Tip of the Month: Drug Testing and the Temp

Consider the following:

• The cost of alcohol and drug abuse in our society is $237 billion annually
• About 75% of all illicit drug users in the U.S. are employed

These two points alone form a basis for you and your staffing supplier to support Drug Free Workplace initiatives.

As part of our Drug Free Workplace Policy we require post accident drug testing. Several times each year we experience positive post accident test results. This will form the grounds in most of these cases for our rejection of the claim.

Some of the hoops we must go through to successfully defend a positive drug test claim are the result of the Ohio Supreme Court ruling involving the burden of proof and probable cause. Because we have no presence at the work site, as a third party labor supplier it is not in our reach to claim probable cause for the purpose of forcing the post accident drug test. As a result we must accept the burden of proof.

As part of this process we first need to make sure the test is done in a timely manner. Those employees with test concerns will use all sorts of tricks to avoid a timely test. They will tell the hospital that our client is their employer not Ryan Staffing so our protocol is not administered. They will not report the injury as work related or they will put off treatment for 48 hours or longer.

Once we have a timely test result we analyze the mechanism injury and the likelihood the drug test result caused the accident. In rare cases the accident could have occurred regardless of the employee’s intoxication.

We make certain that an MRO (Medical Review Officer) has reviewed the results with the claimant and are satisfied that prescription drugs or other legitimate reasons are not the cause of the positive test.

When we have all of our ducks lined up we enforce our zero tolerance policy and terminate the employee. Every step of this process is thoroughly documented for the inevitable need at the legal proceedings to come. We have pending claims where the individual has already filed for unemployment and welfare before the Workers Compensation hearing has even been held, so the need for documentation extends beyond the WC claim.

Because the burden of proof is on us for the reasons already discussed we next have the entire file reviewed by our Medical Expert to determine if the positive drug test was the direct and proximate cause of the accident.

If our suspicions are confirmed the claim is rejected and the matter is turned over to our attorney to present our legal argument at hearing before the Industrial Commission and beyond.

With most of these cases, the individual involved does a disappearing act and is never heard from again. We have had a few of these claims appealed to court only to get settled for nuisance value. The one positive drug test claim that we lost was due to the fact that the Hearing Officer determined that the accident/injury would have happened regardless of the drug influence. (another person dropped a bar on the claimants foot)

Supporting your staffing supplier challenge to positive drug test Workers Compensation claims is very important to your bottom line. The most important reason for doing this is that you do not want these people working in your facility along side your own employees.

What you can do to assist your supplier is make sure the injured person is drug tested when they receive treatment. Always notify the supplier immediately about the injury… time is of the essence. Support their Drug Free Workplace Policies and encourage random drug testing at your workplace.

It has been our experience that random drug testing is a much more effective deterrent than pre employment drug testing alone to weed out the users. Often times the users apply “clean” and resume abuse after they start working. With random testing they are always aware of the possibility of getting caught. And along with getting caught comes getting fired and the possibility of losing their welfare and unemployment benefits.

The cost of substance and alcohol abuse in the workplace can be staggering. Over the next few months the “Corner Stool” will show you how.

Tim's Talking About Co-Employment Issues, Drug Free Workplace and Department of Labor

AREA TEMPS FINDS IT COSTLY TO DISCRIMINATE FOR CLIENTS

If you follow our e-letter at all over the months you know we encourage all of our clients to not lose sight of co-employments issues.

Recently Area Temps, a Cleveland based staffing supplier settled a discrimination lawsuit to the tune of $650,000.

Area Temps was accused by the EEOC of complying with client request for workers based on such things as race, gender, national origin etc. They also fired two of their internal staff for not going along with the discriminatory practices and one individual for cooperating with the EEOC.

While the settlement involving Area Temps has obviously been made public, we can only assume their clients involved were probably impacted by the case as well.

The bottom line is that you should never believe that just because a “temp” is not your employee that you are exempt from those employment laws that cover everyone in the workplace.

