TIP OF THE MONTH: JOBS FOR OTHERS AND JOB SECURITY FOR YOU!

Think about this. Did you ever consider how Ryan Alternative Staffing, Inc. (or any staffing company for that matter) provides you job security while helping others gain employment? Read on...

In recent years on average Ryan Staffing processes 15,000 job applicants and puts 4000 of these to work. Despite being in the "worst financial situation since the Great Depression" we are currently in need of qualified unskilled labor, warehouse personnel and skilled office workers to fill open job assignments throughout Northeast Ohio. If you throw in skilled welders and CNC operators the needs are even greater.

Pretty much everyone needs a job or has a friend or relative in need of employment. Did you ever consider the good you would be doing by referring someone to Ryan Staffing for employment?

I know you are probably asking yourself why should I help Ryan Staffing? And you are probably still wondering how this creates job security. Both are great questions so think about these things before you push the delete button.

1. Everyone needs a job to support themselves and/or their family...you can help!2. Society benefits as whole when people are working and not collecting.3. Local communities, school districts, churches etc. benefit from increased tax revenues and charitable contributions.4. Crime drops when the unemployment rate drops.5. Family members do not have to move away because of no work to be found.

I'm quite certain you can add to this list. But also consider this fact. Whether good or bad, until the economy comes roaring back, staffing companies represent the  hiring method of choice for most employers in need of help but not ready to commit to hiring  full time employees.

So, how does this create job security for you? It's relatively simple. Low unemployment means increased spending which leads to increased economic activity and helps your employer expand. Also, lower unemployment can drive wages higher and open up opportunities for you career wise.

Remember, those that apply with Ryan Alternative Staffing, Inc. never pay a fee of any sort. The only thing they invest is their time. Most of these positions require drug testing and criminal background checking. Starting the application process is as easy as visiting www.ryanstaffing.com or checking us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Your help is appreciated!

Tim's Talking about the EEOC, paychecks and healthcare

TRANSGENDER STATUS AND THE EEOC

Apparently the EEOC does not have enough to worry about. It recently decided that claims of discrimination based on transgender status are actionable against federal agencies under Title VII's sex discrimination provision.

Any bets on what's next?

PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT

U.S. Senate bill S.3220, the so-called Paycheck Fairness Act recently failed to advance forward by a vote of 52-47 (60 votes needed ) during a Senate vote. If passed, this piece of legislation would  amongst other things:

**significantly restrict the factors HR professionals use to compensate their employees 

**authorize the EEOC and the Department of Labor to collect wage information from employers (uggh) 

**encourage employees to publicly disclose the co-workers wages

Specifically according the SHRM the PFA would prohibit employers from using  legitimate factors such as experience, education, training, need, hazard, profitability etc. to compensate their employees.  It would authorize the  these agencies to harass employers with more wage surveys and paperwork about what you pay your staff. And it would encourage your employees to openly discuss their pay with others and make retaliation against individuals illegal.

We already have the Equal Pay Act and the provisions of the PFA would serve no real new purpose.

FEEL TIRED?

The Swedes are working more hours today than at any point in the last two decades...nearly one hour more on average than in 2006. Yes, the Swedish working week has hit a historic high of....26 hours!

With no change in the population the additional hour is the equivalent of 120,000 new jobs. So the answer to solving our high unemployment rate is for us to reduce the workweek in the U.S. down from its average of 36 hours or so.

This will get you re-elected for sure!

APPARENTLY YOU DO NEED TO BE A ROCKET SCIENTIST

It would appear that HR and benefit administrators  don't really have a clue about the federal healthcare reform law.

According to an ADP survey only 40% from large organizations (1000+ employees) are confident of their understanding. The numbers drop to 17% of mid size companies (50-999 employees) and 20% at small companies.

Can anyone spell  R E P E AL!

Update: The Supreme Court approved most of the health care reform mandates after this post was written. Click here to read more about the approval.  

WHAT A WAY TO START THE SUMMER!

It can't be any better than sitting outside listen to the full cast of original living Beach Boys belt out 45 of their greatest hits. That is what Brian Huff, Controller, City of Kent experienced as last month's winner of a pair of tickets the 50th Anniversary Tour of the Beach Boys at Blossom Music Center.

Pet Sounds CD's went out to Mary Jane Hannahs, HR, Kent State University, Joanne Sharpe, HR Coordinator, Infocision, Tammy Langford, Manager, Mill-Pak-Ohio Gasket & Shim, Dale Gresko, Classified Advertising Manager, Vindicator and Renee Jones, HR Manager, Rhiel Supply.

We've had an awesome run of concert tickets to give away as prizes over the past six months or so. Think about...Springsteen, Neil Diamond, Beach Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Frankie Valli. But we are not done yet.

