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A snapshot into the current issues affecting your people

FORTHE PEOPLE

When the Company Picnic is No Picnic

As the weather gets warmer, companies are beginning to think about thannual company picnic. Employees look forward every year to the tim

off, the food, the games, the fun, the injuries and the humiliation.

Injuries and humiliation? How does someone get humiliated at a com

pany picnic?

The owner or CEO sends out a company-wide email or hangs a flythat says Vote for the person you want to see in the dunking booth

hit in the face with a pie. Does this sound familiar?

From there the humiliation factor takes off.

You will have some employees voting for a female that they would lovto see in a bikini or wet T-shirt. Some will vote for an employee th

dislike, just to see him take a bath or get covered in whipped cream.

This whole thing gets worse if the person selected doesnt really want to participate but feels forced to or think

her job/career could be in jeopardy if she doesnt play along.

The greatest danger to your business is that is the comments and emails that will fly around the company about th

Inside This Issue

When the CompanyPicnic is No Picnic

Wanna Save Money?Hire Someone!

Hiring Teens: Which

Ones Will ActuallyWork?

One for the Road:Rules for Minors andSummer Interns

Yup, They Said It

Perfect PeopleSolutions

May 2010

Wanna Save Money? Hire Someone!

President Obama signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Acton March 18, 2010. This new legislation is of particular interest to businesses as itincludes new tax benefits directly related to hiring currently unemployed candi-

dates.

There are two main benefits to employers:

1. Hiring companies are exempt from paying their 6.2% portion of withholdingtaxes in 2010 for new employees hired between February 3, 2010 and Jan 1, 2011.

This is basically exempting companies from having to pay the employers share ofsocial security.2. Hiring companies can receive an additional $1,000 tax credit for keeping the

new employees they hire in 2010 on the books for at least one year.Before you go crazy hiring folks, there are a few things to keep in mind:

Newly-hired employees must have been unemployed during the 60 days priorto starting work, or must have worked fewer than 40 hours for someone else

during the prior 60-day period. Business owners cannot hire their sons, daughters or other relatives to take ad-

Please see HIRE, page 2

Please seePicnic, pag

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PicnicContinued from page one

chosen employee are discoverable if a claim is later

filed alleging discrimination.

There is also potential long-term damage to employee

morale if the situation gets out of control.

Injuries are often an uninvited guest at the picnic. The

softball game and volleyball game are frequent cul-prits. Broken arms, broken legs or back injuries are

the most likely ailments.

This doesnt mean that you shouldnt have any physi-cal events at the picnic, but you need to make sure

that you dont require employees to participate.

By requiring them to play, you make any potentialinjury one that can fall into the category of a work-place injury. This could fall under workers compen-

sation instead of being just an accident.

Your best bet for a real fun company picnic is for all

events to be voluntary.

If you really want a victim for a dunking booth or piein the face, choose the company owner, president or

CEO.

HireContinued from page one

vantage of these benefits.

Companies cant try to get around the regulations firing a current employee and hiring a new employcovered by the HIRE Act to take the existing potion, unless the original employee quit or was fir

for cause. (Be careful with this one!) For businesses to receive the $1,000 tax credit, t

wages they pay a covered employee during his seond six months of tenure must be at least 80% of twages paid during the employee's first six monthThis means you cant cut the employees salary a just keep them on the books for a minimal salary

get the tax benefit.In dollars and cents, if a company were to hire a $12/homechanic, they could save 74 cents per hour in withhoing taxes. Using May 1, 2010 as a start date, the compa

could save more than $800 this year.

The sooner you hire unemployed candidates the momonetary benefit you can receive from this legislationyou need employees, now is a good time to hire som

one.

One for the Road: Rules for Minors and Summer Interns

State and Federal laws protect minors and unpaid interns.

Children under 14 generally cannot be employed. Exceptions include certain jobs such as working for a parent o

working as a newspaper carrier.

