PowerPoint assignment - due in 36 hours ch 7 to 12

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Chapter Twelve

Dealing with Employee-Management Issues and Relationships

Copyright © 2010 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

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ROGER GOODELL
National Football League (NFL)

  • Started with the NFL as a public relations intern in 1982.
  • Named COO in 2001 and became League Commissioner in 2006.
  • Revised the league’s conduct policy and is negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement between players and teams.

Profile

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GOALS of ORGANIZED LABOR

  • To work with fair and competent management.
  • Be treated with human dignity.
  • Receive a reasonable share of wealth in the work it generates.

Employee -Management Issues

LG1

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See Learning Goal 1: Trace the history of organized labor in the United States.

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ORGANIZED LABOR

  • Unions -- Employee organizations whose main goal is to represent members in employee-management negotiations of job-related issues.
  • Labor unions were responsible for:
  • Minimum wage laws
  • Overtime rules
  • Workers’ compensation
  • Severance pay
  • Child-labor laws
  • Job-safety regulations

LG1

Employee - Management Issues

12-*

See Learning Goal 1: Trace the history of organized labor in the United States.

Many of the benefits that workers’ enjoy today are due to the battles unions have fought over the past 100 years. Students are often shocked that a little over 100 years ago the average work week was between 60 to 80 hours. The 40 hour work week is a direct result of unions.

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HISTORY of
ORGANIZED LABOR

  • Craft Union -- An organization of skilled specialists in a particular craft or trade.
  • As early as 1792, shoemakers in a Philadelphia craft union met to discuss fundamental work issues.

LG1

The Early History of Organized Labor

  • Work weeks were 60+ hours, wages were low and child labor was rampant.

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See Learning Goal 1: Trace the history of organized labor in the United States.

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EMERGENCE of LABOR ORGANIZATIONS

  • Knights of Labor -- First national labor union; formed in 1869.

LG1

The Early History of Organized Labor

  • Knights attracted 700,000 members but fell from prominence after a riot in Chicago.
  • American Federation of Labor (AFL) -- An organization of craft unions that championed fundamental labor issues; formed in 1886.

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See Learning Goal 1: Trace the history of organized labor in the United States.

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INDUSTRIAL UNIONS

  • Industrial Unions -- Labor unions of unskilled or semiskilled workers in mass production industries.
  • Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) -- Union organization of unskilled workers; broke away from the AFL in 1935 and rejoined in 1955.
  • The AFL-CIO today has affiliations with 56 unions and about 10.5 million members.

LG1

The Early History of Organized Labor

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See Learning Goal 1: Trace the history of organized labor in the United States.

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EFFECTS of LAWS on
LABOR UNIONS

  • Labor unions’ growth and influence has been very dependent on public opinion and law.
  • The Norris-LaGuardia Act helped unions by prohibiting the use of Yellow-Dog Contracts -- A type of contract that required employees to agree to NOT join a union.
  • Collective Bargaining -- The process whereby union and management representatives form an agreement, or contract, for employees.

LG2

Labor Legislation and Collective Bargaining

12-*

See Learning Goal 2: Discuss the major legislation affecting labor unions.

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FORMING a UNION in the WORKPLACE

  • The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was created to oversee labor-management issues and provide guidelines for unionization.
  • Certification -- The formal process by which a union is recognized by the NLRB as the bargaining agent for a group of employees.
  • Decertification -- The process whereby employees take away a union’s right to represent them.

LG2

Labor Legislation and Collective Bargaining

12-*

See Learning Goal 2: Discuss the major legislation affecting labor unions.

The National Labor Relations Act (often referred to as the Wagner Act) created the NLRB.

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WHY JOIN a UNION?

  • Pro-union attitudes
  • Poor management/employee relations
  • Negative organizational climate
  • Poor work conditions
  • Union’s reputation
  • Job security

Labor Legislation and Collective Bargaining

LG2

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See Learning Goal 2: Discuss the major legislation affecting labor unions.

Why Join a Union?

  • This slide lists some of the key reasons why a person might consider joining a union.
  • The power of unions has waned as the economy has shifted from an industrial economy into a service based economy.
  • Ask students the following question: Are unions necessary in today’s modern working environment?

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LABOR/MANAGEMENT
AGREEMENTS

  • Negotiated Labor-Management Agreement (Labor Contract) -- Sets the terms under which labor and management will function over a period of time.
  • Union Security Clause -- Stipulates workers who reap union benefits must either join the union or pay dues to the union.

LG3

Objectives of Organized Labor

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See Learning Goal 3: Outline the objectives of labor unions.

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UNION SECURITY AGREEMENTS

  • Closed Shop Agreement -- Specified workers had to be members of a union before being hired for a job.
  • Union Shop Agreement -- Declares workers don’t have to be members of a union to be hired but must agree to join the union within a specific time period.
  • Agency Shop Agreement -- Allows employers to hire nonunion workers who don’t have to join the union but must pay fees.

LG3

Objectives of Organized Labor

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See Learning Goal 3: Outline the objectives of labor unions.

