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If you have ever simply watched people at work you will find that many often come in late or miss work entirely for days on end. We may be able to draw a connection in our reasoning that says all these people showing up 10 minutes late can add up to lots of lost revenue for the company. The problem is how to control attendance issues and still treat everyone fairly? A CCH study on unexcused absenteeism indicates that 83% of employers feel that unexcused absenteeism will continue to rise. The problem is that absenteeism costs have been growing which now range around $800 per employee per year. It doesn’t seem like much but when this cost is multiplied by 10 or 20 employees the numbers speak for themselves. Absenteeism and Punctuality Policies Having an absenteeism and punctuality policy is important for any business with employees. Such policies help keep records on missed work time, encourage employees to attend work, and set a case for dismissal when an employee fails to follow the obligation of his/her work terms. The right kind of policy can save your company vast amounts of money as the years go by. The first thing an owner has to determine is what status his employees fall into. Salaried and professional employees are typically considered “exempt” while hourly workers are “non-exempt”. Exempt means that the employees are not based upon their time at work but on the function of their job. They can work longer hours without paying overtime. Non-exempt employees are paid for each minute they are at work and are entitled to overtime pay. Hourly or non-exempt workers can have their pay reduced for anytime they miss from work while salaried or exempt workers cannot. For example, if a salaried worker misses 4 hours a day but has worked any part of that day, their pay cannot be affected. The only time a salaried worker can have his/her pay adjusted is when on a leave of absence or when an entire day is missed for personal reasons. To punish the lateness of a salaried worker by adjusting pay creates a risk of entitling them to overtime. Attendance policies vary from company to company and from state to state. However, the best policies usually have a progressive component to them. For example, verbal warning, written warning, suspension and termination would be part of a progressive discipline policy. The other method that could be used is the point system. As the worker receives points for attendance he/she will incur increase discipline. Once he/she has reached the threshold he/she will be terminated. The use of an absenteeism policy that is progressive ensures that all workers are treated fairly. They are warned each time they are disciplined and cannot claim ignorance. Furthermore, the documentation provided at each level of the discipline gives an appearance of professionalism on behalf of the organization and a sense of fairness to the employee. Salaried workers can be under the same progressive attendance system as an hourly worker. The difference is that they cannot have their pay deducted. One must also consider that salaried workers should be given notes-to-file instead of employee counseling reports (discipline) so that their “at-will” status is not in jeopardy. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics a total of 2.8 million workdays a year are lost due to illness or injury. Recent statistics have shown that the cost of a single employee absent for a day is around $200, a figure that doesn’t include the cost of the actual profit you would have lost due to not getting your products or services finished. Methods of Reducing Absenteeism No-fault attendance policy Progressive discipline Incentives for good attendance Make the workplace more fun Pre-employment physicals and drug tests Conduct employment history investigations before hiring Value the attendance and contribution of each worker Attendance should be included as one of the criteria for raises/promotions Request medical documentation for all unexcused absences Keeping track of your employees’ attendances can be a tough task so you may wish to consider investing in a clocking system, which automates the process of recording the attendance and punctuality of your employees.

