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?

Neil Diamond Winners

For our January newsletter, we gave away some awesome prizes, including tickets and CDs from internationally renowned recording artist Neil Diamond.


Check out our list of winners.

Neil Diamond CD winners

1. Susan Lawrence, Account Payable   AGRATRONIX, Streetsboro
2. Gabe Ortenzio, Dillen Middlefield
3. Patti Harrison, Human Resource Manager  Hynes Industries, Youngstown
4. Colleen Maurer,  HR   Paarlo, North Canton
5. Joyce Loychick, Office Manager   Pine Industries, Warren
   

Neil Diamond concert Tickets

AlisonRogers, Human Resources  BJ Alan Fireworks, Youngstown

Probably to nobody's surprise the favorite Diamond song as selected by our loyal poll takers was none other than Sweet Caroline! 

TIP OF THE MONTH YOU ALL USE IT.....FUN FACTS ABOUT THE STAFFING INDUSTRY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Have you ever wondered about the impact the staffing industry has on the working ways of the country. 

Ok, probably most of you haven't but it does play a significant role in how we as a nation staff our places of business. 

My bet here is that everyone that takes the time to read the following list of "did you know's" will find at least one of the facts either interesting, relevant or maybe even a useful piece of information. If you don't, I want to hear from you! Here goes: 

1. In 2010 the average daily employment of contingent labor was 2.58 million. It was 3.21 million in 2000. A total of 9.7 million individuals worked as a temporary during the same year versus 17.3 million in 2000. The average yearly employment since 2000 has been 13.1 million. In a normal year about half of these yearly workers are hired permanently. 

2. While the growth rate of contingent labor bottomed out in 2009 it has been slow to recover to pre recession levels due to less turnover in temp jobs. 

3. If you think you have problems with the turnover rate of temps consider this. Before the recession began the average turnover rate of temps was 328% nationally. In 2010 in had dropped to 277%. 

4. In 2010 one in thirteen of all the workers employed during the year worked as a temporary at some point. Contingent labor as a whole represents only 1.7% of the total workforce. So much for all those that say all the jobs in this country are filled by temps. 

5. At the beginning of the recession in 2008 one in five of all job losses involved a contingent worker. 

6. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics nearly 25 million people in the civilian workforce are now either unemployed or under employed. On top of this, over one million have stopped looking for work. While the population of the United States continues to increase the number of Americans age 16 and over working has declined from 63.4% of the pre recession workforce to 58.2% of the workforce. 

7. According to the Wall Street Journal our unemployment rate will not return to 5.1% (considered full employment) until 2024. 

8. From 2000 through 2010 the average tenure of a temporary assignment was 11.2 weeks. That figure was 12.1 weeks in 2009 and 13.8% in 2010. Clearly the reluctance to make permanent employment commitments is reflected in these numbers. 

9. Full time employment in the staffing industry also took a big hit during the recession. In 2008 the industry employed 310,400. This number declined to 222,700 by the end of 2009. Staffing industry sales also declined significantly dropping from $98.3 billion in 2007 to $72 billion in 2009 before recovering to $84.7 billion in 2010. 

A survey of 13,000 individuals that worked as a temporary reported the following: 

1. About 2/3 of those in the survey rated flexible work time as the most important reason for working as temporary. Nearly 25% have no interest in permanent employment. Six in ten said they took the temp job in hopes of gaining permanent employment. 

2. Of the group 90% said they were satisfied with the staffing firm that employed them. Nearly 91% were happy with the client at which they were assigned and 88% would refer friends. 

3. Eight in ten temps report that the workweek involved full time hours which is defined as 35 or more hours per week. 

From the perspective of the client the following was reported: 

1. The reasons for using contingent labor broke down this way. Fill in for absent workers-80% 

Extra support during busy seasons-72% 

Staff short term special projects-68% 

Source for hiring full time workers-59% 

2. The occupational categories using contingent labor as a percentage of their total employment showed the following. Office and clerical-67% 

Industrial-58% 

Accounting/Finance-28% 

Information Technology-17% 

Health Care-15% 

3. Larger companies are more likely to use contingent labor than smaller companies. For example, 12% of those companies with total employment between 25-99 used temps and 24% of those with 100 or more used. 

4. A McKinsey Global survey of 2000 employers reported that 34% of the survey participants plan to increase their levels of contingent employment. 

