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No Such Thing as a Free Intern

May 11th, 2012 by

A recent article in the New York Times reminds employers that if they do not want to pay their interns, the internships must resemble vocational education, the interns must work under close supervision, their work cannot be used as a substitute for regular employees and their work cannot be of immediate benefit to the employer.

This advice comes amid a number of high profile lawsuits filed by former interns, and national attention on employment practices because of the weal labor market. A rule of thumb to insulate employers against legal action is to pay interns at least minimum wage, and make sure that the job description and pay structure properly classifies the intern.

If you are planning to recruit some summer interns this year, you should check out the Department of Labor’s Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act Fact Sheet as a good starting point to make sure your program is in line with the law.

 

 

 

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How to Prevent Most Injuries at Your Dealership

May 9th, 2012 by

Radiation burns from Acetylene torches, lacerations from the parts grinder,  a blast of compressed air on the eye -these are just a few reasons why the right PPE and simple safety procedures are so important at dealerships. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that 3.3 million Americans suffer from serious occupational injuries every year, but at least 60 percent of these injuries can be avoided by adopting a “safety culture” that emphasizes planning and doing in the safest way possible.

Make sure that your program is based on simple, sound, and proven ideas that are in compliance with existing laws and regulations.  Ultimately, it’s good for the entire company, and results in decreased incidence of workplace injuries and illnesses, reduced costs (including significant reductions in workers’ compensation premiums) and enhances overall business operations.

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Dealer Fined for Fluorescent Tube Disposall – Are You Properly Managing Your Universal Wastes?

May 8th, 2012 by

The Situation
Recently, a dealership was heavily fined for improper disposal of fluorescent lamps. With the best of intentions, a porter came in on the weekend and took 150 of the dealership’s used fluorescent lamps to a public roundup at a community college. He was not aware that regulations in his area prohibited small and large quantity generators (a common classification for dealerships) from taking universal waste to public events, which are intended for households only. He was greeted by a representative from the county’s hazardous waste division and given a citation on the spot for illegal disposal of hazardous waste. He was then informed that the agency would come to the dealership to perform a full hazardous waste compliance inspection. Regardless of the dealership’s good intentions for disposal, ultimately they were heavily fined for violating regulations.

Lessons Learned

Universal wastes commonly found at dealerships include fluorescent and HID light bulbs, electronic devices, mercury containing equipment, non-empty aerosol cans, and small alkaline batteries. These items are regulated because they contain mercury, lead, cadmium, copper and other substances that are hazardous to human health and the environment.While most dealerships are recycling these wastes, they are unclear about the additional labeling, storage, disposal, and recordkeeping requirements that can expose the dealership to liability.

State and local laws vary between jurisdictions, but a general rule of thumb is to maintain accurate labeling practices in correct storage containers. Labels should include descriptions of the waste products as well as generation dates. Most state regulations don’t permit wastes to accumulate for more than a year, so don’t let stuff pile up in the back room. Remember that containers need to be compatible with their contents. Keep accurate records. Make sure that your subcontractors are accurate in their reporting, and that your records are also up to date.

 

Get more details about this topic in the May KPA Newsletter on Monday (click here to subscribe).

 

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NADA Workforce Study Deadline Extension

May 1st, 2012 by

NADA has extended the deadline to participate in the workforce study to May 15, 2012. All members who take the survey will receive at no charge the Basic Report comparing their individual dealership to the regional and national industry as well as the Driven Management Guide summary report. The report will provide dealers with solid data to make competitive compensation and benefits decisions and enhance the dealership’s recruitment efforts.

There is no cost to participate in the study. All information will remain secure and anonymous.

The NADA University staff will work with dealership chains to provide an aggregate pull of their payroll data, instead of submitting data separately for individual dealerships.

If you have any questions, contact NADA University’s customer service at (800) 557-6232. Visit www.nadaworkforcestudy.com to participate.

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Posted in Employee Relations | Leave a Comment »

May Tip of the Month: 3 Steps to Prevent Workplace Violence

May 1st, 2012 by

Compliance Tip of the MonthWorkplace violence is a risk that can be managed. It should be a priority for all HR managers because homicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the workplace for all workers, and it is the #1 cause of death for women in the workplace (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Are your employees safe? Take these three steps to ensure a safe work environment.

3 Steps to Prevent Workplace Violence

1.    Assess risk

  • External factors- crime rate around work location, hours of operation, working with public, etc.
  • Internal factors- intense workloads, restructuring, ignoring warning signs etc.