A recent study found that workers who called-out sick experienced stress upon their return, and their co-workers were more stressed by the absence as well. More than half (53 percent) of full-time workers surveyed, said their co-workers’ unplanned absences left them with more work to do. In addition, almost six in 10 women (58 percent) and almost half of the men (48 percent) say they felt additional stress after returning to work from an unplanned absence. A lot of people feel that a day off is a good thing. Coming back and really understanding that more than half of the workers feel additional stress was an unexpected result. But it’s an understandable response, as for many employees, their workload often remains the same; they just have one less day in which to complete it. The same can be true for co-workers. It doesn’t mean the work doesn’t have to get done, so someone who is at work has to pick up the slack. Employees and associates are feeling as stressed about it as management is in trying to address the workload. The amount of stress depends on the organization and the job. A hospital, for instance, needs a certain number of nurses and other staffers to do each day’s required work. When someone is absent, someone else must do the work anyway. It does affect other workers and it is stressful. For other types of jobs, such as programmers, managers, and supervisory positions, it’s probably not as critical if somebody misses a day or two because they can make the work up and juggle priorities. In certain jobs, the work itself, the timing of it, is more flexible – whereas for other kinds of job, you are basically there to cover a certain volume of work that comes through the door and get it done. HR executives should make sure their organizations have contingent plans for absence and they should try to manage absence carefully so employees are only taking legitimate absences and not taking the time off when they don’t really need to. Some organizations have labor pools of floaters who can fill in as needed during absences. Some large departments, such as call centers, deliberately tend to overstaff a little bit so managers are assured that the work can get done. Some depend on overtime or temporary services. Also helpful are absence-management tools that allow organizations to track absence and look for patterns, as well as educating HR and managers to ensure workers are offered assistance or intervention, when needed.

Workplace settings have become increasingly attractive for identity theft because criminals are aware of the personal data stored there, such as birth dates, Social Security numbers and bank-account numbers, among others. The annual cost of such identify thefts to corporations and consumers is about $50 billion, and innovative criminals have developed techniques that exclude almost no one from the scourge of stolen information created by the prevalence of personal data. But organizations are becoming more aware of the problem. Just a few years ago a stolen laptop was viewed as a loss of hardware, today, organizations and individuals are acutely more aware that the sensitive data a laptop contains is of different, greater value. HR executives must stop thinking about data protection as solely an IT responsibility. Practitioners need to examine and reinforce physical security practices, both brick and virtual operations. An organization must also be mindful of where sensitive data is stored and who has access to it. Encryption of data, limited access, privacy training and employee-background checks for workers with access to co-workers’ personal information is a necessary requirement. Organizations should also be cognizant of devices that contain personal data, how the data is stored, and even how it’s discarded, Frank notes. By employing data minimization across the organization by collecting only the information you need will help to reduce the risk of ID theft in the first instance. In addition, any collected data should be kept in as few places as is possible and only for as long as is necessary, and disposed of responsibly once it is of no use. Educating employees on appropriate handling and protection of sensitive data is also important. It’s essential that policies, procedures and physical safeguards are in place, understood and enforced. Some individual identity theft solutions offered by organizations as employee benefits are advantageous to employer and employee alike. The employee receives value through access to a solution that helps him recover from the damages of fraud, and the employer is less likely to see productivity slip due to presenteeism. It’s estimated that the average identity theft victim spends 600 hours or more in the course of clearing records, restoring credit and reestablishing credibility. The associated paperwork, phone calls and police reports require an inordinate amount of time, and most of the issues must be addressed during regular business hours. Taking a proactive approach with respect to the potential for identity theft makes the most sense. Pre-breach preparation as a facet of business continuity planning is key to maximizing risk management. Regardless of whether identity theft occurs in the workplace or elsewhere, as individuals grow more expectant of real help as opposed to advice, employer-paid fraud solutions are sure to be recognized as a valuable recruiting and retention tool. If you require further information on access control systems and software, please don’t hesitate to contact us, where a specialist will be onhand to answer your questions.