WHY WE SUPPORT THE DRUG FREE WORKPLACE – PART 1

Consider these facts:

One worker in four between the ages of 18 to 34 used drugs in the past year.
One worker in three knows about drug sales in the workplace.

In the workplace these problems obviously become your problems whether they are your employees or that of a third party supplier. They increase the risk of accidents, lower productivity, raise insurance costs and lower profits.

Substance abusers are responsible for 40% of all industrial fatalities.
And think about this one:
23 million use marijuana at least four times a week; 18 million abuse alcohol; 6 million regularly use cocaine and 2 million use heroin.

Next issue we’ll talk about what to look for in suspecting drug or alcohol abuse in the workplace.


FOOD FOR THOUGHT

For those of you that think your staffing supplier has it easy when it comes to Workers Compensation, here is where Ryan Staffing is at through July 31, 2010:

First report of injury filed:

Claims allowed - 32

Claims dis-allowed - 6

Claims withdrawn - 3

Claims rejected - 4

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Due to our internal transitional work program only one claim has resulted in lost time away from work.

We are still operating without a TPA, and while this might seem challenging enough, in 1999 we had 235 claims including 18 with compensable lost time.



WE’RE NOT BAD PEOPLE

Last month we ran our contest around the LeBron escape from Cleveland and we took a bit of flack for it.

We surely did not mean to offend anyone with our anti-LeBron survey and we really aren’t hate mongers. That being said, we haven’t changed our mind about his leaving.

As one who has been going to Cavs games since 1970 and the Cincinnati Royals before that, my loyalties run deep. That along with the fun others had with survey made us all feel better here at Ryan Staffing. Some of the results/ comments from the survey included:


THIS MONTH IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON TO THE BROWNS

Our survey question involves your best guess on how many games the Brownies win this season. Take the test and win a chance to see the Browns home opener against the KC Chiefs on September 19, 2010.


YOU KNOW LIFE ISN’T GETTING EASIER WHEN. . . .

The Department of Labor recently decided that employers under the FLSA must pay employees for time spent putting on and taking off personal protective equipment. This interpretation also includes time spent putting on and taking off work clothes. While this ruling was made in the context of collective bargaining agreements, its implications extend to non –union situations as well.

I, for one, am elated that my spouse is in “management” at Ryan Staffing because if we had to pay her to get dressed and undressed to come to work we’d be broke, just kidding!


MIA NLRB NOT MISSED

The US Supreme Court recently said that 600 decisions made by the National Labor Relations Board that was operating with only 2 members (3unfilled seats) for over two years are without statutory authority.
Is it just me or don’t you find it amazing that life went on just fine without anyone really missing 60% of the board? Can we take from this that about 60% of all Government Bureaucrats really wouldn’t be missed – interesting.

Tip of the Month: How Social Media Helps Hiring in Heavy Supply Market

We hear a lot these days about the possibility of a “Double Dip” Recession.  The other big cloud hanging over our heads is “Jobless” Recovery.  After living through the past two crummy years what business isn’t wary of hiring, investing or being positive about the future.

You throw the unknown cost of Healthcare Reform and all the other tax increases coming down the pike and it’s no wonder we’re talking about Double Dips and Jobless Recoveries.

The staffing industry is positioned to be a bridge for those companies experiencing increasing volume but are not comfortable making permanent hiring commitments.  We are seeing this at Ryan Staffing as our own volume is approaching pre-recession levels.

Ok, by now I’m sure you’re asking yourself what exactly does all this have to do with job fairs?  It’s simple, despite the circumstances of the current economy, especially in Northeast Ohio, we are still experiencing challenges in finding quality personnel willing to accept un-skilled manufacturing positions.

How can this be you ask?  Unemployment is at double digits right?  While logic is on your side, reality may not be.

