The Web page provides guidance on how employers and workers involved in cleanup and recovery operations can recognize snow storm-related hazards and the necessary steps that employers must take to keep workers safe while working in these conditions. The page includes guidance for workers clearing heavy snow in front of workplaces and from rooftops, workers encountering downed power lines or traveling on icy roads, and utility workers restoring power after winter storms.

To read more about protecting your workers during a winter storm, read the full article in SMC’s HRM Update at: http://www.smc.org/sites/default/files/January%202012.pdf

On December 2, 2011, the EEOC posted an ―informal discussion letter‖ on its website. The letter was in response to an issue involving individuals who are unable to earn a high school diploma because of certain learning disabilities and who therefore are ineligible for jobs that require a high school education. According to the EEOC, a qualification standard – including a high school diploma requirement – that screens out individuals on the basis of a disability must be job related and consistent with business necessity, or such standard may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A qualification standard is ―job related and consistent with business necessity‖ if it accurately measures an applicant‘s ability to perform the fundamental responsibilities of the job in question. However, that measurement is simply the first of two steps. Once it is determined that the qualification standard being used to screen out applicants is job related and consistent with business necessity, the employer also must show that an individual who does not meet that standard is unable to perform the essential functions of the job, even with an accommodation.

That means that, for instance, if an employer requires a high school diploma as a baseline for hiring, and that baseline screens out an individual with a learning disability, the employer must fulfill both steps of the process in order to comply with the ADA. Specifically, it first must demonstrate that a high school education is a job related requirement for the particular job, and that the essential functions of the job cannot be effectively performed by someone without a high school diploma. It must then go one step further, and determine whether the individual applicant whose learning disability kept him or her from obtaining a diploma can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation. If that particular applicant is able to perform the essential functions of the job, despite the inability to meet the qualification (high school diploma), the employer cannot use the lack of diploma to screen out the disabled applicant from the applicant pool.

While this rationale was set forth in an ―informal‖ letter from the EEOC to an employer and does not have the force of law or regulation, it is worthy of notice. While an employer is not required to ―prefer‖ a learning disabled applicant over other applicants with more extensive qualifications, it is clear that the EEOC is informing employers that disabled individuals cannot be excluded from consideration for employment based upon artificial barriers in the form of inflexible qualification standards.

Source: Maria Danaher, shareholder in the Pittsburgh office of the national law firm of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PC, Four Gateway Center, Suite 400, 444 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222, Phone: 412-394-3333. Please feel free to visit their Employment Law Matters blog @ http://www.employmentlawmatters.net/

Key provisions of interest to HR professionals:

• Requires individuals separating from the military and their spouse to participate in the Transition Assistance Program (TAP). The current TAP program is voluntary for separating military personnel.
• Directs the federal government to enter into agreements with private organizations and others to provide job training assistance and develop apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship programs that provide veterans with the education, training, and services necessary to transition to meaningful employment.
• Creates a two-year demonstration program in the Department of Labor on the credentialing and licensing of veterans for specific civilian occupations.
• Provides a new hiring credit called the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Credit as an incentive to hire unemployed veterans. The VOW Act provides a credit of 40 percent of the first $6,000 in wages (up to $2,400) for employers that hire veterans unemployed for at least 4 weeks and credit of up to 40 percent of the first $14,000 of wages (up to $5,600) for veterans who have been unemployed for at least 6 months.
• Maintains and doubles the existing Wounded Warriors Opportunity Tax Credit, increasing the value of the tax credit from $4,800 to $9,600 for veterans who have been unemployed for 6 months and have a service-connected disability.

In addition, the VOW Act also made changes to the tax code to allow qualified 501(c) tax exempt organizations to claims these credits against the employer portion of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax.

Source: SHRM, Government Affairs News, December 22, 2011.

“Listen to Your Business” is a half-day workshop designed to assist existing entrepreneurs to develop and evaluate a strategic, three-year vision for their business.  Successful business owners know that the greater the clarity they have about where they are going, the faster they will get there.