A court has ruled that the significantly longer leaves of absence required by Reservists is the reason that they do not deserve holiday pay during their active-duty period. Federal employees serving as jurors or court witnesses, on the other hand, do deserve holiday pay. Since many federal employees who have been called to active duty are now serving for extended periods of time, they are seeing a lot of holidays pass by while on deployment. The question is: Do their employing agencies have to pay them for all those holidays? No, said the U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit in a recent decision. The Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act does not require agencies to provide service members on active duty military leave the same benefits enjoyed by employees on court duty leave. In Tully vs. Department of Justice, a returned Reservist contended that the Bureau of Prisons should pay him for the 27 holidays that occurred during his two and one-half years of active duty because it provided holiday pay to employees who took paid leaves to attend judicial proceedings as jurors or witnesses. The Merit Systems Protection Board found that the agency did not have to accord him the same benefits enjoyed by employees on court leave, given the substantially different lengths of absences. The board found that the petitioner’s leave for active service was significantly longer than the typical period of court leave for service as a juror or witness. The Federal Circuit agreed, finding that the USERRA entitled service members to benefits provided only to employees who took leaves comparable to the leaves provided for military service. The substantially different expected durations of leaves of absence for military service and court duty supported the MSPB’s finding that the Bureau of Prisons did not owe the petitioner payment for holidays that occurred while he was on leave without pay to serve on active duty in the Army. The court found that the MSPB appropriately relied on the difference in the expected duration of the two forms of leave in determining whether they were comparable. To keep track of your employees’ holiday pay when they are absent from work either due to court or military service, you may wish to consider investing in a time and attendance system, which automates the process of recording and paying holiday pay to your employees.

The Employment Standards Administration’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) within the Department of Labor has recovered more than $171.5 million in back wages for over 246,000 employees in fiscal year 2006. The number of workers who received back wages in the fiscal year 2006 has increased by 2.3 percent over the number in the fiscal year 2005. In addition, the agency concluded 31,987 compliance actions and assessed nearly $7.9 million in civil money penalties. Of the 246,00 employees who have collected back pay, more than 222,000 of these were eligible due to violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Of particular note were the regulations concerning minimum wage and overtime, which when combined, tallied an astonishing total of $135,729,003. Low Wage Industries The WHD have remained true on their stance of pursuing low-wage industries who are notorious for non-compliance with federal and state regulations. Industries such as agriculture, restaurants, and health care are among the worst in the US for employing young and immigrant workers. The fiscal year 2006 has seen the WHD collect nearly $50.6 million in back wages for around 86,700 workers in low-wage industries – an increase of over 10 percent compared to the previous fiscal year. Over a third of WHD enforcement resources are attributed to investigations in nine low-wage industries, which include day care, restaurants, janitorial services, and temporary help. Child Labor A total of 3,723 minors were found illegally employed during the fiscal year 2006. The majority of these violations occurred when workers under the age of 16 worked too many hours, too late at night, or too early in the morning. In total, nearly $3 million was generated in child labor civil money penalties by the WHD. Fiscal Year 2007 Initiatives The long-term reconstruction of the Gulf Coast region will necessitate a strong and continuing WHD presence for the foreseeable future. Throughout the next several years, WHD will continue to allocate enforcement resources to the region, explore new strategies and partnerships to reach vulnerable workers, and pursue all opportunities to meet any new compliance challenges that may arise along the US Gulf Coast. In addition to this effort, each state represented within the WHD has planned regional and local initiatives for the fiscal year 2007. These initiatives utilize the strategies of compliance assistance, partnerships and alliances, and enforcement to increase compliance with the FLSA in low-wage industries. With compliance to state and federal legislation likely to get tougher in the future, you may wish to consider investing in a time and attendance system, which automates the process of recording and paying wages to your employees.

A petroleum distribution plant, which has a number of locations across New York, has agreed to pay 767 employees a total of $900,000 in back wages. Chestnut Petroleum Dist. Inc., which has 37 gas station / convenience stores located throughout the state of New York, has also agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty to the federal government. This settlement follows an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division of the DoL, which alleged a number of violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is the latest in a spate of lawsuits raised by the US Department of Labor, and has revealed that, in many workweeks during the period between April 20, 2003, and May 28, 2006, employees at various locations within the Chestnut Petroleum Dist. Inc. corporation were paid less than the federal minimum wage and were not properly compensated for overtime hours worked. The investigation also disclosed that the employers failed to keep required records that showed, among other things, the hours worked each day, total hours worked each week and rates of pay for many of the employees. The FLSA requires that covered employees be paid at least the applicable minimum wage as well as one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 per week. The law also requires that accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment be maintained. A consent judgment, signed by US District Judge Stephen C. Robinson on March 30, 2007, prohibits the defendants from committing future violations of the minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and anti-retaliation provisions of the FLSA. Further, the judgment orders the defendants to pay minimum wage and overtime back wages totaling $850,000 combined, plus interest, to the majority of the workers, and to pay $50,000 combined to two employees who were unlawfully fired. Also, the defendants must pay a civil money penalty of $100,000 to the Labor Department. Finally, the court has ordered the defendants to expunge from their employment records all references to the actions taken against the two wrongfully fired employees and to implement a compliance program designed by the Labor Department to ensure their future compliance with all requirements of the FLSA. With compliance to state and federal legislation likely to get tougher in the future, you may wish to consider investing in a time and attendance system, which automates the process of recording and paying wages to your employees.