2.    Plan of action

  • Workplace security measures to manage identified risks
  • Zero Tolerance and Violence Prevention Policies communicated and acknowledge by all employees

3.    Educate workforce to recognize, report and prevent occurrences of violence
Learn how to make the three steps work for you in this free recorded webinar:
How to Prevent Violence in the Workplace

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Posted in Human Resources Management, Tip of the Month | Leave a Comment »

Unemployed Status – The New Protected Class

April 27th, 2012 by

While employment rates show a general trend toward improvement, employers still find themselves inundated with candidates for open positions. So much so that some employers have taken to disqualifying potential applicants by advertising that “the unemployed” need not apply.

In light of this recent development in job advertisements, Congress and several state legislative bodies have started to amend their anti-discrimination laws to add “unemployed status” as a protected class.

Read the full article here:

Unemployed status – the new protected class – Lexology.

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Respiratory Protection for Undercoating Operations

April 27th, 2012 by

If your business offers, or is considering offering undercoating and rustproofing services, then it is important to remember that the chemicals involved in the process generally require the use of a respirator- or even a full supplied air system.

Information about safe product application, respirators and other forms of required PPE, is available on the product’s Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the undercoating or rustproofing product. It is a great resource that should always be referenced before allowing employees to apply the product to vehicles. Using this information keeps the employee safe, and it insulates your business from regulatory fines, workers’ compensation claims, and lawsuits.

If you are a KPA client, you can access the Automotive Industry MSDS database including many undercoating and rustproofing products by logging in your mykpaonline account.

Read more about respiratory protection for undercoating operations.

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Posted in EPA, OSHA, Safety: Industry Updates | Leave a Comment »

NLBR Postpones Posting Requirement for Employee Rights Notice

April 25th, 2012 by

As of April 17th, 2012, the deadline for  employers to post the Employee Rights Notice has been postponed due to legal action. The April 30 deadline is now on hold pending appeal by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in response to a ruling by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.  The Court  enjoined the National Labor Relations Board from enforcing a regulation that would have required most private sector employers in the United States to post a notice of employee labor law rights beginning April 30 (Nat’l Ass’n of Mfrs. v. NLRB, D.C. Cir., No. 12-5068, injunction pending appeal 4/17/12).

In response, NLRB announced its regional offices will not implement the disputed rule, but the agency will defend the rule in the D.C. Circuit and plans to appeal an adverse ruling that was issued April 13 by the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

“We continue to believe that requiring employers to post this notice is well within the Board’s authority, and that it provides a genuine service to employees who may not otherwise know their rights under our law,” Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce said in a statement released by NLRB.
Rule Covers Employers Under NLRB Jurisdiction.

This is the third time the NLRA posting deadline has been set, and then delayed.  If you have already posted the notice or are using a poster that contains the notice you do not have to remove the notice or the poster to  remain in compliance with NLRB requirements at this time, as this posting rule has not been repealed, just delayed.  Employers may also  chose to remove the notice until the final ruling.

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Posted in Employee Relations, HR: Industry Updates, Human Resources Management | Leave a Comment »

OSHA Reminds Employers to Post Injury/Illness Summaries

April 17th, 2012 by

Employers who are required to keep the OSHA Form 300 Injury and Illness log must post OSHA’s Form 300A from Feb. 1 to April 30, 2012 in a common area wherever notices to workers are usually posted. The summary must list the total numbers of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2011. All establishment summaries must be certified by a company executive.

Copies of the OSHA Forms 300, 300A and 301 are available for download on the OSHA Recordkeeping Web page. See OSHA’s Recordkeeping Handbook for more information on posting requirements for OSHA’s Form 300A.

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Posted in OSHA, Prevention Plans | Leave a Comment »

Improper Lift Use Lands Georga Facility with $78,000 in Willful and Serious OSHA Violations

April 17th, 2012 by

Take a look at the $78,000 OSHA citation just handed down to a Georgia facility of LKQ Corp. for vehicle lift modifications and related violations. We often find them in busy service bays and garages. As an employer, you must ensure that your employees have not added features or disabled safety devices.  It is important to follow manufacturer guidelines and the ANSI (American National Safety Institute) standard which requires regular lift inspections.

KPA uses the Automotive Lift Institutes resources to complete our lift training courses and you can access these same materials at http://www.autolift.org/.  This also brings up the interesting point that the company appears to have hired a contractor to inspect their hoists, but then failed to act on the recommendations.

Part of any good safety program is first having an hazard identification program and second correcting the hazards identified.

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Posted in Citations, OSHA | Leave a Comment »

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