HR NEWS

Health Reform Rules Proposed
Three new proposed rules to implement provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act cover guaranteed issuance of coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions, essential health benefits and wellness program incentives.

New California Discrimination Laws to Take Effect
Effective January 2013, two new California laws will broaden what constitutes discrimination based on an employee’s religion or sex. Practices that may have been lawful for 2012 could now create liability and litigation for 2013.

‘Honest Belief’ Not Enough to Defend California Leave Act Claim
An employer’s good faith “honest belief” that an employee on medical leave under the California Family Rights Act was misusing the leave was not a defense to the employee’s claim for violation of his rights under the CFRA, a California appellate court has ruled.

Cybersecurity Bill Dies, Executive Order May Be on the Way
Comprehensive cybersecurity regulatory reform failed for the second time this year in the U.S. Senate, increasing the prospects that White House will implement some of the bill’s provisions through an executive order. The Cybersecurity Act of 2012 failed to get the 60 votes needed under Senate rules to bring the bill up for passage, most likely dashing any chance that cybersecurity policy would be addressed in the lame-duck session.

‘Hire a Veteran’ Campaign Debunks Brain Injury Misperceptions
The U.S. Army kicked off its “Hire a Veteran” campaign Nov. 19, 2012, during a press conference with SHRM. The campaign is aimed at debunking employer misperceptions about the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury on veterans’ job performance, and at educating employers on what reasonable accommodations involve.

COURT REPORT
Trial Court Erred in Denying Injunction to Bar Harasser from Store
A trial court erred in denying an injunction sought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to keep a former store manager found to have been harassing female employees from entering the store, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.
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HR SOLUTIONS
COBRA and the FMLA
Q: When an employee covered by COBRA needs leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, how are benefits continued and what restoration rights does the employee have?
A: Occasionally, an interesting dilemma for employers develops when an employee who has health coverage under the federal COBRA law subsequently needs to take leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).Under the FMLA, the employer’s obligation is to provide the same group health coverage the employee would have had if he had been continuously employed.
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NEW JERSEY LEGAL UPDATE

Antiharassment Policies Were Adequate and Properly Implemented
A part-time sales associate argued that her employer’s antiharassment policies allowed a hostile work environment to develop.
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Express Request: New Jersey State Law Resources
SHRM’s Information Center has compiled a variety of online employment law resources applicable to your state. In this member-only, FREE benefit you’ll receive employment law resources from SHRM Online as well as other online sources; a spotlight on a recent workplace issue impacting your state; directories for locating employment lawyers and more. To receive these resources in one e-mail, select your state’s name (or any other state for which you’d like to receive information), complete and submit this form.
Also available from SHRM Online: New Jersey workplace law resourcesWorkplace law resources for all states

HR MAGAZINE
Get to the Source
Candidates today can seek information about prospective employers or directly apply for jobs through job boards and job aggregator sites, via search engines and social media networks, or by visiting careers portals. The major hurdle for recruiters trying to determine where their best hires are coming from remains reliance on a dubious tracking method: candidates’ self-reporting.
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HR Magazine home page

HR DISCIPLINES: BUSINESS LEADERSHIP
Assessing Employee Benefits Prior to M&As
Take advantage of a pending or potential change in corporate structure—such as mergers, acquisitions or divestitures—to review cost/benefit analyses. In doing so, the CFO and HR professionals should work together.
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Business Leadership discipline area

HR DISCIPLINES: DIVERSITY
Is Your Organization Prepared to Deal with Controversy?
High-ranking executives and officials have an added burden of being the face of an organization. Most chief diversity and inclusion (D&I) officers understand this challenge and must deal with it in both their professional and personal lives. This responsibility can become a source of controversy when a D&I officer’s actions or personal opinions don’t exactly align with an employer’s policies.
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Diversity discipline area

HR DISCIPLINES: EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
Communicating with ‘Weapons of Mass Distraction’
Though some organizations have banned the use of social networking websites in offices around the world because of their distracting nature, employers are now easing such restrictions and embracing social media tools, communication experts say.
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Employee Relations discipline area

HR DISCIPLINES: GLOBAL HR
List of the Best Multinational Workplaces Released
Great Place to Work Institute (GPTW) released its second annual list of the 25 best multinational workplaces on Nov. 14, 2012. SAS Institute topped the list at No. 1 and was followed by Google, NetApp, Kimberly Clark, and Microsoft to round out the top five multinational organizations.
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Global HR discipline area