5. A breakdown of the least expensive type of contingent labor as reported by a survey of buyers showed the following: Agency temp-56% 

Outsourced workers-19% 

Internal temp pool-18% 

Independent contractor-7% 

6. A similar breakdown on the highest quality source of contingent labor reported: 

Agency temp-32% 

Outsourced worker-32% 

Independent contractor-20% 

Internal temp pool-17% 

7. Buyers reported their future plans for usage of contingent labor for the 2012-2013 period in the following manner: Use fewer-13% 

Use about the same-35% 

Use more-52% 

That's all I got...more than enough for most I'm certain. Now, if anyone made it to the bottom here without finding at least one point of interest or knowledge e-mail me at tryan@ryanstaffing.com and I'll make it right somehow for having wasted your time...really! 

Tim's Talking About I-9 forms, Facebook and the NLRB and a the latest temp staffing numbers

I-9'S AND COMPLIANCE....TIME TO TAKE A LOOK? 

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Secretary John Morton, "We are increasing criminal and civil enforcement....and imposing smart, tough employer sanctions". 

A record number of administrative audits (the tool of choice) were performed in 2011..a 375% increase from 2008. Fines for substantive violations can be as much as $16,000 per violation. Even HR professionals have been arrested! 

So, it could be a good time to review your policies and procedures to make sure they are up to speed before learning the hard way. 

WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT OF COMPLIANCE... 

It would also seem that the EEOC folks were busy in 2011 setting a new record by receiving 99,947 charges of employment discrimination. The agency $455.6 in payments for workers through administrative and court actions which was also a record. 

Charges of retaliation were the most common making up 37.4% of all charges followed by race discrimination (35.4%) and sex discrimination (28.5%). ADA relief was also at record levels taking in $103.4 up 35.9% from 2010. 

FACEBOOK, THE NLRB AND PROTECTED ACTIVITY 

You may have heard that Facebook and the other "social media" crowd have created an entire new concern for employers and that involves the rights of employees to converse about their terms and conditions of employment via the internet. 

While the gripes of an individual have been found not to be protected a Facebook conversation amongst a group of employees over a transfer issue was protected speech. 

While employers can develop policies and rules concerning this subject, the NLRB has come on and warned that "employer policies should not be so sweeping that they prohibit the kinds of activity protected by federal labor law, such as the discussion of wages or working conditions among employees". 

So, before you go and fire somebody for complaining to a co-worker about their rate of pay via the internet you may want to seek counsel. You can also visit the link to the NLRB Report On Social Media for more useful information (www.nlrb.gov). 

TEMPS MAY BE MORE A PART OF THE WORKFORCE THAN EVER 

Traditional theory has always held that temps are in high demand as the economy comes out of a recession only to drop off as the economy picks up steam. Not so perhaps this time. 

Temp jobs have been 15% of the total number of jobs created during the first 21 months of this latest recovery. This is by far the highest percentage experienced in the past six post recession periods according to BMO Capital Markets. One general consensus coming from all the pundits is that 8% unemployment is here to stay for quite some time. 

THINK ABOUT THIS BACKGROUND CHECK SCENARIO 

An individual in his early 20's is convicted of involuntary manslaughter, shooting a man to death 30 years ago who had threatened harm to him and his family. Should you deny him a warehouse position that he is otherwise qualified to perform because of his conviction? 

I think everyone's sense of fairness would say no, yet this situation actually recently took place involving a Pennsylvania staffing company. 

It serves as another gentle reminder that arrest and conviction records being used in the hiring process have come under growing scrutiny of the folks at EEOC. The caution here is against the use of blanket policies that tend to discriminate against certain employee classes. 

Tip of the Month: Sometimes What You Don't Know Can Hurt You

It is that time of year when the words IRS start to become a concern for most of us. Whether it is your own personal tax return or tax issues for the corporation at which you work, the iron fist of the Internal Revenue Service is ready to "make you pay" one way or the other. 

A big topic of discussion around this time of year is the classification of independent contractors. 

According to the folks at SI Review over 25% of their recent survey respondents had no idea at all if all their workers were properly classified. Another 62% were confident that at least some of their workers were probably misclassified. Only 13% were confident that they nailed it and had everyone in compliance with the law. 

