ThinkTank

Taking action on this issue now, might be a good time to make a belated New Year’s resolution for your business.

Hopefully, I haven’t caught you off guard and you’re asking yourself, “What regulations have I missed?”

Well, if you are, let’s cover the Department of Labor’s (DOL) changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Part 541 Regulations as quickly and concisely as I can.

About the worst thing to be doing right now is nothing. Don’t assume that even though legislators are in the process of seeking changes to the law that you are immune to legal or governmental measures.

Here’s what you should do:
- Review current salary levels of exempt employees and identify those paid less than the new minimum of $455 per week ($23,660 per year). 
- Conduct an analysis of the actual, specific job duties of each exempt employee, measured against the new exemption standards.
- Be able to explain why an exemption applies to each exempt employee. 
- Review pay practices for all employees. 
- Develop a written policy explaining the salary program for exempt employees. See ‘safe harbor’ policy below.
- Distribute a copy of the policy to each exempt employee. 
- Develop a clear and specific policy requiring that non-exempt employees record all working time and that all recorded working time (and all time actually worked even if it is not recorded) must be paid.

If you haven’t taken the actions listed above, you may be putting your company at risk – the new regulations became effective almost seven years ago. A review of your pay practices and policies now can enable you to better justify these policies and practices if they are questioned.

The regulations should affect all employers to some degree. Also, some changes, such as the elimination of the sole-charge exemption, and the exemptions of chefs and outside sales people who are also drivers, will impact certain industries, such as the hospitality business. 

A ‘safe harbor’ policy protects employers from losing the ability to classify employees as exempt if they make an improper wage decision, such as incorrectly deducting wages from a salaried employee. In the past, such an improper decision could result in the employer losing the right to classify the employee – as well as other employees within that job classification–as exempt. The policy should include a complaint mechanism for employees who feel their wages were improperly computed, and a provision that assures workers their pay will be appropriately adjusted after a complaint has been validated.

While there is some confusion over implementation of the regulations and safeguards, most companies report that they are not reclassifying employees from hourly to non-hourly. But
a recent survey conducted by the HR Policy Association, found that about half of the companies who responded (48 percent) said the new wage-hour law would treat more employees as eligible for overtime, while about the same amount (49 percent) said there would be little or no change.

In the past, a white-collar employee was classified exempt from the minimum-wage and overtime-pay requirements if he or she earned a minimum of $155 a week or $8,060 a year under the ‘long’ test outlined in the old regulations, or $250 a week or $13,000 a year under the ‘short’ test. That salary amount was increased to $455 a week or $23,660 a year under the new standards.

The new rules also specifically remove some blue-collar employees from exempt status, such as emergency responders, and non-managers in production, maintenance, construction and similar occupations. 

And of course, here comes the disclaimer – I am not an attorney, so don’t take this as specific legal advice. Consult your attorney. Should you wish a complimentary Exempt Status Assessment Guideline, you can request one by sending me your contact information via the “Contact Us” button at the top with ‘Exempt Guideline’ in the subject line – I’ll email you a copy.

I don’t watch “reality” shows, except for an occasional few minutes of “American Idol”, but I remember scanning the tube with the remote (Yes, I am a male) and seeing a few minutes of this show called, “Hell’s Kitchen”. I wasn’t too impressed, not only because I’m not a reality show fan, but mostly because I’ve worked in a few kitchens in my day, and I was a state restaurant inspector in New Orleans for several years after graduating from college.

What got me thinking, as I was switching channels, was realizing that there are hundreds of businesses out there that resemble “Hell’s Kitchen” and believe me, I’ve worked at a few of those firms where the owners and managers were as badly behaved. And while some of you are reading this you’ll know who you are without looking in the mirror!

So you ask, “What’s the big deal? It’s just business.” Here’s the big deal: very few businesses survive being a “Hell’s Kitchen”, or functioning like one of those fishing boats you see on “Deadliest Catch”. Those are really unique industries and from my experience, the more dangerous the work, the more intense the relationships become.

If you aren’t an owner or manager in a business such as these, and you treat your employees (or worse, your customers) like the leaders in those shows, your company will never reach its full potential to earn profits. Every week I speak with someone who has been working at a job they hate – nearly a hundred folks each year. Most of them are looking for work for one reason; their boss; and it’s because their boss is a jerk or bully, or both! What’s worse is the boss believes he or she has the advantage of a down economy as a trump card and chooses to use it like a weapon.

I remember talking with my dad, who was a retired IBM executive, about his work before “Big Blue” hired him in 1953. As a high school and college student growing up in Kansas, he delivered ice to local families (most folks didn’t have electric refrigerators). He also worked on large farm equipment during wheat harvests, traveling all across the mid-West. After his stint in the Navy as a radar technician during WWII, he worked in a manufacturing plant that made plastic tubing for the automobile industry, which was a really tough and dirty job. He didn’t like the work because the air was filled with plastic dust, and his boss was more like the town bully than any manager he’d met. He noted that a lot of companies took advantage of returning servicemen and women because jobs were quite scarce. They made use of the fear of unemployment as a whip.
He applied those past experiences to hone his own leadership style and even though I’m prejudiced about it, he was quite a special leader. I remember the people at IBM who begged him to stay on in his role as site general manager when he announced his retirement.