IDEAS & INNOVATIONS WEBCAST SERIES
Taming the Data Beast: Cost-Per-Hire Metrics
Dec. 6, 2-3:30 p.m. ET / 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PT
Presenter: Andrew Gadomski, chief advisor and founder, Aspen Advisors; Steven Lindner, Ph.D., founder and CEO, The WorkPlace Group Inc.; and John Dooney, SPHR, manager of workforce analytics, SHRM
With so much recruiting data being generated, HR professionals have become overwhelmed in their efforts to identify meaningful metrics and report them to stakeholders. In 2012, as part of its effort to establish standards for use by the HR profession, SHRM created a cost-per-hire standard that provides employers with an approved methodology for quantifying their recruitment and placement activities. This 90-minute program will explain the elements and provide you with templates that can be used to capture and analyze cost-per-hire numbers in your own organization. The program will also describe how, with numbers in hand, you can best communicate this information to stakeholders in your organization. Finally, it will provide analysis of cost-per-hire trends data generated by SHRM’s Workforce Analytics group.
More about this program

FREE MEMBER WEBCASTS
Defying the Odds: Prepping Employees for Success in First-Time Situations
Dec. 4, 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT
Presenter: Heather Barnfield, Korn/Ferry Leadership and Talent Consulting
One of the key derailment points for high-performing talent is the transition to a new and challenging role. These days, employees are taking on bigger jobs at earlier points in their career, meaning that the ambiguity and risks associated with role transitions are more significant than ever. Employees need, and in many cases expect, guidance and support from HR to navigate these critical career milestones. In this webcast, Heather Barnfield of Korn/Ferry Leadership and Talent Consulting reviews the skills required to determine success when people first move into a management role as well as the challenges newly appointed executives face and the areas of focus that will help them succeed.
Register for this program

Upgrading Onboarding
Dec. 13, 3 p.m. ET / 12 noon PT
Presenters: Scott Mondore and Shane Douthitt, Strategic Management Decisions
Sponsor: Ping Identity
Onboarding programs are often overlooked as valuable tools to drive productivity and engagement among new employees. As your company and its priorities evolve, so too must the elements of your onboarding plan. And, as many companies gear up for new hiring in the coming year, now is a good time to take a look at your approach to onboarding. In this program, Scott Mondore and Shane Douthitt will examine current practices in onboarding and innovations companies have adopted in recent years. A key focus of the program will be how analytics can be used to measure the impact your onboarding practices are having. At the conclusion of the webcast, the program sponsor, Ping Identity, will offer information on how a single sign-on process can help new employees manage the array of passwords needed to access essential cloud computing resources.
Register for this webcast

Presenteeism: How Much Does It Cost Your Organization?
Now available
Presenter: Michael Klachefsky, The Standard
Employers and their benefits broker/consultant advisors are focused on controlling the costs of providing health insurance to their employees. Whether or not your organization continues to offer health insurance, one thing is certain: Your organization will be impacted by the cost of poor employee health through health-related lost productivity. This phenomenon has two components: absenteeism (when employees spend time away from work) and presenteeism (when employees show up for work with medical or mental conditions that reduce their productivity). Your organization may be taking actions to control the impact of absenteeism, but what are you doing about presenteeism? Join Michael Klachefsky, national practice leader, Workplace Possibilities, for The Standard, to learn how presenteeism is measured, how much it costs employers and what you can do to reduce those costs.
View this webcast

HR’s Role in Workplace Ethics and Compliance
Now available
Presenters: Brad Siciliano, Littler Mendelson; and Reid Bowman, NAVEX Global
The penalties for ethical and legal lapses in the workplace are significant, including multimillion-dollar assessments and jail time for corporate violators. Recent court cases, governmental agency guidelines and sweeping new statutes only continue to raise the bar for what is expected of companies in terms of establishing and maintaining an effective compliance program. In this program, attorneys Brad Siciliano and Reid Bowman will outline the legal and practical drivers underpinning organizations’ compliance efforts, the core elements of an effective compliance program, and the critical role HR plays in an organization’s compliance efforts and culture.
View this webcast

