HR-XML A Universal Language for the Electronic Age

 

Lisa McDaniel

Whidbey General Hospital

 

Wouldn't it be nice if all the resumes you received via e-mail, your web site or one of the many on-line web pages had the same format?� Hypertext Mark Up Language (HTML) revolutionized our world allowing a standard language for the World Wide Web.�� Recently I read three articles in two separate professional Magazines (HRMagazine - June 2000 and Human Resource Executive- January 2000 and March 2000) about the HR-XML Consortium, a group currently working on making this wish come true.

 

The HR-XML consortium is a newly formed non-profit group dedicated to this vision of a standardized human resources related vocabulary, enabling business to business e-commerce and the automation of inter-company exchanges of human resources data.�

 

Staffing and recruiting seem to be at the top of the Consortium's list to standardize.� These plans include:

 

�         Smart requisitioning-standardized formats enabling interfaces that allow requisitions and job postings to flow seamlessly from employer systems to online recruiting systems and job boards.

�         Privacy Protection

�         Try Before You Buy-Encryption and filtering techniques enabling the creation of databanks that recruiters can search and evaluate before committing to purchase resume or job candidate data.�

�         Knowledge management-descriptive XML tags to help manage the employee knowledge base.

�         Elimination of manual data capture/processing-the "write once and reuse" characteristics of XML will eliminate manual data entry.

 

Unlike HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language) is more flexible and is designed to be used to display instructions and describe the content of just about any type of file including text, web pages, spreadsheets, database files and graphics.� In other words, it allows automated data exchange without requiring custom programming.��

 

This is an exciting new direction for Human Resources and I expect we will begin to hear more about HR-XML in the months ahead.� If you are interested in learning more about this, the work of the consortium can be found at: http://www.hr-xml.org.�����

 

Regardless of whether the consortium can achieve their goals, it is clear some standard is necessary.� Any purchase of new software should include in-depth exploration about HR-XML, or an ability to provide an adequate interface with the web.

 

 

�Son of Weingarten Returns�:� A Horror Film Fiasco???�

NLRB Applies Weingarten Rights to �Non-Union� Employers

bBob Sebris & Julie Kebler, Attorneys

SEBRIS BUSTO, P.S.

 

Now, be honest.� As an experienced Human Resources Manager, you probably thought that the current �pro-Labor� politicization of the National Labor Relations Board and the U.S. Department of Labor couldn�t get any worse, but. . . . you were wrong.� Enter the Board�s brand new decision - Epilepsy Foundation of Northeast Ohio (2000).� Private and public sector healthcare employers should take note.

In Epilepsy Foundation, the Board has just reversed fifteen (15) years of clear NLRB precedent, Sears, Roebuck & Co. (1985) and E.I. DuPont & Co. (1988), returning to the controversial principles of Materials Research Corp. (1982), which itself stood decades of basic labor law on its head in the first place.� This �Ping-Pong� case law series, reminiscent of Hollywood horror sequels (�Son of Weingarten Returns�, �Bride of Weingarten�, �Weingarten VI�, etc.), takes private sector case law under the National Labor Relations Act back to a strange place.� Now -- surprise -- employees who work for private sector healthcare employers under the NLRA in �nonunion� settings have the same basic �Weingarten� rights as �unionized�� workers.��

In the seminal case involving a union represented workforce, NLRB v. Weingarten (1975), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an employee had the right to request� representation at an investigative meeting from which the employee reasonably believes that discipline could result.� The Weingarten rule and developments regarding its application are also significant to healthcare employers in the public sector, as our Courts and Public Employment Relations Commission in Washington State place great weight on NLRB rulings (although they are not bound by them).� Since PERC has endorsed basic Weingarten rights over the years, e.g., Okanogan County (1986), the new Board rule in Epilepsy Foundation could pose future public sector concerns as well.

 

Consequently, all employers under the NLRA � �unionized� or not � must remember that Weingarten rights apply to all workers.� (Right now under PERC, Weingarten only applies in a union represented workplace.)� Fortunately, at present there is no affirmative duty to inform your employees of this right.� You don�t have to pull your �Miranda� card from your pocket and read the worker�s rights to Weingarten representation during an investigation, like law enforcement officials must do under criminal law pursuant to Arizona v. Miranda (1966).� (For a variety of reasons, you certainly can choose to create this practice.)

 

In today�s human resources management world, investigations directed by the Human Resources Department are increasingly common.� Employers of all types -- those with union contracts and those without -- those under the NLRA or PERC -- should dust off their basic Weingarten guidelines.� Your management team should be alerted.

 

Some basic PRACTICAL POINTERS for all employers may be helpful:

 

�         Weingarten only applies to investigations � not meetings to give discipline, not counseling sessions, not training or orientation, not evaluation review meetings, etc.