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RIGHT-to-WORK LAWS

  • Right-to-Work Laws -- Legislation that gives workers the right, under an open shop, to join or not to join a union.
  • The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 granted states the power to outlaw union shop agreements.
  • Open Shop Agreement -- Agreement in right-to-work states that gives workers the right to join or not join a union, if one exists in their workplace.

LG3

Objectives of Organized Labor

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See Learning Goal 3: Outline the objectives of labor unions.

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STATES with
RIGHT-to-WORK LAWS

LG3

Objectives of Organized Labor

12-*

See Learning Goal 3: Outline the objectives of labor unions.

This map can be used as the basis for an interesting classroom exercise. The United States’ auto industry has been in the news with the financial difficulties of General Motors and Chrysler well chronicled. Have students use the internet to research the location of any new auto plants in the United States. Research will uncover many new auto related jobs are in right-to-work states. For example a recent article in the Boston Globe profiled Alabama’s auto related job growth. In 2001, Alabama had 21,000 auto related jobs that number now stands at over 48,000. Many would argue this trend of locating in the southeast is due to the those states’ right-to-work laws.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/12/10/regional_split_at_root_of_auto_vote/

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WORKERS of the WORLD, UNITE
(Reaching Beyond Our Borders)

  • As markets become borderless, labor unions are embracing the idea of global unions.
  • The global workforce has doubled in size but the numbers of workers in unions has declined.
  • Union leaders from 64 countries have formed the Council of Global Unions.
  • Many companies are strongly opposed to global unions and have promised to fight them.

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See Learning Goal 3: Outline the objectives of labor unions.

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RESOLVING DISAGREEMENTS

  • Labor contracts outline labor and management’s rights and serves as a guide to workplace relations.
  • Grievances -- A charge by employees that management isn’t abiding by the terms of the negotiated agreement.
  • Shop Stewards -- Union officials who work permanently in an organization and represent employee interests on a daily basis.

LG3

Resolving Labor-Management Disagreements

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See Learning Goal 3: Outline the objectives of labor unions.

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USING MEDIATION and
ARBITRATION

  • Bargaining Zone -- The range of options labor and management have between initial and final contract offers that each side will consider before an impasse is reached.
  • Mediation -- The use of a third party to encourage both sides to keep negotiating to resolve key contract issues.
  • Arbitration -- An agreement to bring in a third party to render a binding agreement.

LG3

Mediation and Arbitration

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See Learning Goal 3: Outline the objectives of labor unions.

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The GRIEVANCE RESOLUTION PROCESS

LG3

Mediation and Arbitration

12-*

See Learning Goal 3: Outline the objectives of labor unions.

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TACTICS USED in CONFLICTS

  • Weapons used by labor unions include:
  • Strikes
  • Boycotts
  • Work Slowdowns
  • Pickets

LG4

Tactics Used in Labor-Management Conflicts

12-*

See Learning Goal 4: Describe the tactics used by labor and management during conflicts, and discuss the role of unions in the future.

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STRIKES and BOYCOTTS

  • Strikes -- A strategy in which workers refuse to go to work.
  • Primary Boycott -- When a union encourages both its members and the general public to not buy the products of a firm in a labor dispute.
  • Secondary Boycott -- An attempt by labor to convince others to stop doing business with a firm that’s the subject of a primary boycott.

LG4

Union Tactics

12-*

See Learning Goal 4: Describe the tactics used by labor and management during conflicts, and discuss the role of unions in the future.

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TACTICS USED in CONFLICTS

  • Weapons used by management include:
  • Lockouts
  • Injunctions
  • Strikebreakers

LG4

Tactics Used in Labor-Management Conflicts

12-*

See Learning Goal 4: Describe the tactics used by labor and management during conflicts, and discuss the role of unions in the future.

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LOCKOUTS, INJUNCTIONS and STRIKEBREAKERS

  • Lockout -- An attempt by management to put pressure on workers by closing the business thus cutting off workers’ pay.
  • Injunction -- A court order directing someone to do something or refrain from doing something.
  • Strikebreakers -- Workers hired to do the work of striking workers until the labor dispute is resolved; called scabs by unions.

LG4

Management Tactics

12-*

See Learning Goal 4: Describe the tactics used by labor and management during conflicts, and discuss the role of unions in the future.

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WHEN DO YOU CROSS the LINE?
(Making Ethical Decisions)

  • Shop-Til-You-Drop is seeking workers to fill the jobs of striking workers.
  • Many students at your college are employees and others are supporting the strike.
  • You need money and legally it’s permissible to replace striking workers.
  • What will you do? What are the consequences?

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See Learning Goal 4: Describe the tactics used by labor and management during conflicts, and discuss the role of unions in the future.

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CHALLENGES FACING LABOR UNIONS

  • The number of union workers are falling.
  • Many workers (like airline employees) have agreed to Givebacks -- Gains from labor negotiations are given back to management to help save jobs.

LG4

Future of Unions and Labor-Management Relations

12-*

See Learning Goal 4: Describe the tactics used by labor and management during conflicts, and discuss the role of unions in the future.