SHRM SURVEYS
Recognition Programs Target Engagement
Organizations with established employee recognition programs seek to improve employee engagement and morale, a new SHRM survey finds. The majority of employers contended that they are achieving that goal.
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SHRM FOUNDATION
Employee Engagement
A new report by the SHRM Foundation examines how employer practices — such as job and task design, recruitment, selection, training, compensation, performance management, and career development — can strongly influence employees’ level of engagement and commitment. Done right, these HR practices can positively affect engagement — generating real value for the business.
Read this report
SHRM Foundation home page

HR STANDARDS
Comment on New Workforce Planning Standard
The second public comment period for the new human resources draft standard on workforce planning has been extended through Dec. 17. The new draft standard is designed by a taskforce of HR professionals and other experts and is intended to provide recommendations for guidelines around process, data, metrics and governance for organizations that wish to develop or implement capabilities for projecting future hiring needs. Individuals and organizations are invited to view the proposed Workforce Planning draft standard and submit comments.
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SHRM LEGAL REPORT

EEOC Forces Employers to Strike a Delicate Balance
If ever there was a time for employers to review their hiring and retention practices, it’s now. Employers are walking a virtual tightrope in their efforts to avoid employee-related litigation from both the government and the private sector.
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WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY
Hurricane Sandy Forces Companies to Reconsider Telework
Some companies discovered that having telework policies and technology in place allowed employees to continue to do business during the storm.
Read this article
Workplace Flexibility resource page

ELECTION RESULTS
Podcast, Webcast Provide Analysis
Two SHRM multimedia programs offer analysis on the 2012 election results, sequestration, and their impact on HR and employers. To listen to the free podcast, visit www.shrm.org/podcast or search for “SHRM elections” on iTunes. The webcast, originally broadcast earlier this month, is available for viewing on-demand at www.shrm.org/webcast/publicpolicy.

HR JOBS
More New Jobs Added Each Week
On average, HR Jobs offers more than 600 active job postings at any time in executive HR, compensation, staffing, benefits, training and more. HR Jobs attracts top employers that post jobs for every level of HR. Plus, job seekers can publish their resumes to the searchable resume database.
HR Jobs home page

SHRM CONFERENCES ON DEMAND
SHRM 2012 Strategy Conference: Now Available on Demand
With Conference On Demand, enjoy 24/7 online access to sessions from the Strategy Conference plus bonus sessions from SHRM’s 2012 Annual Conference. Earn up to 20 business management and strategy recertification credits at your convenience.
Learn more

SHRM SEMINARS
Attend Fall Seminars at SHRM Headquarters
There’s still time to take advantage of some of our educational seminars held in our SHRM Headquarters. Boost your employee-management skills with our Essentials of HR Management seminar or prepare for the 2012 winter certification exam with our PHR/SPHR Certification Preparation seminar. Space is limited; sign up today for one of these exceptional programs.
Learn more

SHRM CONFERENCES
SHRM 2013 Talent Management Conference & Exposition
Transform Your Perspectives on the Future of Talent Management
April 15-17, 2013 – Las Vegas
SHRM’s 2013 Talent Management Conference is a fantastic opportunity for you to network with fellow talent management professionals in an atmosphere that is engaging, relaxing, and designed to facilitate sharing and collaboration. Last year’s conference sold out early. Register online now.
Register now

ASSURANCE OF LEARNING
Show You Have What It Takes
The 2013 spring exam application for SHRM’s Assurance of Learning Assessment is now open. Differentiate yourself in the HR job marketplace by taking the exam. After passing the assessment, you are awarded a Certificate of Learning, which informs hiring managers of your competence to enter the HR field.
Register now

EXPRESS REQUESTS
EEOC on Domestic Violence Victims
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a fact sheet discussing how Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act may apply in employment situations involving applicants and employees who experience domestic or dating violence, sexual assault or stalking. According to the EEOC, these laws do protect such victims from discriminatory employer practices. To receive resources on this topic, visit SHRM’s Express Request service and select EEOC ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS under Employee Relations.

State Minimum Wages To Rise
On Jan. 1, the state minimum wage will rise in 10 states. We provide links to the official announcements, articles and, where possible, the new mandatory posters. To receive resources on this topic, visit SHRM’s Express Request service and select STATE MINIMUM WAGES TO RISE under Compensation.