One thing users who are nervous about using fingerprint technology often don’t realize is that once their fingerprint is scanned for use in security applications, it is not saved. Only the specific pieces of data are stored, which are used to construct an algorithm. If one were to conduct a survey of technology publications over the past decade or so, it’s a good bet there would be at least one instance in each of those years in which someone declared that “this is the year of biometrics.” Full of promise but long constrained by a diverse set of obstacles, biometrics – or the use of body or physical characteristics for secure authentication and identification – has not yet lived up to the hype. Yet, lest we let 2007 slip by without the required declaration, let it be know that, indeed, this may well be the year biometrics takes hold on a broader scale, particularly its uses in security applications. Widely Varying Attitudes Biometrics is a very sexy technology – the challenge is having a workable, cost-effective system. The opportunity cost can be high, because money could always be spent on other, more proven technologies. The bottom line is, does it really enhance the customer experience enough to make them bother with it? Most folks are probably thinking, ‘I’m perfectly happy doing it the way I already do.’ Interestingly, those consumer attitudes toward biometric technology seem to be very culturally based, with acceptance rates much higher in some countries than in others. In places like Latin America, Europe and Africa, people don’t have this notion of Big Brother watching that Americans sometimes do, to them it’s just a convenience. In the Enterprise Enterprises are also increasingly making use of biometric technologies internally, particularly for access control. While current estimates cite adoption at less than 20 percent of corporations worldwide, the prediction is that in two to three years, that will increase closer to one third. Smart cards and one-time passwords, meanwhile, will reach about 50 percent adoption. In the government, a personal identity verification system is currently being implemented that will require all federal workers and contractors who require unescorted access to present a smart card with a chip on it that includes two fingerprints. Once it’s in place, it is estimated that it will touch six million military staff and civilians. Biometrics in the Future? The market is definitely picking up. As the government implements more programs, people will become more comfortable and familiar with biometrics. It’s a pretty exciting time.

A survey of teenage workers found numerous violations of federal laws, and a new strategy to combat the problem is being called for. Some experts say much of the problem may stem from unsophisticated employers unaware of the multitude of state and federal laws. Although enforcement of child labor laws remains a widespread concern, there’s no quick fix to the problem. A recent national survey of teenage workers found numerous violations of federal laws, including performing unlawful or unsafe tasks as well as working late on school nights. In addition, one-third of the teenagers said they had received no job-safety training, according to the survey by the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center of 866 teenagers working in the retail and service industries. The Department of Labor must identify violators and potential violators and make it clear that violations will not be tolerated by bringing the hammer down on some of these employers. Workplace fatalities in 2005 went up dramatically over 2004 for workers under 16 years of age. Each year, hundreds of thousands of U.S. teens are injured in the workplace and 70 die from those injuries, according to federal statistics. The Department of Labor needs to be a teen worker’s advocate and ought to take a vigorous proactive position. Among teens who work in grocery stores and restaurants, 47 percent said they had performed tasks prohibited by law for employees under 18, according to the survey. Youth and inexperience also puts teenagers at a disadvantage when they’re asked to do something unsafe or illegal. Rather than willfully disregarding laws, variations in regulations from state to state may create a scenario in which employers may be unaware of specific regulations – there’s not a universal federal standard that always applies. Employers who do not restrict work hours as permitted by law create the “most logical” scenarios under which a lawsuit might be filed. More than 2.3 million 16- and 17-year olds worked in the United States in 2005, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Statistics for younger working adolescents are unavailable. Employers need to know and comply with laws, identify safety and health hazards, provide appropriate supervision, label equipment teens may not use, train teens to use safe procedures, make teens aware of tasks they may not perform and report all injuries. In order to remain compliant with developments to child workplace laws, you may wish to consider investing in a time and attendance system, which automates the process of recording your employees’ clocking data and warns you against working time infringements of your workers.