What we are finding is that those collecting unemployment (and all the extensions that go with it) are not willing to give it up for Temp jobs, particularly at pay rates under $9.00 to $10.00 dollars per hour.  Added to this problem are transportation issues for those that rely on public transportation.

You throw in the legitimate need for experienced personnel that can pass both drug and background checks and the un-skilled local labor poll becomes tight, especially with demand increasing.

We have found is that “help wanted ads” in newspapers and posting jobs with Government Services cannot be solely be relied on anymore.  Social media sources and job boards yield better results.

Conducting job fairs along with plant tours has become a key recruiting tool for us particularly at our clients that are defiantly off the bus line and in need of lots of help.

The on-site job fair allows applicants to learn first and foremost exactly where the jobs are physically located and what the travel requirements would be.  The tours display the actual job opening and the physical job skills need to be successful along with the actual work environment.

Conducting interviews and applicant processing on-site adds legitimacy to those seeking employment.  Our experience is that more and better applicants apply under these circumstances because they know the opening is real and that their application is not just being banked for future openings.

So, if your service is having trouble keeping up with the needs and you don’t want to compromise quality, consider the job fair approach.

Participate in Ryan Staffing's Hate/Love Contest and Win Cavs, Browns and Indians Tickets!

We all know that everyone is sick and tired of the LeBron James soap opera, right?

But like any good soap opera we’re still tuning in to see what happens next.

I know that a good many of you probably have little or no interest in the on-going saga of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

But I also know that we have a core group of clients and other followers of this newsletter that enjoy a night out watching a Cavs game and for this reason we plan to continue to give away Cavs tickets throughout the 2010 – 11 season.

As a kid, I’ll admit I had a bit of the devil in me. I won’t go into my list of “pranks” here but I have put some creative thinking into how we can make LBJ’s return shall we say memorable.

So, this month we’re going to give away a pair of tickets to the first Cavs vs. Heat match up of the coming season. To be eligible all you have to do is help me out by participating in the “stick it to LeBron” survey. Of course your comments or ideas are welcome as well.

While we are in this “teams we love to hate” mood, we’ll throw in two additional runner-up prizes that include a pair of tickets to the July 29th Indians game against the Yankees and the Jan 2, 2011 Browns/Steelers match-up in Cleveland.

Tim's Talking about Health Care Reform; Maternity Leave and W-2s...

It’s Coming!

Health Care Reform is marching forward and its impact will start to be felt sooner (as early as September 23, 2010) rather than later. From what we know for sure, the following are applicable to all plans:

• Raise dependent age to 26
• Ban on lifetime limits (dollar value)
• Restrictions on annual limits
• Elimination of pre-existing condition exclusion for those younger than 19
• Ban on coverage rescission
• This list applies to “Grandfathered” plans as well.

Fixing W-2s Got Easier

Did you know that you can fix your employees’ W-2s online?

Visit www.socialsecurity.gov/employer and learn how you can complete up to five forms W-2c on the computer, submit them and print copies for your employees and your records.


More Bulletin Board Material

Just when you thought there could not possibly be anything more to post on your wall, President Obama signed executive order 13496 that took effect June 21, 2010.

What’s 13496 you say? . . . It requires certain federal contractors and subcontractors to post detailed notices informing employees of their rights under the NLRA about collective bargaining and joining/forming unions.


Minimum Length of Service Ruled ‘Ok’ for Maternity Leave

By a 5 – 1 vote the Ohio Supreme Court said that a company can impose a minimum length of service requirement before any employee is eligible for leave. This does not violate anti-discrimination laws in Ohio according to the court.

Imagine the logic used . . . pregnant women must be treated the same as non pregnant women.

Study: Java May Not Be The Morning Jumpstarter

Editor's Note: The following excerpt comes from June 04, 2010 Mainstreet.com story.

Coffee fiends may want to scale back on the caffeine. A new study published by the Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology shows that your habitual cup of morning Joe isn’t exactly helping you wake up. You just think it is.