So why worry? Well, a whopping 40% of buyers reported that their independent contractor pools have been audited by an outside agency....usually you guessed, the IRS. And, these audits took place within the past six months. This translates in to high risk! 

Consider this as well. If the IRS doesn't get you, the individual just might. How you say? Most often it starts when the "independent" goes to file for unemployment benefits or a worker's compensation claim and is denied. Or a claim is made for overtime pay or other benefits paid to your full time staff. Can anyone say Microsoft? 

What do we suggest you do if you think this may be an issue? The first thing to do is visit the IRS.gov website and take a look at the qualifications needed for an individual to be properly classified as an independent contractor. 

If you think you have a problem, contact Ryan Staffing and we can help you establish the individual as a payroll employee of Ryan Staffing at a rate that is very affordable. This provides continuity of the employee's services and compliance with the law so that you can rest easy. And one less thing to worry about can't ever be bad right? 

Tim's Talking About Business Tax Hike, Manpower in Vietnam and Whistleblowers

THE BUSINESS TAX HIKE NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUT 

As many of you know, the Federal unemployment tax rate is 6.0% of the first $7,000 of an employee's wages which was reduced from 6.2% in the second half of 2011. Employers have normally received a credit of 5.4% from the payment of their state unemployment taxes making the net FUTA rate .6%. 

What you might not know is that because Ohio is one of 20 states that have not paid back borrowed funds from the Federal government that 5.4% credit will be reduced to 5.1% in 2012. This .3% reduction in the credit will continue to take place every year the money is not paid back by the State of Ohio. 

It could be worse. Michigan is now in its third year of "default" and their credit deduction for employers is down to 4.5%. This in effect represents a tax hike for all Ohio employers that nobody is talking about! 

ATTENTION ALL YOU MANPOWER USERS 

I suppose this should not bother me as much anymore. But growing up in the 60's and knowing about all the tragedies of the Vietnam War, I still said ouch when I came across this announcement. 

Manpower Group signs new deal with Vietnam

It seems that Manpower recently signed a new three year deal to partner with Vietnam to continue working to develop that country's local labor market. They are now the first 100% foreign owned employment services company with a license to operate in Vietnam. 

So aside from the war issue, Manpower is now working hard to exploit the low skilled, low wage labor force of Vietnam that continues to take jobs away from the United States. 

Something to think about. 

TEMP OR NOW TEMP YOU JUST CAN'T DO IT! 

This is the message sent out by OSHA recently in a case involving the termination of an employee for filing a worker's compensation claim. That message sent out by the Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA stated, "This case sends a clear message that OSHA will not tolerate retaliation against workers for reporting a work-related injury."

The case involved a Nebraska based Union Pacific Railroad Company employee and was filed as a whistleblower complaint. The company was ordered to pay back wages, compensatory damages, attorney fees and punitive damages. 

You can find detailed employee whistleblower rights information under OSHA at www.whistleblower.gov. 

IF YOU THINK TEMP COMPLAINTS ARE NOT YOUR RESPONSIBILITY...Think again! 

Blockbuster recently settled a discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC to the tune of $2 million that involved alleged sexual harassment and racial discrimination against female temps by male supervisors at one of its distribution centers. 

The incidents took place in 2004 and 2005 and involved seven female temporary employees, four of whom were Hispanic. The alleged acts included sexual favors, offensive racial remarks, yelling and forced resignations among other things. 

The EEOC attorney pointed out that "Employers who are customers of staffing agencies have a responsibility to protect their temporary workers from unlawful discrimination". 

Frankie Vali and the Four Seasons contest winners from October 2011 newsletter

The winner of last month's contest for the tickets to see Frankie Vali and the Four Seasons was Stephanie from Fastener Tool in Solon. As an added bonus, we also gave away twelve Frankie Vali CDs to go along with the tickets to the following readers:

• Charlotte Rowe - Mantaline, Stow
• Cindy Craver - American Way, Lordstown
• Dorothy Mitchell - Xaloy, Boardman
• Debbie Tefs - Hubbell, Wadsworth
• Pam Kochman - Radix Wire, Cleveland
• Ron Serich - Goodwill, Youngstown
• Linda Barron  - Toys R Us    
• Brandon Lands - Hygenic, Akron
• Christine Zaletel - Swagelok, Solon
• John Angelilli - John Zidian Company, Youngstown   
• Don Snyder - Aqua America, Canton