The concert give-away series has one more show to go. We have a pair of tickets to see rock legends Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks sing their hearts out on Friday July 20th at the Quicken Loans Arena.

All that open this month e- letter will automatically be entered to win so good luck and wake up Maggie! 

Tim's Talking about Background Checks, the Beach Boys, Workplace Safety and Social Security

Check Your Checker

The biggest problem with background checks is not in finding a supplier...there are hundreds of them out there. The bigger issue has to do with their accuracy. According to TalentWise the error margin can be as high as 41%.

The reason for this is the large number of  county courthouses (3000+) and the fact that they are not centralized, have unique ways of data sharing and believe it or do not have their the databases available online.

If you need help in selecting a provider you can visit BestBackgroundChecks.com for a detailed directory.

Tip of the Month: Sometimes saving a nickel costs a quarter

The other day a story passed through my e-mail box that detailed the sudden closing of a small staffing business in Pennsylvania. It seems the owners (a husband and wife team) woke up one morning and realized that they could no longer remain profitable because of escalating payroll taxes. They shut the doors that day...after finding other homes for their temp employees.

It was a story that first reminded me why Ryan Staffing made the decision a few years back to stop working in Pennsylvania. If you think taxes are bad for business in Ohio don't try PA. But more importantly it made me think about our ability to pass along increased costs to our clients....it is very hard to say the least.

TIP OF THE MONTH: WHAT'S WORRYING YOU THESE DAYS?

These days whether you are in business for yourself or you're working for the man you have something always on your mind...right?

You worry if your job will be here tomorrow or if your employer will stay in business long enough for you to retire. Trucking companies are worrying about the price of diesel . Best Buy is trying not to go the way of Circuit City. The Post Office is laying off people left and right. You haven't had a raise in five years but you can't move to find a better job cause you can't sell your house.

So, what kind of things do you think us guys in the "staffing industry" are worrying about these days?  I mean what can we possibly have to worry about. After all, a lot of people out there think we have a license to print money. I mean when you pay someone $8.00 per hour and charge $11.20 per hour we are putting three bucks in the drawer for every hour we have someone work..I mean do the math. If it was only that easy.

To make you feel better, I worry a lot...daily, sometimes hourly and at night before bedtime. Let me share. It might make you feel better.

Every day we put out to work about 700-800 employees (that we don't supervise) to work in a variety of positions within a variety of manufacturing facilities doing hard physical labor....in most cases. I worry (and pray sometimes) that they will all arrive back home in the same shape they left before going to work. And when one gets hurt, I don't sleep well until I know the severity of the claim and that all will be good.

We are in a very competitive business. Our clients want our services to relieve many of the hassles hiring on your own brings....they don't want red tape. 

As a result, each and every day we are the bank for all of our clients. We pay all the costs of supplying labor in real time while waiting as much as 30 to 60 days (or longer) to recoup our investment. And because of that "red tape" factor we do this based on good faith ....no contracts or collateral. 

We are the bank that provides unsecured loans. Most of the time it all works out. Sometimes it does not. I worry about getting paid and the consequences of not.

It's not really accurate to say that we worry around here about staying out of jail but with all the mandates required by all levels of government concerning hiring and employment it does cause one to pause.

One only has to look at the size of the wall required to post all the rules and regulations concerning employment practices and employee rights to understand this one. And it is not enough to follow the rules but you have to keep current on the rules and the changes that almost never are communicated to you from the source.

Everyday around here when we pick up our mail the standing line is "did we get sued today"?

In our line of work, our product is having people with the right skill levels available on a moment's notice to go to work for our various clients. It sounds like an easy thing to do with the unemployment levels being what they are locally. Not necessarily true.

The talent pool of available qualified people with a high school diploma, that can pass a drug test and have a relatively clean criminal background is not a big one. And when you discount the folks that are not motivated to work for the prevailing temp wage rate or are collecting unemployment benefits that make it not worth getting out of bed the pool has again been downsized.

So, imagine running out of beer in the third inning of a Cleveland Indians game in July.....that is what not having people feels like around here at times.

And then there is technology and the "cloud" and hoping that we have no glitches in getting 700 people paid every week with the money getting loaded timely on the pay cards. Learning last November that payroll tax rates went up retroactive to the beginning of the year and having to plead for an $.09/hour increase to cover a small portion of the increase... and so on and so on .

What all this means I suppose is that most things in life that are worth doing are not easy. When it gets hard around I tell people that "if it was easy everyone would be doing it." I guess these things are true for everyone one of us....hopefully we don't let it spill over, particularly to you folks that give us the opportunity to worry everyday!

Tim's Talking About Drano Bombs, Top Cities for Temps and Domino's Pizza

TOP TEN TEMP CITIES

I'm not sure what value this information has other than it was a bit  surprising to see what cities made the list. If I was guessing I would have thought some fancy, glitzy touristy place would have made the list...perhaps Orlando but that is not the case.