“With frequent consumption, substantial tolerance develops to the anxiogenic effect of caffeine,” the study, published in its entirety online, says. Frequent coffee drinkers may feel more alert after their first cup, but it’s only because their caffeine withdrawal symptoms are being alleviated.

The study, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council in the U.K., asked 379 individuals to abstain from coffee for 16 hours. Participants were then given either a caffeine or placebo pill and asked to rate their level of alertness. They also played computer games to quantitatively establish memory, attentiveness and vigilance levels. Half of the study’s participants were heavy to medium caffeine drinkers; half were low to non-caffeine users.

Continue Reading

Tip of the Month: Embrace Technology Offered By Your Staffing Supplier

I don't know any person who prefers high cost versus low cost. It would make no sense. So when your staffing company embraces technology to lower its cost structure to keep your bill rate low this should be viewed as a good thing. . . right?

In our March 2009 “Tip of the Month" we touched on the overall advantages to working with your supplier to keep costs down. The “win-win” mentality for the success of both supplier and client was addressed and included such things as safety, workers comp claims, UC claims, payment of invoices, etc.

Getting attention this month is the trend throughout the staffing industry to eliminate paper paychecks. The process to do this is called “electronic pay distribution” and its purpose is twofold.

We're throwing out the paper, and switching to electronic pay cards. Click here to read about the program.


The first is to increase the productivity of your staffing service as they desperately try to keep their costs (and your rates) down.

The other is to provide a more effective, efficient and timely method to deliver a temps wages in to their hands. Let’s face it; temps are not at the high end of the pay scale.

I’m not sure, but the term “living paycheck to paycheck” may have been first coined by a temp. They need their money and they need it yesterday.

ELECTRONIC PAYCHECK DISTRIBUTION ACCOMPLISHES BOTH.


Ryan Staffing is in the process of establishing an EPDS using a payroll debit card or “pay card” which works just like a bank debit card.

We have decided not to establish direct deposit as part of our system for several reasons. The diversity of our workforce by being both physically disbursed and transient in nature would eliminate the desired cost saving goals.

Can you imagine the cost of establishing (and maintaining) direct deposit accounts of about 6000 employees per year residing in multiple states involving hundreds of different banks? In fact, about 11% of the US workforce do not have bank accounts and that number in our industry probably exceeds 50%. This defeats the purpose of moving to a paperless system.

Our method relies on the payroll debit card. Instead of receiving a company issued paper check our employees will receive wages earned on their “pay card." Employees can make purchases using the card just like any other debit card or withdraw cash from the cards balance at ATM’s.

If using the card is too scary for a temp to use they can simply authorize a “convenience check” which is a paper paycheck that is self-issued by the employee, not Ryan Staffing.

Let’s face it, the post office is becoming obsolete for many purposes these days. The internet has become to the dismay of the USPS what the telegraph was over 150 years ago.

Paper paychecks are routinely lost in the mail or stolen. They are fraudulently modified and they can impose unnecessary expenses on temps depending on how they cast them.

And, I’ll be the first to admit to being more “lime” than green but paper paychecks do kill a lot of trees and pose environmental issues. According to the Electronic Payments Association producing and delivering paper checks uses 674 million gallons of fuel each year producing 3.6 million tons of green house gases.

It’s no wonder Al and Tipper are splitting!

It costs the U.S. Government 98 cents to issue a paper check versus 10 cents for electronic distribution.

The U.S. Treasury Department has reported that 85% of all those receiving Federal Benefits receive them electronically. If you don’t believe that I double dare you to hit a Wal-mart store at midnight on the first of the month and watch the cards fly.

What about pay stubs you ask? Well, a few years back Ryan Staffing invested in on-line technology that not only lets applicants apply on-line but also allows access to weekly paycheck data for all of our employees. Providing this info is mandatory for those establishing EPDS. And, I might add that the Obama administration recently stopped issuing paper pay stubs to some Federal employees so it can’t be bad right?

