) is supplied with a fake "800" number that directs an employer checking references to a computerized operator. After the operator takes the message, the "virtual company" sends out an employment verification form and questionnaire to the potential employer who gives it to the job seeker. After he/she fills it out, the potential employer returns it to the virtual company which then sends you a phony reference.</p>
<p> Such companies aren't incorporated in any state and often use names that are similar to actual companies. This allows them to use the actual company's website as a front for their phony "virtual company".</p>
<p>One investigator attempting to gather incriminating evidence signed up and asked if he could get their help in obtaining a job as a lawyer or doctor with the federal government. They said that no government jobs were possible but that nothing else was off limits.</p>
<p>Tips to avoid becoming a victim:</p>
<ul>
<li><i>Look up the company's website.</i> Call the number on that site. If it's a computerized number try a few numbers or hit "0". If things don't work or seem fishy select a different entry or ask someone to transfer your call to HR.</li>
<li><i>Insist on talking to a real person.</i> Fake companies avoid live conversations and insist on using written questionnaires.</li>
<li><i>Create a paper trail</i> by using e-mail.</li>
<li><i>Ask the company what state they are incorporated in.</i> If they don't answer that's a big red flag. If they do answer, heck the Secretary of State's corporation database to verify. Each state provides their own.</li>
</ul>
<p>If it all seems like too much hassle, maybe the phony employee will really work out okay. You can hope.</p>
<p class="quote">"I used to work at the unemployment office. I hated that because<br />
when they fired me, I still had to show up at work"<br />
- Wally Wong</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: center"><sub>� William J. Cook</sub></p>
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<span class="heading">Labor Stats</span>
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<b>Federal Minimum Wage</b>
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<p align="center">
<b>$7.25</b>/hour<br />
</p>
<hr />
<b>Average Income</b>
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<p align="center">
<u>Hourly</u><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>November 2009</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$18.74</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>November 2008</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$18.34</b></span><br />
</p>
<p align="center">
<u>Weekly</u><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>November 2009</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$622.17</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>November 2008</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$612.56</b></span><br />
</p>
<hr />
<b>Federal Povery Level</b>
<hr />
<p>
<span style="float: left"><i>one person</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$10,830</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>family of four</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>$22,050</b></span><br />
</p>
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<b>IRS Mileage Allowance</b>
<hr />
<p align="center">
As of <b>January 1, 2009</b><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>business</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>50</b> cents/mile</span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>medical or moving</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>16.5</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>charitable</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>14</b></span><br />
</p>
<hr />
<b>Postage</b>
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<p align="center">
<span style="float: left"><i>1 oz</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>44</b> cents</span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>postcard</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>28</b></span><br />
</p>
<hr />
<b>Population</b>
<hr />
<p align="center">
<span style="float: left"><i>world</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>6.8 billion</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>U.S.</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>307.8 million</b></span><br />
<i>one birth every </i><b>7</b><i> seconds;</i><br />
<i>one death every </i><b>13</b><i> seconds;</i><br />
<i>one new immigrant every </i><b>35</b><i> seconds;</i><br />
net gain: <i>one person every </i><b>11</b><i> seconds.</i>
</p>
<hr />
<b>U.S. Civilian Workforce</b>
<hr />
<p align="center">
<u>November 2009</u><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Total</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>153,975,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Employed</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>138,275,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Unemployed</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>15,702,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Want A Job</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>5,995,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Unemployment Rate</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>10.2%</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Absentee Rate</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>3.1%</b></span><br />
<span style="float:left"><i>- Female</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>4.2%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>- Male</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.3%</b></span><br />
</p>
<p align="center">
<u>November 2008</u><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Total</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>154,878,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Employed</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>144,675,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Unemployed</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>10,221,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Want A Job</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>5,065,000</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>Unemployment Rate</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>6.6%</b></span><br />
</p>
<br /><hr />
<b>U.S. Workforce Productivity</b><br />
<sub><i>(The amount of goods produced, divided by the number of work hours it took to produce it)</i></sub>
<hr />
<p align="center">
<span style="float: left"><i>1992</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>3.7%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1993</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>0.5%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1994</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>1.3%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1995</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>0.9%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1996</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.5%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1997</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.0%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1998</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.6%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>1999</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>3.3%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2000</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>3.4%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2001</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.9%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2002</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>4.6%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2003</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>3.7%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2004</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>2.8%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2005</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>1.7%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2006</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>0.9%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2007</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>1.9%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2008</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>1.8%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2009 1st quarter</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>0.3%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2009 2nd quarter</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>6.9%</b></span><br />
<span style="float: left"><i>2009 3rd quarter</i></span>
<span style="float: right"><b>9.5%</b></span><br />
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