The top ten with the highest temp penetration rates  according to Staffing Industry Analysts include:

1. Peoria, IL ; 20.7%

2. Portland, OR ; 7.3%

3. Greenville, SC ; 5.7%

4. Niles-Benton Harbor, MI ; 4.9%

5. Gainesville, GA ; 4.2%

6. Grand Rapids, MI ; 3.8%

7. Memphis, TN; 3.6%

8. Fort Smith, AR ; 3.6%

9. Morristown, TN ; 3.6%

10. Mansfield, OH ; 3.5%

The question in my mind becomes is good or bad to be on this lost?

BEWARE OF THE DRANO BOMB

Though not exactly related to the staffing industry it was disturbing to learn about a prankster technique that can cause serious injury. As one that periodically has to pick up a thrown bottle or can from the front yard I read a story about a "Drano Bomb" that was recently discovered in a Cincinnati suburb. Turns out when the police arrived they found ten plastic bottle bombs, eight of which exploded in the street.

Apparently these devices are constructed by taking a two liter plastic drink bottle and mixing Drano with tin foil and water. This causes a chemical reaction that explodes when the bottle is picked up and given a little shake. In 30 seconds enough gas is produced and the acid splashes which can cause serious injuries.

So don't pick up any plastic bottles of this type and call the police for help! For more information you can visit www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/bottlebombs.asp.

ASA INDEX UP OVER YEAR

Staffing employment is up 4.5% since last March. The March index is now at 89 which represents a growth rate of 18.3% since the start of 2012.

While this may be good news to those of us in the temp business, it still indicates a reluctance from employers to commit to permanent hiring due to uncertainty about the economy.

DOMINO'S LATEST IN TROUBLE OVER BACKGROUND CHECKS

A Domino's pizza driver fired in 2009 for no apparent reason is the driving force behind a class action lawsuit filed against Domino's Pizza. Turns out the individual was fired without notice when the company did a check and found several driving violations alleged to be part of his driving record. The company did not follow Fair Credit Reporting Act procedures that include a proper release and the furnishing of adverse records to the individual involved. Turns out the records were not all his.

"Ban The Box" movements continue to pick up steam and if you are a reader of this newsletter you know about the EEOC and their position on the use of criminal background checks used in the hiring process.  Seven states now have laws that limit the use of checks. It is estimated 65 million adults in the United States have criminal records of some sort.

OMAR IS THE TRIBE FAN FAVORITE

I suppose it is not a huge surprise that former Tribe shortstop Omar Vizquel was the runaway winner of our survey to name your all time favorite Tribe player. After all, he was always a favorite of the ladies and he was a model citizen in the community in how he represented the team and the city of Cleveland. And, he was a pretty good player during the best run of Cleveland baseball since the late 40's and 50's.

For playing along, we have three lucky winners of Tribe tickets to the opening weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays including opening day on April 5, 2012. Here goes...

Opening Day...Emily Nordick, HR Manager , SGS-Akron

Saturday April 7th...Charlotte Rowe, HR Manager  Mantaline Corporation-Mantua

Sunday April 8th...Fran Thomas, HR Community Support Services-Akron

Now if we can only get the Tribe to win some games this year will be all set!

Tim's Talking About New EEOC Policies Against High School Diploma Requirements, A Ban on the Crime Box and Joblessness Discrimination

MUST READING... IF YOUR COMPANY REQUIRES A HIGH SCHOOL/GED THE EEOC MAY HAVE YOU IN IT'S SIGHTS.

Last December an EEOC attorney created some controversy via a "informal" policy communication that indicated the EEOC folks take exception to those employers that require a high school diploma or G.E.D.  for employment if it is not related to a specific job.

Specifically, EEOC attorney Aaron Konopasky wrote, "If an employer adopts a high school diploma requirement for a job, and that requirement "screens out" an individual who is unable to graduate because of a learning disability that meets the ADA's definition of "disability," the employer may not apply the standard unless it can demonstrate that the diploma requirement is job related and consistent with business necessity.

The employer will not be able to make this showing for example, if the functions in question can easily be performed by someone who does not have a diploma."

Though unofficial, this statement created quite a stir requiring the EEOC to clarify its position. At the present, employers still have the option of requiring employees to be high school graduates. 

"However, the employer may have to allow someone who says that a disability has prevented him from obtaining a high school diploma to demonstrate qualifications for the job in some other way," according to the agency.

The EEOC has posed a "series of questions and answers" on its website to help you better understand this issue.

OHIO BAN THE BOX EFFORT PICKS UP STEAM

"Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" will soon be one less question facing state job applications according to the Columbus Dispatch. The state will still conduct criminal background checks on applicants but only based on qualifications.

