Becoming One of the Best

You just learned the news: You did not make the list of
Best Companies to Work For. Time to set your goal for next year. This survey
gives you the local pulse and a feel for what your employees are thinking and
what your competitors are doing. Best companies tend to have fewer employee
complaints … and fewer lawsuits. Here are a few other thoughts on how to be one
of the best places to work.

1. Adopt the Is this the right thing to
   do? test. Before you demote, promote,
   discharge or suspend someone, ask yourself if this is the right thing to do.
   Will the employee be surprised? Are you being consistent with decisions you
   made with other employees? Do past performance reviews accurately reflect past
   performance?
2. Avoid recruiting and hiring mistakes. Conduct criminal background checks and contact
   listed references. You will be glad you did. Consistently follow the same
   hiring process for every employee or else jurors (or other observers) may think
   you are unfairly biased. Interview questions about religion, sexual
   orientation, past workers compensation claims or a candidates physical or
   mental health should be avoided. You can ask about previous convictions, but
   not about arrests. Since April 2009, you must use the new I-9 form, which
   requires unexpired verification documents.
3. Avoid mistakes during the employment
   relationship. If you have not updated your
   handbook in the past year, its out of date. Make sure each employee
   acknowledges in writing receipt of your handbook and that the company has an
   open door policy to voice concerns.
4. Train employees on workplace rules. Employers
   must train employees (including management) so they understand the company
   policy against retaliation and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In
   addition, they should know that harassment is not limited to gender but can
   include political affiliation, religion, age, race, national origin, disability
   and marital status.
5. Non-exempt employees get breaks, lunch and overtime pay. The
   Department of Labor is auditing companies to ensure employees get breaks and
   overtime pay. Hire counsel to perform an audit of the companys wage/hour
   practices.
6. Dont misclassify hourly employees as
   salaried employees. Annual audits should
   be conducted to confirm employees positions are properly classified.
7. Give accurate, timely and complete employee performance reviews. Lawsuits can be won or lost based on performance
   reviews. If an employee benefiting from grade inflation subsequently
   experiences an adverse employment action due to poor performance, the prior
   inflated performance reviews will come back to haunt you. Managers must be
   trained to work on performance appraisals in a timely manner.
8. Investigate employee complaints and take remedial action when necessary. Document a detailed summary of your investigation
   and rationale for your employment decision. You will need these records later
   if you are sued.
9. Know the fast-changing employee leave laws.
   The past 18 months brought many changes to employee leave laws. Make sure you
   know what those changes are.
10. Give narrowly focused employee references.
    Defamatory comments about former employees create lawsuits. Provide references
    limited to position held, dates of employment and last salary.
11. Comply with new COBRA. The recent stimulus
    bill changes COBRA coverage, and amendments require every employer to advance
    65 percent of COBRA premiums for nine months for employees involuntarily
    terminated without cause from Sept. 1, 2008, to Dec. 31, 2009. Employers
    eventually get reimbursed through payroll offsets.
12. Do not friend a subordinate. Social
    networking has changed the way some people tend to relate with others. If you
    are a supervisor, think twice before agreeing to friend or recommend
    someone on Facebook or LinkedIn.

D. Michael Reilly, a shareholder at Lane Powell and director
of the firms Labor and Employment and Employee Benefits Practice Group,
concentrates his practice representing small- and large-business employers on
employment litigation and advice. His experience includes claims involving
discrimination, wrongful discharge, ERISA, race, sex, religion, retaliation and
disability claims. He can be reached at [email protected] or (206)
223-7051.