Chapter 13

Benefits of Flexible Schedules

Benefits 1. Reduced absenteeism Employees can make medical & other appointments outside of work 2. Higher productivity Employees can work when they're at their best and better attend to personal matters outside of work. 3. Longer business hours and better service Staggering schedules should extend operating hours, typically leading to better customer service Limitations 1. Increased overhead costs (e.g., utilities) 2. Coordination problems -Core hours may solve this

Compresses Work Week

Enable employees to perform their work in fewer days than a regular 5-day workweek. *E.g., Four 10 hour days, three 12 hour days Why offer it? *Reduce time spent commuting *Provide more time for dual-career couples who live apart

Banking Hours

Enables EE to vary the # of work hours daily as long as they maintain the reg. # of work hours on a weekly basis

Dual Employer Common Law

Establishes temporary workers rights to receive workers compensation *Temp. workers are ee's of both temp. agencies and the client companies

Pay & Benefits for Flex Employees

Pay *Overtime *Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers need only pay overtime when a covered employee has worked more than 40 hours in a workweek, regardless of how many hours the employee worked each day.

Working Condition Fringe Benefits

Refers to the work equipment (computer) and services (additional phone line) er's purchase for telecommuters use at hoem

Direct Hire Agencies

Temp. EE's typically do not work for more than 1 year

Determining Independent Contractor Status

Three Legal tests to determine a workers status: 1. Common Law Test 2. Economic Realities Test 3. Hybrid Tests (Incorporates 1&2)

Reasons for increase in Contingent Workes

*Recession *Internal Competition *Shift from manufacturing to a service economy *Rise in female labor force participation *Runaway costs to provide ER-Sponsored health insurance

Temporary Employment Agency

*Similiar to leased ee because Manage all HR activites *Lease company placements generally remain for the duration of the lease company's conduct *Take full responsibility for ee

Contingent Workers Facts

*Tend to have less job security than core ee's *More companies using contingent ee to control costs and staffing levels

% of contingent and flextime employees in the U.S. civilian labor force

27.5%

% of employees with access to employer-sponsored health insurance programs

86% of full time ee had access 24% of part time ee had access

Flexible Schedules

Allow employees to modify their work schedules within specified limits set by the employer. *For example: 8 hours any time between 7am - 8pm, which the exception of core hours.

Contingent Workers and Discrimination

Are contingent workers covered under federal discrimination laws? *It depends *Independent contractors are not covered under federal discrimination laws. *However, some states have discrimination laws that define "employee" more broadly than the IRS and DOL. In a recent case by Brown v. J. Kaz, Inc. d/b/a Craftmatic, Brown was able to win by arguing a legal statute from 1866 that "all persons... shall have the same right... to make and enforce contracts... as is enjoyed by white citizens." Refer to the notes below for full case details Temporary and other contingent employees are generally protected by federal discrimination laws, but who can be held liable for discrimination can be tricky. *Again, it depends. *Business may be guilty of discrimination and the agency may also be held liable for upholding discriminatory policies. *Main factor is the extent of the hirer's control over the worker's work performance. In other words, the contingent employee may effectively become the business' employee for legal purposes if the organ. Has sufficient control over the laborer's work.

Flexible Scheduling in CA

California law significantly affects schedule flexibility for nonexempt employees by requiring payment for daily overtime. However, California law, specifically Labor Code §510, requires employers to pay overtime (i.e., "one and one-half times the regular rate of pay") for all hours worked over eight hours in a day and double time for all hours worked over 12 hours in a day. In addition, any work performed beyond eight hours on the seventh day of a workweek must be compensated at two times the employee's regular rate of pay. This law is particularly significant because California law requires employers to pay overtime even if not authorized by the employer. Consequently, employers cannot allow employees to make or shift their schedules in such a way that results in more than eight hours of work each day without paying overtime.

Voluntary Part Time EE

Chooses to work fewer than 35 hours per regularly scheduled workweek

Safe Harbor Rule

Compliance guidelines in a law or regulation

Strategic Issues and Choices in Using Contingent and Flexible Workers

Contingent Workers *Contingent employment allows for lower discretionary benefit cost and provides less generous amounts of such benefits Well-trained contingent workers can reduce training costs Flexible Workforce *The benefits of workplace flexibility, such as enhanced employee morale, improved employee attendance, increased productivity, and improved recruiting and retention, have been well documented (SHRM, 2012). Product and service innovation objectives *Contingent employment could bring in an influx of new employees with new ideas and minimize group think

Core EE vs. Independent Contractor

Core EE entitled to a host of protections & benefits that independent contractors are not necessarily entitled to including: 1. Wage & Hour Laws (i.e OT) 2. Anti discrimination (ADA, Title VII, FMLA) 3. Payroll Withholdings 4. Worker's compensations benefits 5. Unemploment

Common Law

Developed by judges through court proceedings that decide individual cases Main focus is right to control the ee. Behavioral: Does the company conrol or have the right to contol what and how she does it Financial: Are business aspects of job controlled by the payer Type of Relationships: are there written contracts or ee type benefits (pension plan, insurance, vacation pay

Contingent Workers and Retirement/Benefits

Do contingent workers need to be offered benefits? *It depends. *Employers are generally not required to offer protective insurance (e.g., medical, dental, vision, or life insurance) to part-time employees. *However, temp. employees, seasonal workers, and part-time employees may qualify for pension benefits if they are over 21 and completed at least 1,000 hours of work a 12-month period. Does it get more complex? *Yes. Leased employees are generally entitled to participation in the client companies' qualified retirement programs, depending on what the plan documents state. Also, the client companies are responsible for providing leased employees with group medical insurance, group life insurance, educational assistance, and COBRA continuation.

Leased Employee Arrangments

Employ qualified individual and place them in client companies on a long term basis

Part Time EE

Employees who work fewer than 35 hours per week *Voluntary *Involuntary

Core Employees

Have full time jobs (work at least 35 hors), generally plan long term or indefinite relationships with their ers

Economic Reality Test

Helps companies determine whether ee's are financially dependent on er *Can the worker be employed by other er's *is the work relationship for a limited duration *Does the worker have a substancial investing in work facilities and equipment

Right to Control Test

Helps companies determine whether their workers are ee or independent contractors

Temporary EE

Hired to cover for absent ee or for seasonal work *typically hired through a staffing agency *Full or Part Time *Typically Less than one year *Legally employed by staffing firm

Core Hours

Hours when all workers must be present (activity is high)

Independent Contractors

In the exercise of an independent employment contracts to do a piece of work according to his own methods and is subject to his employers only as to the end product or final result of his work *establish working relationships directly with companies on their own rather than through temp agencies

Contingent EE Types

Part Time EE Temporary EE Leased EE Independent Contractors

Telecommuting

Represents an alternative work arrangement in which employees work at home or at some other location beside the office. *Generally spend part of your time working in the office, the other part working at home. When to use it? *Appropriate for work that does not require regular direct interpersonal interactions with other workers. Benefits: Increase productivity, lower overhead costs, recruiting and retention tool. Costs: Social exclusion

Walling v. A.H Belo Corp

Requires ER's to guarantee fixed weekly pay for ee's whose work hours vary from week to week

Job Sharing

Two or more PT ee perform a single FT job

Groupthink

When all group members agree on mistaken solutions because they share the same mind set and view issues through the lens of conformity

Involuntary Part Time EE

Work fewer than 35 hours because they cant find FT job

Contingent Employees

Workers who do not have an implicit or explicit contract for ongoing employment