FINAL THOUGHT
Workplace Thanksgiving an ‘Incredible Tool’
Showing gratitude toward employees can go a long way in inspiring loyalty, productivity and retention, according to some who think thankfulness should extend beyond the fourth Thursday in November.
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From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention / National Center for Injury Prevention and Control:

Special Supplement

Identifying Issues, Evidence and Public Health Implications of Protective Factors for Youth Violence Perpetration

Homicide continues to be the second leading cause of death for youth ages 15-24, and the leading cause of death for African American youth. More than 700,000 young people ages 10 to 24 were treated in emergency departments in 2010 for injuries sustained due to violence. But responding to violence after it happens is only part of the solution. We must prevent youth violence before it begins. In addition, most youth, even those living in high risk situations, are not violent and more must be learned about the factors that are helping youth, protecting them from engaging in violent behavior so that others can benefit. One critical step is a better understanding of the factors that protect youth from engaging in violence.

To inform prevention efforts that enhance protective influences, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control convened a panel with expertise in youth development, violence prevention, and analytic methods. This special supplement of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, “Protective Factors for Youth Violence Perpetration Issues, Evidence, and Public Health Implications,” is the first publication developed from the panel’s work. Its primary purpose is to increase understanding of protective factors for youth violence perpetration by clarifying methods for conceptualizing, measuring, and distinguishing risk and protective effects.

Key findings:

• People often only consider the risk factors that need to be avoided. This work also examines the strengths that youths, families, schools, and communities have that we can build on to reduce youth violence, such as high academic achievement, and good family management.
• Protective factors can potentially work by directly reducing the likelihood of violence or by buffering against other risk factors.
• The influence of protective factors and the form of their relationship with violence perpetration may vary across settings, forms of violence (e.g., physical fighting, verbal aggression) and by age. Prevention strategies should be designed to enhance the influences that are most critical among the intended recipients.
• Some factors may have a protective effect without any corresponding risk effect and vice versa. For example, high levels of school attachment (e.g., looking forward to going to school, liking school, liking the teacher, and liking a class) was associated with lower odds of violent behavior but low school attachment was not associated with violence / did not increase the odds of violent behavior.
• Direct protective effects were least likely to occur alone, and more likely to occur in combination with risk effects. Risk effects were most likely to occur without an accompanying protective effect. Youth violence is influenced by a range of modifiable risk and protective factors.
• High-quality partnerships among community collaborators, practitioners, and prevention researchers are necessary to understand local needs, select effective prevention strategies, and effectively implement and sustain those strategies.

View an electronic copy of this report at http://www.ajpmonline.org/supplements

CDC’s Injury Center works to prevent injuries and violence and their adverse health consequences. For more information about youth violence prevention, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/youthviolence.

Learn More:

• CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention:
  http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention
• STRYVE: Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere, which helps promote the use of youth violence prevention approaches that are based upon the best available evidence:
• http://www.vetoviolence.org/STRYVE/
• UNITY: Urban Networks Increasing Thriving Youth, which works with large urban centers to enhance their readiness for violence prevention, help organize their planning, and increase their capacity to address youth violence using a public health approach:
• http://www.preventioninstitute.org/unity
• Academic Centers of Excellence: Sites work with communities to reduce youth violence:
  http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/ace/index.html
• American Journal of Preventive Medicine:
  http://www.ajpmonline.org/
• Follow us on Facebook:
  http://www.facebook.com/vetoviolence

Health care and advocacy groups join to protect children most vulnerable to influenza

CDC News Release

August 29th, 2012 – A disproportionately high number of children with neurologic disorders died from influenza-related complications during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to a study by scientists with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report in the journal Pediatrics underscores the importance of influenza vaccination to protect children with neurologic disorders. CDC is joining with the American Academy of Pediatrics, Families Fighting Flu and Family Voices to spread the message about the importance of influenza vaccination and treatment in these children.

The Pediatrics study looked at influenza-related deaths in children during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic based on data submitted to CDC from state and local health departments. The number of pediatric deaths associated with 2009 H1N1 virus infection reported to CDC during the pandemic was more than five times the median number of pediatric deaths that were reported in the five flu seasons prior to the pandemic. Sixty-eight percent of those deaths occurred in children with underlying medical conditions that increase the risk of serious flu complications.

Of the 336 children (defined as people younger than 18 years) with information available on underlying medical conditions who were reported to have died from 2009 H1N1 flu-associated causes, 227 had one or more underlying health conditions. One hundred forty-six children (64 percent) had a neurologic disorder such as cerebral palsy, intellectual disability, or epilepsy. Of the children with neurologic disorders for whom information on vaccination status was available, only 21 (23 percent) had received the seasonal influenza vaccine and 2 (3 percent) were fully vaccinated for 2009 H1N1.