Nearly 1.9 million Ohioans have a crime on their record that causes them problems when looking for a job even though they have "paid their dues".

In addition to the application issue, the Kasich administration plans to review 800 other sanctions that are part of laws that restrict those with criminal records from participation. 

Such restrictions include for example not being able to get a barber license, become a plumber, work in a casino or be a cemetery  security guard.

To find out about these kind of sanctions a database that has been created by the State.

ASA INDEX UP!

The ASA staffing index is up 4.2% from February 2011. The index is at 87. Staffing employment has grown 15.8% since the start of 2012.

Those that follow this column know that historically a rise in the use of temps coming out of a recession is a bullish sign for the economy. Check out these large national temp help firms stock prices year to date for confirmation....

Company                               1-3-12      2-23-12   YTD INC.

                                                 Price         Price

Manpower (MAN)               $37.01      $44.64     20.6%

Kelly Serv(KELYA)             $14.18      $15.78     11.3%

Randstad (RANJY)              $15.86      $18.54     16.9%

Adecco (AHELY)                 $22.12      $25.19     13.9%

YOU MUST BE KIDDING...MOVE IS ON TO BAN JOBLESS BIAS!

A movement is underway to ban jobless discrimination. Legislators of shapes and sizes have become angry with companies that refuse to consider applicants that have been out of work for their openings. It is illegal in New Jersey to use language in ads that discriminate against unemployed people. The Florida legislature has similar legislation pending. And of course President Obama has tried to attach the same to his latest jobs bill.

What's wrong with this you say? Have you ever had that person apply for work that has deliberately taken every possible step to not get the job? Picture the person that comes in wearing sleeveless cutoff sweatshirt with tatoo's out the ying- yang, pierced nose ring, spiked Mohawk, pants falling off and greets you by calling you a dude. Your local biker bar wouldn't hire this person, but if he/she has been out of work for a year and you don't pull the trigger you will be in trouble.

Only in America....and certainly not with government hires huh?

Bruce Springsteen winners are Born to Run to tickets, CDs

It was not surprising to most that Springsteen's Born To Run was the number one fan favorite for those that participated in our Boss survey.

Congratulations goes out to Karen Biscell of Exal Corporation in Youngstown. She is the lucky winner of a pair of tickets to see Bruce rock the Q on April 17th in Cleveland. Five other fans will receive a copy of the recently released Springsteen CD "Wrecking Ball".

We also gave Springsteen CDs to the following readers:

• Ray Sbardella, Safety Manager at  McCann Plastics
• Diane Riley, Office Manager at Ohio Rack
• Lea Papiernik, H R Manager at VinylTech
• Pam Kochman, Corporate HR at Radix-Wire
• Jane Heim, HR at Parker

This month we have decided to take a break from the our concert tour series and move back to that time honored tradition of Opening Day at the old ballpark....Indians style. 

We have a pair of tickets to each of the Cleveland Indians games for their opening series against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 5th, April 7th and April 8th at Progressive Field.

To be entered in the drawing simply click on our Favorite Tribe Player survey and cast your vote for your favorite all-time Cleveland Indian....this is a tough one. Click here to enter.

Good Luck!

Tip of the Month: Hold Harmless Agreements...Who Benefits?

Often times we have clients that ask us to agree to indemnification agreements or what use to be referred to as "hold harmless" agreements.

These type of agreements typically require one party (the supplier) to assume liability for a bad outcome even if the responsibility is not theirs.  The end result is that the party that caused the liability may not be the one that pays for it.

It is understandable why the client company would want such a sweet deal. It reduces risk on their part but is it fair?

Consider the risk your supplier is already taking when it puts its employees to work at your facility. The biggest is the safety and well being of that individual to make it back home every day in one piece...i.e. workers compensation. In a situation where the temp is severely injured because of a negligent act of the client the supplier is on the hook for the workers compensation claim and potentially the cost of defending the client and paying damages for an event it did not cause....it  it agreed to an indemnification clause.

So why would a temp supplier agree to such a clause? Often times it is because of the pressure exerted by the client. It becomes a "we'll take our business elsewhere" situation. Most of the time our client contact is not even aware of the risks that their legal experts are asking us to take.

We recently had to walk away from working with a long time customer that committed to a VMS (Vendor Management System) to manage all of its contingent labor usage. The VMS contract contained an indemnification clause that had the potential to put our entire company at risk.

From our perspective a fair agreement is one that allocate risks to the responsible party. And if the circumstances were reversed, would the asking party agree to the same agreement it is asking of the supplier.

Under certain circumstances a temp supplier that agrees to an indemnification clause could be voiding its insurance coverage. And without being a legal expert it appears that these type of agreements may not be legal in certain states.

When you think about it, how responsible is a company that goes out of its way to shift responsibility to others for its bad behavior? And what purpose does it serve to put your supplier out of business anyway?