So, what are the “Tips” in all this?

• Support your staffing company as they implement an electronic paycheck distribution system. These are their employees and policies.
• Review the materials provided by your Staffing service about the program and if they don’t provide them request them.
• Don’t attempt to answer question you may be asked by temps about the program. Your service and their card provider have the knowledge to answer questions with 100% accuracy; also, it will take up a significant amount of your time.
• Remember what while change can be difficult for some, technology is good and serves to improve the quality of life.

It was interesting to learn that only 20% of all Social Security payments are issued via paper checks yet they accounted for 90% of the reported 1.4 million annual inquires SSA receives pertaining to mis-placed, damaged, stolen, mis-directed and missing paper checks.

Tim's Talking about Pay Cards, Growth in the Temp Industry, and Webinars...

Full Steam Ahead for Pay Cards
The process of converting all of our employees from paper checks to pay cards is in full swing and is for the most part being well received.

We anticipate full implementation by August 1st.  As you can imagine change is not easy for everyone, but we are working hard to make the process as pain free as possible for all of our valued employees.

Just as we all survived the Government’s conversion to digital television with the converter boxes, this upgrade will greatly improve our ability to get money into people’s hands quickly and safely.

Staffing Firms Provide 76% of Private Sector Job Growth
The American Staffing Association reports temp employment was up 19% in May 2010 from the prior year and 3% from April

Based on National Unemployment rates remaining high (9.7%) this suggests employers are using temps due to uncertainty about the economy’s future.

Making It Up...Tall Ships and the Phantom
Ok, if you noticed last month we didn’t have any fantastic prizes to give away to our loyal followers.  So this month we’re going to make up for it.

We have five pairs of tickets to the Cleveland Tall Ships Festival taking place between July 8th and July 11th at the harbor behind the Browns Stadium.

Also, we’re giving away a pair of tickets to see the longest running show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera.  The show is at the Allen Theater on Friday, August 13 at 8:00 p.m.

If you are reading this column now you are eligible to win . . . it’s that simple.

Trends in Staffing Industry Technology
Technology is not passing by the staffing industry.  In fact, it’s exploding as clients continue to push their providers for more services at lower costs.

The future holds the promise from suppliers providing electronic delivery of invoices, check stubs and automated matching time cards and invoices at the time of invoice creation.

Using social media and all the networking potential it holds for recruiting is hot.  Integrating these applications into the flow of recruiting software will allow staffing services to fill orders with better candidates in a cost effective manner.

The use of mobile and wireless technology is also growing.  The ability to communicate with applicants without them sitting by the phone at home can dramatically improve service levels.  And, all of this is pushing the industry towards becoming a “paperless” industry.

It’s all good stuff that will require staffing suppliers to prioritize the needs of their client base before diving into the tech pool.

Do You Like Webinars?
Take a moment to answer this month’s survey question about webinars.  We’ll let you know the results next month.

Remember to Remember This Memorial Day

The sun will be out. The grill will be sparked. The sodas (and beers) will be cold. You will (probably) get a day off work.

Just don't forget why we celebrate every fourth Monday in May.

The first Memorial Day was celebrated in 1866 by a group in Waterloo, NY, celebrating the Civil War veterans, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.


View Larger Map
President Johnson declared Waterloo, NY the birthplace for Memorial Day in 1966, 100 years after the initial celebration. 

The holiday evolved into a day of remembrance of all military who have died in service. 

Generally, people associate days like Memorial Days and Veterans Day with World War II veterans. The driving force behind the DVA has been baby boomers, so an emphasis on Vietnam will probably increase in the coming years. 

But as a young man, the same age as many soldiers stationed overseas right now, I can't help but wonder about the military reputations of Generation X and Generation Y's service men and women.

Neither of the two generations has had a definitive "international conflict" to deal with, on the scale of World War II. And the conflicts that these two generations have dealt with do not have the philosophical subtext like Vietnam did in regards to the Cold War and communism vs. capitalism.

