By Wendy J. Baker - Oregon Employment Attorney
Every year about this time, I consider gathering a group of good-natured employers together for coffee or lunch. I imagine them exchanging a few workplace horror stories, a few creative ideas and a great deal of insight. To be successful, all participants would have to be comfortable sharing stories about their mistakes and perhaps laughing at themselves - hence, only the good-natured clients get invited.
When I look back at the past year, I recall a number of instances in which my employment clients found themselves in legal hot water simply because they tried to do a good deed. For example, one of my clients who owns a group of hair salons allowed her employees to take home beauty products and then have the cost deducted from their next paychecks. Unfortunately, the owner did not know she was making an illegal paycheck deduction by not getting written permission from the employees beforehand.
Another client hired his chronically unemployed brother-in-law as an independent contractor to do some computer troubleshooting for him. The relationship took a bad turn when my client realized his brother-in-law knew almost nothing about computers. Unfortunately for the client, his brother-in-law also did not qualify as an independent contractor. After he was fired, the brother-in-law filed for unemployment compensation, and my client had to pay a penalty for not having paid into the unemployment compensation fund to cover his brother-in-law, who was deemed to have been an "employee."
Of course, these legal issues were no laughing matter to my clients, so what could be gained by sharing their experiences with each other? First, everyone would probably agree that, if mistakes were made, they were made with good intentions toward the employee. Second, no one sitting around the table would be likely to repeat the mistakes of the others. Finally, the point would be driven home that employment law is complicated, and no one should venture into it without competent advice.
Competent employment advice does not necessarily have to come from an attorney. It can also come from a well-trained human resources manager who knows your office culture and your employees. Unfortunately, too many employers see a human resources position as an unnecessary expense, and so they either ignore the need for it or tack personnel responsibilities onto the duties of their chief financial officers. Regardless of the good intentions behind this practice, putting CFOs in charge of personnel matters almost always leads to disaster because the skills of the two positions do not mesh.
Last summer I conducted an employment investigation at a 20-person company which had been operating quite successfully for several years without anyone being in charge of human resources. The business owners had managed personnel by unwittingly allowing a few longtime female employees to exercise authority over other personnel. Within a 12-month period, more than 15 employees left the company. That degree of turnover is very costly to a business, not only because of the expense of training new employees but also because of the damage it does to morale.
As we begin a new year, consider how much time you spend dealing with personnel issues that take away from the practice of medicine. You would not let your gardener prepare your income taxes. You would not visit a heart surgeon to have a cavity filled. Don't leave something as complicated as personnel decisions in the hands of someone who has no experience in human resources or employment law. The outcome can be disastrous, even when you have nothing but the best of intentions.
If you can't afford to create a new human resources position, at least be cautious when assigning those duties to a current employee. Consider the importance of placing those responsibilities with someone who has good "people" skills and who isn't already overburdened. Most importantly, spend some money to get this person competently trained.
The Lane County Medical Society has operated a staffing service exclusively for medical offices for more than 30 years. Although it does not advertise itself as an authority on personnel management, the service refers high-quality, reference-checked temporary and permanent applicants for hiring consideration. This can save physicians and human resources managers significant time and effort in the recruiting process.
Another good alternative is to contact the Lane County Human Resource Association at lchra.net. They can connect you with trained human resources personnel who are looking for jobs and/or direct you to training resources.
