Letter from the President – Bart Farmer
Ten years ago, when email was becoming more popular in the workplace, a new form of harassment was born – along with a potential new headache for employers. Unlike face to face confrontations, email then, and texting today, gives the sender a sense of anonymity and leads people to say things they would typically not say otherwise.
Texting is more informal than a memo or letter, causing senders to let down their guard. In addition, it is instantaneous, eliminating that buffer of time which often results in cooler heads prevailing. As in all electronic communications, texting is immediate, cannot be retrieved and therefore, survives forever.
As with any harassment, employers are often unaware until a complaint is registered. “Textual Harassment” is no laughing matter – it falls into the same category as any harassment which is defined as: “Unwanted conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an offensive, intimidating or hostile environment”. Similarly, the Protection from Harassment Act of 1997, under which individuals are now able to bring non-discrimination based harassment claims against employers, defines harassment as a “course of conduct” which alarms a person or “causes distress”. The wording is vague and subject to interpretation, which puts any employer at risk.
In fact, there already are a growing number of lawsuits and employee complaints that include offensive text messages as evidence of inappropriate behavior, most commonly flirtatious e-mails from male supervisors to female subordinates or co-workers. In 2009, a public university in Michigan settled a sexual harassment case involving text messages as incontrovertible evidence of the behavior. The door is opening and getting wider every day. As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure you are ahead of the problem by creating a policy that demonstrates ‘reasonable steps’ to providing a harassment-free work environment including the use of text messaging, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites.
What are those reasonable steps? Certainly they would include:
- A well drafted Telephone, Email and Internet policy which sets out very clear guidelines for telephone, email and Internet use, including what is considered to be acceptable personal usage. Ensure that the policy is well publicized, readily available and, ideally, acknowledged by all employees that they have read and understood.
- Limit the use of social networking sites during working hours. Unless there are genuine business reasons for employees to use such social networking sites, employers are perfectly entitled to prevent employees from using the company’s systems for personal use or to restrict their use, for example, to outside normal working hours.
- Consider stating in your policy that employee email and Internet use during working hours will be monitored. Then do so. If you issue company phones, consider whether text messaging would be included as an option. If so, the employer needs to make sure that employees using the phones understand they have no right to privacy, and all text messages are subject to search and can be obtained by the employer at any time.
If you would like to discuss your Human Relations policies with any of our specialists, give us a call.
Bart Farmer
President, Pro Pay LLC
April 2010 Industry Article:
Payroll: In-House vs. Out-Source
Payroll tax laws, COBRA regulations and now the new health insurance & hiring requirements continue to change weekly (or so it seems). Payroll used to be a simple function – collect and input employees’ time then generate a paycheck. No longer is that the case. Payroll has morphed into a much more complex administrative task that includes federal, state and local regulations pertaining to both current and former employees. Certain COBRA requirements require employers to contact employees that may have been terminated well over six months ago. The onus is directly on the business owner to comply; yet when handled in-house, this task is often delegated to an accounting person wearing multiple hats.
In most companies, payroll is often included with other bookkeeping functions such as Accounts Payable and Receivable. In the midst of paying bills, creating budgets, and collecting outstanding invoices from customers, a payroll person must also be aware of and implement ever-changing legislation. Software packages help; but they don’t automatically calculate Personal Use of Company Car, Group Term Life benefits, flag whether a new hire is replacing a current position and other payroll-related functions that, if handled incorrectly, can come back to bite the employer or cost him/her tax credits.
Of course we believe in the power of out-sourcing payroll and HR-related functions – this is our sole occupation as a company. But because it IS our only focus, we make sure we stay on top of legislation with an eye toward keeping things simple and affordable for the employer.
Our customers have been the best source of reasons to out-source payroll versus handling this function in-house. Here are their top four reasons for allowing Pro Pay LLC to be their payroll and HR resource:
Cost Savings Part I: Outsourcing payroll typically costs less than hiring an additional employee to handle payroll. Companies can gain access to payroll specialists dedicated to ensuring they meet their statutory obligations. Enlisting the help of a payroll outsourcing service can reduce a company’s risk of legal errors, usually the definitive plus in making an outsourcing decision.
Many business owners underestimate the cost of processing payroll internally by failing to account for all hours spent and resources allocated to pay employees and maintain payroll paperwork. The capital freed up by outsourcing can be invested more profitably elsewhere in the business.
Cost Savings Part II: Outsourcing payroll allows an organization access to the best solutions and latest technology without the need for software upgrades or a direct capital investment.
Time Savings Part I: Companies who use payroll outsourcing services have less paperwork to complete and can substantially reduce the time needed to processes their payroll. This allows a company to focus on their core business service.
Time Savings Part II: Calculating federal, state, and local employment taxes and filing payroll related tax paperwork can be tedious and time-consuming; however, if done incorrectly, can result in penalty and interest charges on money owed or new tax credit benefits overlooked.
Dealing with an audit is not only nerve-wracking; it is a major investment in time when attempting to locate payroll documents that may have been generated years in the past.
Time and Money – could there be any better reason to outsource? Allowing Pro Pay LLC to maintain tax records, generate W-2s and make timely federal, state and local deposits not only relieves the business owner of mistake-driven liability, it ensures the latest tax changes are implemented seamlessly. Contact
Brian Denney, 913-826-6327 or email Brian – bdenney@propayonline.com to make this time and cost-saving decision for your company.