“We’ve known for some time that certain neurologic conditions can put children at high risk for serious complications from influenza,” said Dr. Lyn Finelli, chief of the surveillance and outbreak response team in CDC’s Influenza Division. “However, the high percentage of pediatric deaths associated with neurologic disorders that occurred during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic was a somber reminder of the harm that flu can cause to children with neurologic and neurodevelopmental disorders.”

“Flu is particularly dangerous for people who may have trouble with muscle function, lung function or difficulty coughing, swallowing or clearing fluids from their airways,” said study coauthor and pediatrician Dr. Georgina Peacock “These problems are sometimes experienced by children with neurologic disorders,” said Peacock, of CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

The most commonly reported complications for children with neurologic disorders in this study were influenza-associated pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Seventy-five percent of children with a neurologic condition who died from 2009 H1N1 influenza-related infection also had an additional high risk condition that increased their risk for influenza complications, such as a pulmonary disorder, metabolic disorder, heart disease or a chromosomal abnormality.

CDC is partnering with the American Academy of Pediatrics and influenza advocacy groups to help promote awareness about the importance of influenza prevention and treatment in these high risk children. Since the H1N1 pandemic, children with neurologic conditions continue to represent a disproportionate number of influenza-associated pediatric deaths. CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Family Voices, and Families Fighting Flu recognize the need to communicate with care takers about the potential for severe outcomes in these children if they are infected with flu.

“Partnering with the American Academy of Pediatrics, influenza advocacy groups and family led-organizations CAN help prevent influenza in children at highest risk,” said CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden.

The partnering organizations are working to coordinate communication activities with their constituents, which include parents and caregivers, primary care clinicians, developmental pediatricians and neurologists in hopes to increase awareness about flu prevention and treatment in children with neurologic disorders.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics, Families Fighting Flu and Family Voices were all natural partners when we thought about how to reach as many key people as possible with this message,” Dr. Peacock adds. “The collaboration and energy around this effort has been fabulous.”

“Our network of physicians is committed to influenza prevention in all children, and especially in reducing complications in those children at higher risk for experiencing severe outcomes as a result of influenza-like illness,” says Robert W. Block, M.D., president of the AAP. “This coalition can more broadly engage the entire community of child caregivers to express how serious flu can be for these children. These efforts emphasize why the medical home is so important for children and youth with special health care needs.” 

Family Voices is a national family-led organization supporting families and their children with special health care needs. Ruth Walden, a parent of a child with special needs and president of the Family Voices Board of Directors, says, “It’s frightening to think that flu can potentially lead to so many complications or even death. We’re pleased to see organizations working together to educate families and providers about the importance of prevention.”

Families Fighting Flu, an advocacy group dedicated to preventing influenza, has a long history of reaching out to families who’ve lost loved ones to flu. “Throughout the years we’ve seen firsthand how flu can affect these kids and their families’ lives. We understand that prevention is absolutely critical,” explains Laura Scott, executive director of Families Fighting Flu. “Working with other groups only expands our mission of keeping kids safe throughout the flu season.”

CDC recommends that everyone aged 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccination, including people who are at high risk of developing serious complications. Flu vaccine is the best prevention method available. Antiviral drugs, which can treat flu illness, are a second line of defense against flu.

To learn more about influenza, visit www.cdc.gov/flu.

About American Academy of Pediatrics

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org.

About Family Voices

Family Voices provides families with resources to make informed decisions, advocate for improved public and private policies, build partnerships among professionals and families, and serve as a trusted resource on health care. There are Family Voices representatives in each state and territory across the country ready to assist you with issues related to the health care of a child or youth with a special need or disability. More information is available at www.familyvoices.org, or by calling 1-888-835-5669.

About Families Fighting Flu

Families Fighting Flu is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) volunteer-based advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the lives of children. Our members include families whose children have suffered serious medical complications or died from influenza, as well as health care practitioners and advocates committed to flu prevention. In honor of our children, we work to increase awareness about the seriousness of the disease and to reduce the number of childhood hospitalizations and deaths caused by the flu each year by increasing vaccination rates. Families Fighting Flu offers support to other families and communities who have been severely affected by the flu through resources available at www.familiesfightingflu.org