A majority of consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom are so worried about the security of their personal information that they overwhelmingly want companies and their governments to turn to biometrics to protect them. A recent survey has shown that 63% of consumers in the United States believe that the rise in identity fraud and the insufficient protection of personal information will become a “significant security threat” in the near future. The same number also believe financial institutions and the government are not doing enough to stop the threat. That sentiment is even stronger in the UK, where 87% of consumers feel the same way. There, biometric technology – in particular fingerprint biometrics – is increasingly being implemented in security solutions, such as access control. In the United States, 69% of citizens want banks, credit card companies, health care providers, and government agencies to adopt biometric technologies, rather than other security technologies like smart card readers and passwords. In the United Kingdom, the number is even higher, coming in at 92%. While usually effective as a first line of authentication, the primary drawback of both passwords and tokens (such as smart cards) is that each relies on either something you know or something you have. There is no way of verifying that the person presenting the token or typing the password is the one authorized to access a building or network. Using passwords and smart cards together provides a higher confidence level, and is being turned to more and more in situations when an organization requires increased security. The study also shows that nearly 85% of consumers believe US border security is inadequate, and only half think the US government is making security a priority. Fifty-one percent think technology “plays a significant role in ensuring homeland security” and that biometrics is one of the best methods the government could use. There has been a consistent outcry among consumers for more effective technologies, such as biometrics, that will better equip businesses and government organizations to protect and verify personal information in a way that’s reliable and convenient. Consumers are concerned that current security processes at our nation’s airports and borders are inadequate, which likely will result in even more widespread adoption of biometrics within these areas. The increased enthusiasm for biometric technology has spurred Tensor Time Systems Inc to offer access control, and time attendance systems that combine RF smart cards with fingerprint biometrics. If you require further information on these products, please contact us.

Only 14 percent of workforces have employees who are enthusiastic about their jobs, according to a recent survey, which found that employee attitudes toward their jobs and work environments are largely a result of tenure on the job rather than generational or age differences. Both younger employees, ages 25 to 34, and older employees, 55 and older, show sharp declines in their satisfaction from their first year of employment. The study of over 64,000 workers focused specifically on equity – or being treated fairly with respect to the basic conditions of employment, cited as being a significant element of job satisfaction. Company culture – or how management treats employees, and management’s attitudes and behaviors toward workers – determines how much of a downturn in enthusiasm there will be. Older employees start new jobs with the same hopefulness as younger workers. They have the same fundamental needs as younger employees, and their level of enthusiasm depends on how well their needs are met as they move through the various stages of their employment life cycle. Many factors affect the needs and expectations that workers bring to new jobs, including previous work experience, career stage and life stage. Regardless of age, there is commonality among workers regarding their visions of “quality employment” or “good jobs”. Employees of all ages want opportunities to learn new things on the job, and want to feel respected for their potential as well as their contributions. Only 14 percent of organizations have enthusiastic work forces, of which more than 75 percent of employees are satisfied overall and less than 10 percent are dissatisfied. Unfortunately, it is the management who unwittingly de-motivate employees and diminish their enthusiasm. Many companies treat employees as disposable as paper clips – when the going gets tough, workers become expendible. In addition, employees generally feel that they receive inadequate recognition and reward for their contributions. Despite the inevitable stresses and strains, employees can remain committed to their relationship with the organization if they feel that they are trusted, respected, challenged to grow and supported so that they can be successful at work. One of the priorities of today’s workforce is having access to the types of flexibility that help them manage their work responsibilities as well as their personal / family responsibilities. Flexibility affords employees some choice and control, which is consistent with a culture of respect. Whilst unable to offer services to increase employer : employee relations, Tensor Time Systems Inc manufacture and supply clocking systems, which are fully customizable to accomodate specific flexi-time arrangements within your workforce.