Minors ages 14 and 15 generally are permitted to work a limited number of hours outside of school time in non

hazardous jobs. When school is in session, work hours are limited to three hours per day and 18 hours per week

Exceptions exist during holidays and school breaks: Children ages 14 and 15 can work as many as eight houreach day and 40 hours each week, but only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. from June 1 throug

Labor Day.

Those who are 16 and 17 may generally work during school hours but are restricted from working in what th

Fair Labor Standards Act deems as hazardous jobs. Some states may also impose restrictions on the number ohours worked.

Make sure you dont take an applicants word for how old he is. You can ask the candidate to provide you witproof of his age and are also allowed by law to ask if a potential employee is over 18 or 21 where alcohol i

served. Some states issue age certificates to minors.

The federal government has begun to closely monitor the hiring of unpaid summer interns.

Make sure if you are hiring an intern, he is acting only as an observer who is receiving training and participatinin work that serves as an introduction to his chosen field. If you have him doing a bunch of grunt work like an

swering phones or other menial tasks, you should consider paying him minimum wage.

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Hiring Teens: Which Ones Will Actually Work?

Summer is arriving, which means that high school and college kids will soon be out looking for jobs. Business

owners always seem to struggle when it comes to hiring kids for summer work.

The question becomes How will I know which ones to hire?

Most kids seem nice enough but which ones will actually work for their

pay?

Summer job applicants tend to fall into one of three categories:

1. A teen whose parents are forcing her to get a job

2. A teen looking to save up money to pay for something specific

(e.g. a car, laptop computer, etc.)

3. A teen seeking to find out more about the profession she is in-

terested in pursuing

You can easily determine into which category the applicant falls based on the questions you ask and how the ap-

plicant answers.

Here are some questions to ask that will help you figure out into which category your applicant falls:

Why are you looking for work?

What is special about my company that made you apply here?

If you suddenly came into $500 what would you do with it?

What is your major? (or What are you planning to major in when you get to college?)

What have you heard about my company?

What did you say to your friends when you told them that you were coming here for an interview?

Do you know anyone who has worked here before? If the applicant says yes, ask What did they tell

you about working here?

Are you looking for a job just for the summer or would you be willing to work some during the school

year?

These questions, in addition to questions that are specific to the position for which she is interviewing, will help

you categorize your candidate.

If an applicant's parents are forcing her to get a job, she probably will not be committed to the position and will

likely make mistakes that could cost your business both money and customers.

If she is looking to save up money, she will likely be great right up until she gets the amount needed for that new

phone, laptop or iPod.

Applicants falling into the third category should do well as long as the job allows them a real chance to learn

something about their chosen field.

The key is to be careful in your selection. Dont just hire an applicant because she is nice or because she is your

niece or your next-door-neighbor's kid. Your business is too important.

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an answer that is unique to them.

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We hope you found this edition ofFor The People helpful and check out our website to see what else we can offer you andyour business (www.perfectpeoplesolutions.com). We stand ready to assist you with any of the issues addressed in this edi-tion or on any other topic that is affecting your people.

While people arentperfect, yourpeople solutions should be.

PERFECTPEOPLE SOLUTIONS

Yup, They Said It

A young woman in her early 20s got an interview with a department store for their apparel buying team. She

picked out a very conservative black skirt and pinstriped top to wear to the interview.

She arrived for the interview and was greeted by a male interviewer. During the interview she noticed that

he frequently tilted his body to one side. She thought it was a bit odd but brushed it off.

During her second interview with another man the same thing happened, but again the young woman saidnothing since she really needed the job.

Her third interview was with a woman who was the lead buyer for the department store. Things started fine

until the interviewer leaned over to one side.

What gives! the young woman said. I can put up with the two guys ogling me, but you...well, youre a

woman!

The lead buyer smiled and said Well, young lady, your skirt is falling apart at the seams and while theymay have been looking at your legs, I was just trying to be sure by looking at the tag that it wasnt one of

ours!

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