I know there's religion and a West vs. East mentality out there today, but in the moment it does not feel the same.

Here's what this all boils down to at this juncture in time

I like to celebrate holidays on this blog by pulling movie clips off YouTube. So in commemoration of the men and woman who served this country, I'm going to share clips from movies dealing with the conflicts of Generations X and Y, starting with ...

The Panama Deception


I'm starting the list off with a documentary that may not commemorate the service of military vets, but it sets the stage for military conflicts to come.

The Panama Deception won the 1992 Academy Award for best documentary film.

It won that most prestigious award for nonfiction film by detailing the failings of mainstream media to accurately report what happened in Panama in 1989.

Media portrayed the conflict as "America Helping the Poor" while not mentioning the U.S. agenda behind its involvement. Specifically that meant the renegotiation of the Torrijos-Carter treaty, which may have not happened if the nation state was not settled.

Possibly as a result of this event (and this movie), future conflicts would be looked at with a critical eye, leaving the service men and women of that and this current serving generation to be viewed differently than the heroes of past wars.

Jarhead


This 2005 film detailing Operation Desert Storm through the eyes of one skeptical marine may not have been one of the most popular films of the past 10 years.

Jarhead was based on the 2003 best selling autobiography from Anthony Swofford, a marine serving in the early '90s. The film and book are not war movies in the sense of Patton and Full Metal Jacket. But that's because it was a different conflict.

Operation Desert Storm was the first in a slew of unpopular U.S. conflicts in Iraq, a country we still occupy today.

Dealing with an unpopular war in a different generation, the movie tackles skepticism, an evolving military culture and comparison/contrasting of different generations of service men and women.

Blackhawk Down


This was the most entertaining and most popular movie to appear on this list. Because I'm getting long winded, I'll cut to the chase.

This movie was important because it captured an evolving theme in U.S. foreign policy. That is, we pick-and-choose when we step in to help during an incident of genocide (see Rwanda). And it doesn't always work out so well for us.

Generation Kill


This HBO mini-series details the early years of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Generation Kill provided civilians with a look into the dangers of this war, specifically in terms of friendly fire. There are several scenes in the series where soldiers are killed as a result of mistakes, not combat. While World War II has its heroes, like Patton and Eisenhower, what will the conflicts in Iraq have 50 years from now? I would argue every military operation has a hero, but will these men and women struggle to find the image that defines themselves 50 years from now?

The Hurt Locker


Combine a traditional military movie character who has a "maverick" type mentality and a plot that revolves around explosions; you get a thrilling film (an Academy Award).

I recently saw the Hurt Locker for this first time this weekend and here's what I got from it.

You can find stories in the New York Times every day about a bomb going of in the Middle East, killing dozens of people. But it seems impersonal. It's just another clip from the 24-hour news cycle.

This movie does a good job of focusing in on that aspect of military conflict, road side bombs set by civilian-style militants.

This movie, more than the others on this list (arguably), depicts why we should celebrate service men and women on days like Memorial Day. It showed that there are still American citizens dying over seas and that commemorative days need to be about more than barbecue and blockbuster summer movies.

Ryan Staffing Plans Switch To Pay Cards

Ryan Staffing is pleased to have partnered with Skylight Financial to offer the Skylight One card to all of its employees.

The Skylight ONE card will replace paper checks.  It will allow cardholders to make purchases wherever Visa debit cards are accepted in addition to more than 48,000 surcharge free ATM’s. 

As we all know people’s paychecks are sacred.  The Skylight One card will offer convenience, flexible, affordable and secure net pay access without having to rely on the Post Office.

Our clients will no longer be involved in paycheck distribution and using Paycards has proven to increase productivity, lower turnover and improve the morale of temps.

The program will be phased in over the next 60 days and informational packages will be sent out to all of our clients in the next few weeks.

For a program overview click on FAQ’s – Skylight One Card.com. Click here to view the brochure.