April 2010 How to:
How to Deal with Employee Harassment
If we’re lucky, we never need to deal with harassment in the office. Unfortunately, harassment has become more and more prevalent as businesses become larger and more employees collaborate through email, social networks and other instant electronic methods.
As employers, we need to recognize that harassment stems from a misguided sense of superiority and it's more likely to occur when disrespect of any kind is tolerated. The more forgiving we are of subtle harassing behaviours, the more likely our employees are to openly engage in aggressive behaviours.
To prevent harassment from infiltrating your company culture, follow these six steps:
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Develop a written legal anti-harassment policy. Include issues such as employees posting explicit or offensive images, using inappropriate humour or language based on racial, ethnic or gender stereotypes, and referring to one another by nickname, rather than using given names. Work with an expert, to develop a policy that is easy for your employees to understand. Be sure it includes specifics about the procedures for lodging a complaint.
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Distribute the harassment policy. Having a policy in a three-ring binder somewhere is often not enough. Make sure all employees receive a copy, take the time to review it with them and have them sign a statement that they received it and understand it.
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Conduct harassment training. At a minimum, all managers and supervisors should have training on harassment annually. One of the best ways to prevent harassment is to teach all employees about specific prohibited behaviour and to tell them they will be held accountable for such behaviour.
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Conduct thorough complaint investigations. Take every complaint seriously and investigate promptly. Work with HR, or an outside expert, to conduct the investigation. An unbiased investigation is critical, and an incomplete or inaccurate investigation can make the situation worse.
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Take prompt and effective action against the perpetrator. If you conclude that harassment has occurred, take action to stop it. In a “minor” case, counselling and an oral warning may be all that's needed. In a severe or persistent case, suspension or discharge may be necessary. In most cases, it may also be necessary for the company to rectify the consequences suffered by the victimized employee.
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Follow up on all harassment cases. Check back with the employee who made the complaint to be sure that the action taken was effective. Document follow-up interviews, correspondence or inquiries.
If you have taken all the necessary precautions and harassment still occurs, look at the evidence presented by the employee and do your best to reach an impartial conclusion. Be sure to investigate both sides of the complaint and don't take action without sufficient grounds to do so.
The best way to combat harassment is to educate your employees, giving them clear procedures they need to protect themselves from unwanted or aggressive behaviours.
Failing to take swift and effective action to prevent harassment will erode your credibility and destroy the safe and productive environment you’ve worked hard to build.
If you would like to discuss your Human Relations policies with any of our specialists, give us a call. Contact
Brian Denney, 913-826-6327 or email Brian - bdenney@propayonline.com.
Company documents and forms available on Pro Pay’s Employee Self-Service Portal:
Our Employee Self-Service portal offers a multi-function single online entry point providing employees with options to view and update their information. Company information such as Benefit Plan Documents, Company Handbooks and forms like Direct Deposit authorizations and W-4’s may also be accessed from Employee Self Service. Additionally Employee Self Service provides an Employee Suggestion Box and anonymous “Whistle Blower” capabilities. If that is not enough, our single sign-on technology puts Employee Self Service, Manager View information, Timesheet Entry and Time Off Requests with workflow and Manager approval all into the employees hands with one user id and password.
With one ID and login, your employees can keep track of:
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Paychecks and W-2 Information (From first date of employment)
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Training Course Information and Enrollment
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Year-to-Date Hours and Earnings
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W-4 Information
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Basic Employee Contact Information
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Benefits and Enrollment
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Family and Dependant Beneficiaries
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Direct Deposit Information
Take full advantage of our other valuable time-saving options in Employee Self Service such as:
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Real-time Company Directory including the Employee’s Picture
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Electronic Time Keeping and Vacation Requests
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Internal Job Postings with Online Application Process
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Customized Online Company Documents and Forms
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Scrolling Company Messages
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Electronic Suggestion Box and anonymous Whistle Blower
Your employees can access the Employee Self Service portal, from any internet connection and browser, 24 hours a day.
Maximize your employee training program with on-line class descriptions and enrollment including manager notifications and approval.
Reduce paper files, data entry errors, strain on your Human Resources department, and costs with our fully-automated Employee Self-Service portal. For more information, contact
Brian Denney, 913-826-6327 or email Brian - bdenney@propayonline.com. We look forward to demonstrating this unique, time-saving feature to you and your company.
Employee Spotlight:
Karen Mercurio
Client Relations Supervisor
(913) 826-6318
Client relationships are the backbone of Pro Pay. As a member of the Client Relations team, Karen Mercurio is responsible for answering tough client questions and supporting other Client Relations staff members.
After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree, Karen established herself in the banking industry, managing payroll and human resources for large banks. Karen joined Pro Pay in 2007, with over 10 years experience in the banking industry. Karen is a member of the American Payroll Associates (APA).
When Karen is not troubleshooting client issues and supervising the Client Relations department, she relaxes at home with her two mature Beagles, Otis and Barney.
What’s Karen’s favorite Pro Pay customer success story?
In the short time that Karen has worked at Pro Pay, one of Karen’s clients left to sign contracts with another HRIS provider for a proposed cost savings but returned shortly after, due to poor quality and service standards. Karen prides herself on serving and keeping clients – one at a time.
Connect with Karen:
PH: 913-826-6318