�         An employee has no representation right unless the employee has a reasonable belief that discipline could result � so if a matter will not potentially trigger discipline, Weingarten would not seem to apply.�

�         You don�t have to inform an employee about the right to Weingarten representation.� The worker has to initiate the request, but �magic� Weingarten phrases are not required.� Once the employee�s intent to seek representation from someone is raised, the employer should follow its standard Weingarten protocol.

�         At present, Weingarten appears to be limited to union or �coworker� representation � not outside parties like friends, relatives or personal attorneys -- although there is some case law that the request for a supervisor or foreman to sit in on an investigative meeting does invoke the basic right.

�         Be prepared to reasonably delay an investigative meeting if an employee asks for representation, to allow for a co-worker to attend.� In most instances, briefly slowing down the process will not be a hindrance, and will be an important fairness step to help preserve the products of your investigation.

�         Employers with union contracts should not forget to study existing collective bargaining agreements, as labor contracts sometimes amplify and build on fundamental Weingarten rules.

�         Employers need to update and crosscheck NLRB & PERC Weingarten case law developments, so that they are always operating under the most recent guidelines.� All employers need to revisit the implications and applications of Weingarten in various scenarios, so that they are prepared to handle sudden developments.

 

Remember, when an employee requests �representation� regarding an investigative meeting that could lead to discipline, it no longer makes a difference under the NLRA if that worker is in a bargaining unit covered by a labor contract or not.� PERC covered employers need to be sensitive to emerging developments as well.� Ideally, by monitoring these new developments you can avoid such procedural unfair labor practices, and their related time, cost and aggravation.

 

SEBRIS BUSTO, P.S. is a Washington Law firm representing health care employers in labor and employment law matters, and a member of WSHHRA.� Emphasizing problem resolution and prevention, some of its practice areas include:� labor law and collective bargaining, wage and hour, FMLA, discrimination, and discharge litigation.� This is a courtesy article to help provide practical considerations under labor and employment law and is not legal advice.� For any questions or comments, Bob Sebris can be reached at (425)450-0300 (or email: [email protected]).

�2000 SEBRIS BUSTO, P.S

 

Gearing Up� For The Ergonomics Regulation

 

Jonathan Wilby

Group Retro Program

Washington Employers Association

 

It is now more important then ever to take care of the human resources within your organization.� There has been a sharp decline in birth rates since the post-World War II baby boom.� This combined with lower unemployment rates make it much harder to find quality employees and more important than in the past to keep an aging workforce working long and productive lives.� The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is leading the way and has adopted an ergonomics rule prior to a federal regulation being adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

 

This rule is designed to reduce employee exposure to specific workplace hazards that can cause or aggravate work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) such as tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome and low back disorders that injure more than 50,000 Washington workers annually costing employers over $411 million dollars.�

 

There are three parts to the ergonomic rule: (1) which employers are covered, (2) employee-education and hazard identification requirements, and (3) a timeline for compliance.� An employer will not be in violation of the rule by simply having an employee that develops a WMSD or related symptom if they follow the rule requirements.

Part One Covered Employers

 

Companies employing people who fall into a category called �caution zone jobs� must meet the requirements of the rule.� Several physical risk factors are included in a �caution zone job.�� The six physical risk factors are: awkward posture; high hand force; highly repetitive motion; repeated impact; heavy, frequent or awkward lifting; and moderate to high hand-arm vibration.� There are very specific definitions of what durations and activities fall into each of these categories.� Employers do not need an ergonomics program if they don�t have employees that meet the definition of a �caution zone job.�

Part Two Employee Education and Hazard Identification

 

All employees working in or supervising �caution zone jobs� must receive ergonomics awareness training at least once every three years.� New employees are required to receive the training within 30 calendar days unless they have received ergonomics training in the past.� The ergonomic awareness education should consist of: information on WMSDs; the types, symptoms and consequences of WMSDs and the importance of early reporting; information on identifying WMSD hazards and common measures to reduce them; and the requirements of the ergonomics rule.� There are two approaches with similar requirements that can be used to analyze and reduce the hazards.� No written ergonomics program is required if all WMSDs can be reduced below levels specified in the rule.� Employee participation and Safety Committee involvement is a major function of the ergonomics rule.

Part Three Compliance Timeline

 

The rule will be phased in over a period of two to five years based on your SIC code.� Nursing, personal care, and residential care facilities are required to complete the awareness education and hazard analysis by July 1, 2002.� The hazard reduction requirement must be completed no more than one year later.� Most other medical fields fall into Phase Two of the implementation schedule by employing more than 50 full time employees.� They must complete the awareness education and hazard analysis by July 1, 2026 and have the hazard reduction completed by July 1, 2004.� It is the Department of Labor & Industries� goal to make sure the rule is working correctly before any enforcement occurs.