To learn more about this fast-paced, interactive session with other business owners, contact:

Click here to review the photos: http://on.fb.me/wz6ThK

Qualifying activities include:

• U.S. Commercial Service for fee services (including B2B matchmaking, background checks of foreign companies, customized market intelligence reports, and Trade Winds participation)
• Overseas Trade Mission Participation
• Overseas Trade Show Participation
• Domestic Trade Show Participation (must have significant international focus)
• Foreign Market Sales Trip
• Independent Consultant Assistance (CE MARK, CSA, ISO, REACH, CITRA, etc.)
• Export Training Workshops
• Product Certification (CE MARK, CSA, ISO, etc.)
• International Marketing Media Design
• Website Internationalization
• Marketing Literature Translation Fees

For more information and to apply, contact your local Pennsylvania Regional Export Network Office.  If you’re not sure which office is yours, call 412-644-2800.

12-MONTH TECH LAYOFFS SINK 21% TO 37,038

Despite a surge in tech-sector downsizing in the second half of 2011, the number of job cuts announced by these firms last year plunged to the lowest level ever recorded in tracking going back to 1997, according to the latest report on technology sector job cuts released Monday by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Technology firms, including those in the computer, electronics and telecommunications industries, announced a total of 37,038 planned job cuts in 2011, down 21 percent from 46,825 in 2010.  The year-end total was down 79 percent from the recent peak of 174,629 recorded in 2009, when the recession was at its worst.

The decline in technology job cuts occurred as overall job cuts increased.  The number of job cuts announced across all industries rose 14 percent from 529,973 in 2010 to 606,082 in 2011.  The technology sector accounted for 6.1 percent of the 2011 total.  That is the lowest percentage of tech-sector cuts on record, falling from last year’s record low of 8.8 percent.

Technology job cuts did surge in the second half of 2011, raising concerns about whether the upward trend will continue into 2012.  From January through June, tech-sector job cuts totaled 14,308.  Job cuts jumped 59 percent to 22,730 between July and December.  That was up 99 percent from the 11,450 tech-sector job cuts announced during the same period in 2010.

Most of the second-half surge in the technology sector came from firms in the computer industry.  After announcing just 3,178 job cuts in the first half of 2011, computer firms announced planned layoffs totaling 11,499 in the second half of the year; a 262 percent increase.

“The second-half surge notwithstanding, the technology sector is definitely among the areas of the economy enjoying the fruits of recovery.  The 22,730 announced by these employers over the last six months is still relatively low, compared to recent years.  Several trends in the sector, including the advancement of cloud storage and the push to develop more portable computing devices, such as tabs and smartphones, is helping to create and protect jobs in the sector,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, payrolls at of computer and electronics manufacturing firms saw a net gain of 13,100 jobs in 2011, bringing total employment to 1,124,000.  Meanwhile, employment at companies providing computer systems design and related services increased by 60,200 to 1,525,100.

Not every area in the technology sector saw employment increase.  For example, payrolls at firms categorized by the Bureau Labor Statistics as data processing, hosting and related services shrank by 2,100 to 238,900.

Houston, for example, led the nation in technology job growth between 2010 and 2011.  According to the Nashville Technology Council, the Middle Tennessee region that includesNashvillehad more than 1,000 tech-related job openings in the fourth quarter,” noted Challenger.

 “Additionally, because the technology industry and companies’ tech needs change so rapidly, there is increasing demand for technology consultants.  These situations provide more staffing flexibility for employers, while giving technology professionals the chance to work from anywhere and possibly on multiple projects for multiple companies,” he said.

ANNUAL TECH-SECTOR JOB CUTS

2000 – 2011

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. 

For more information, please call Eileen Petrone, SMC Director of Human Resources Services at 412.342.1605, email her at eileenpetrone@smc.org, or simply complete the 2011 SMC Compensation Survey Report Online Order Form at www.smc.org and email it back to us.