Whilst the recent boost to Ohio’s minimum wage is welcomed by those receiving it, it is another matter for businesses caught out by the changed regulation. For the average small business employing 40 full- and part-time workers is likely to see a change in their wage bill of around $1,000 a month. This has been the first minimum wage hike in the state of Ohio since 1996, and sets wages at $6.85 per hour – an increase of 33% over the previous minimum of $5.15. The increase in the minimum wage was approved on Nov 7 2006 by Ohio voters in a constitutional amendment, which also calls for annual boosts tied to inflation. The result of this new piece of legislation has resulted in a large number of business owners feeling hard done by. Many believe that wages should be determined by the free market and not simply the result of a one-off vote. Adjustment is now needed by companies and organizations in order to absorb this wage increase, which is more than likely going to come in the form of price increases. Companies have warned that overtime hours for full-time members of staff are likely to be slashed to compensate for losses accrued by the wage hike. The total effect of the wage increase is unlikely to be known for the next couple of months as businesses adjust to their increased overhead costs, however it is likely to push the cost of living up for residents across the entire state of Ohio. Wage Statistics There are more than 5.34 million employed people in Ohio, with 50 percent of those workers making less than $14.07 per hour. The average hourly salary is $17.44, and average annual salary is $36,270. There are more than 130.3 million employed people in the country, with 50 percent making less than $14.15 per hour. The average nationwide hourly salary is $18.21, and average annual salary is $37,870. In Ohio, there is an estimated 26,000 people at $5.15, the previous minimum wage. With changes in state regulation an inevitable part of the future, you may wish to consider investing in a time and attendance system, which automates the process of recording and paying wages to your employees.

It has been announced that the retailing giant Wal-Mart have agreed to pay $33.5 million in back wages plus interest to settle a federal lawsuit, which accused the company of violating overtime laws involving 86,680 workers. Officials from the US Labor Department said that many of the violations involved failing to pay time-and-a-half premium pay to managers and programmers in training. Some other salaried non-managerial employees had also not been paid the correct amount of overtime when they worked more than 40 hours a week. Wal-Mart was also accused of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) – a federal law that governs overtime – by failing to properly include factors such as bonuses when calculating the base wage to which the time-and-a-half rate corresponds. The settlement paid by Wal-Mart is one of the largest ever reached by the FLSA. More than 40 state lawsuits have been filed against Wal-Mart, most of them still pending. Most of the accusations revolve around the retailer making employees work off the clock and for refusing to pay employees the overtime they had earned. Wal-Mart officials have been keen to point out that it was Wal-Mart itself who alerted the Labor Department to the overtime problems after finding them in an internal audit and has stringently denied any wrongdoing and liability whatsoever. Following the closure of this particular lawsuit, the average compensation for the nearly 87,000 employees will be around $375, with 75 employees receiving more than $10,000 in back wages. Of course, whilst not guaranteeing that each employee will clock in correctly, it may be within your organization’s interest to invest in a time and attendance system, which automates the process of recording and paying wages to your employees. Many companies have stumbled in calculating the base pay for establishing overtime pay. An often complicated piece of legislation, it was deemed in this case that Wal-Mart hade made improper and illegal calculations by computing pay on a biweekly rate rather than a weekly rate. In addition, vacation and sick pay had been used to determine the base hourly rate, which resulted in a lower value.