I learned a lot from my dad, and now I coach and train poorly performing managers and owners on how to become truly respected leaders within their organizations. I also coach people of all generations on how to find a better job. I’ve been in both places more than once myself and here is what I can offer to you.

If you are a “Hell’s Kitchen” boss, you’d better change. Why? Well, you’ve probably already noticed the effects of your bad behavior and poor communications skills. If you are working for a “Hell’s Kitchen” boss or owner, plan your exit. That’s right, start now strategizing on where to find a career where you will work for a true leader. Believe me, even in this crummy economy people are finding jobs with great companies, and terrific leaders, every day.

I didn’t see the movie “Snakes on a Plane”. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I don’t particularly like snakes. I’m not necessarily afraid of them, but I do have respect for the levels of terror they cause me and others. That’s because as an outdoorsman, when I’ve seen them in the wild, they’ve surprised the heck out of me. And usually, I’ve done the same to them.

Nope, being trapped in an aluminum tube traveling eight miles a minute and five miles high with critters like snakes is not my cup of tea. But it is a perfect likeness to what may be going on within your company.

Snakes in the business world are people who don’t hide under rocks or dead trees, but they slither around from meeting to meeting, water cooler to lunch room, office to office, cubicle to cubicle, all the while bashing the boss, cursing customers, slamming suppliers, undermining legitimate business strategies and actions, and poisoning attitudes everywhere. See? Right now, I know you’re thinking of the snakes in your company, those that have left or at least a few that are suspects.

You should fear your snakes even more than the shoulder-less creatures found in Mother Nature, because they are squelching the growth and innovation of your top performers. Even though there may only be a few, their negative impact is huge. They resist change, tear at team-building, create silos, turf wars and political upheaval.

These snakes are users, and like real snakes, they are cowardly most of the time. They strike when startled, reacting in an attempt to protect “their” people, “their” department, “their” job, and produce little, if any significant results.
Most of the time, they are sifting through the ashes, creating red tape, paperwork, screaming at employees, blaming their peers, and covering their butts, rather than preventing the fires, finding innovative ways to lead their direct reports and making themselves the strongest link in the team’s chain.

Some of their favorites: Steering committees, task forces, endless in-depth and redundant research, and hashing it over – and over – and over, again, rather than making a decision. A few favorite sayings: “Let’s study that.” “Why don’t we call a meeting?” “That can’t be done.” “It won’t work.” “We’ve never done it like that before.” “If it’s not broken, we shouldn’t fix it.” “Can’t talk right now. Gotta’ get to a meeting.”

Instead of surrounding themselves with folks that are smarter than they are, they chase talent away, because they feel threatened. They’ve never agreed with, and likely never even heard, Ted Turner’s classic comment, “Lead, follow or get out of the way.” And worse of all, they’re usually suck-ups to upper management, unless of course they are upper management (you Enron, MCI/WorldCom and Delta folks know what I mean). Rather than “connecting” with their team, they avoid contact, hiding out in their offices with the doors closed.

They think ‘accountability’ has something to do with the finance department and they wouldn’t dream of giving one of their team a less than ‘very good’ performance review, formally or informally, because it would be a direct reflection on their management ability. And you know what? It is.

Often like “Snakes on a Plane” it’s often best to find a way to get rid of ‘snakes in your company’. But there are alternatives. One of the best is confronting them and hire a coach – hint, hint – to help modify their behavior. Many of them can change – some don’t want to. Remember, people as snakes is really a figure of speech. But don’t let them surprise you, or you may get bitten.

Brian Howe is a professionally-trained executive and business coach, writer and speaker, who owns ThinkTank Coaching. He is also a Certified Mediator, and holds the highest human resource certification, Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). He has worked with over 300 business owners and professionals, coaching and consulting with them on leadership development and other aspects related to people in business. He can be reached at (770) 922-6007 or via his website www.coachbrian.com

If you are running a company:

I. Thou shalt never hire in haste.

II. Thou shalt reward only accountable people.

III. Thou shalt seek advice from those who do the work.

IV. Thou shalt focus on what is wrong before who is wrong.

V. Thou shalt not equate seniority, credentials or even experience with performance.

VI. Thou shalt rely on facts before opinions.

VII. Thou shalt honor results and quality over activities, and effectiveness over efficiency.

VIII. Thou shalt set individual goals with each employee.

IX. Thou shalt not dwell on past mistakes.

X. Thou shalt resist the temptation to believe that control of resources and of authority yields respect.