The percentage of union membership has fallen over the past fifty years. In 1945 35.5% of all workers were unionized today that number stands at only 12.4%.

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LABOR UNIONS in the FUTURE

  • Union membership will include more white-collar, female and foreign-born workers than in the past.

LG4

Future of Unions and Labor-Management Relations

  • Unions will take on a greater role in training workers, redesigning jobs and assimilating the changing workforce.
  • Unions will seek more job security, profit sharing and increased wages.

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See Learning Goal 4: Describe the tactics used by labor and management during conflicts, and discuss the role of unions in the future.

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UNION MEMBERSHIP by STATE

LG4

Future of Unions and Labor-Management Relations

12-*

See Learning Goal 4: Describe the tactics used by labor and management during conflicts, and discuss the role of unions in the future.

Union Membership by State

  • The slide presents union membership by state in the U.S.
  • New York, Michigan, Hawaii and Alaska lead the states with unionization rates greater than 20%.
  • North Carolina and South Carolina have the lowest percentage of union workers with unionization rates less than 4.9%.

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NURSING THE UNIONS
BACK to HEALTH
(Spotlight on Small Business)

  • Aging Baby Boomers promise to increase the number of needed healthcare workers.
  • More than 500,000 nurses currently belong to unions but over 1 million nurses could be part of unions by 2016.
  • Issues important to nurses include safe staffing, a voice in hospital policy and increased pay.

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See Learning Goal 4: Describe the tactics used by labor and management during conflicts, and discuss the role of unions in the future.

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PROGRESS ASSESSMENT

  • What are the major laws that affected union growth, and what does each one cover?
  • How do changes in the economy affect the objectives of unions?
  • What are the major tactics used by unions and by management to assert their power in contract negotiations?
  • What types of workers do unions hope to organize in the future?

Progress Assessment

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1. What are the major laws that affected union growth, and what does each one cover?

- The Norris-LaGuardia Act prohibited employers from using contracts that forbid union activities and paved the way for union growth in the United States.

- The National Labor Relations Act or Wagner Act allowed collective bargaining and created the National Labor Relations Board.

- The Fair Labor Standards Act set a minimum wage and maximum basic hours for work.

- The Labor-Management Relations Act or Taft-Hartley Act amended the Wagner Act and permitted states to pass laws prohibiting compulsory union membership, set up methods to deal with strikes that impact national health and safety, closed-shop agreements and prohibited wage payments for work not performed (featherbedding). This law weakened union power in the U.S.

- The Labor-Management Report and Disclosure Act or Landrum-Griffin Act amended theTaft-Hartley Act and Wagner Act, guaranteed individual rights of union members in dealing with their union such as the right to nominate candidates for union office, vote in union elections, attend and participate in union meetings, vote on union business and examine union records and accounts. The goal of this legislation was to eliminate union corruption.

2. How do changes in the economy affect the objectives of unions? Unions and their objectives have frequently shifted with social and economic trends. In the 1970s the primary objective was additional pay and benefits; while in the 1980s unions focused on job security. During the 1990s and 2000s job security remained a key issue as unions tried to cope with global competition and outsourcing.

3. What are the major tactics used by unions and by management to assert their power in contract negotiations? The major tactics used by unions include: strikes, boycotts, work slowdowns and pickets. Management tactics include: lockouts, injunctions and bringing in strikebreakers.

4. What types of workers do unions hope to organize in the future? To remain relevant, unions must attract new members. This includes more professional, female and foreign born workers. Both the Teamsters Union and Service Employees International Union have started to target workers in health care, technology and finance.

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COMPENSATING EXECUTIVES

Executive Compensation

LG5

  • CEO compensation used to be determined by a firm’s profitability or increase in stock price.
  • Now, executives receive stock options and restricted stock that’s awarded even if the company performs poorly.

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See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

Peter Drucker suggested CEO pay should be no more that 20X the lowest paid employee. The average is now 180X.

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PLAY BALL!
Minimum Salaries in Four Professional Sports

LG5

Executive Compensation

Source: World Features Syndicate.

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League Amount per Week
National Hockey League (NHL) $8,654
National Basketball Association (NBA) $8,215
Major League Baseball (MLB) $7,500
National Football League (NFL) $5,401

See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

Play Ball

1. Salaries are based on a 52-week schedule.

2. Ask the students: What do they expect to make when they graduate? What do these minimum salaries say about what society values? (Student answers will vary.)

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TAKE ME OUT to the BALL GAME
Biggest Contracts in Major League Baseball (2008)

LG5

Executive Compensation

Source: World Features Syndicate.

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Player Amount per Day
Alex Rodriguez $69,041
Manny Ramirez $54,795
Derek Jeter $51,781
Todd Helton $43,075

See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

Take me Out to the Ball Game

  • This slide profiles the biggest contracts in Major League Baseball for 2008
  • Question for classroom discussion: Is is fair to be critical of the salaries on this slide when entertainers like Oprah make $275 million a year and Johnny Depp made $72 million a year? What about the salaries of CEOs which average $12.8 million?

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PAYING for INCOMPETENCE
(Legal Briefcase)

  • Some companies defy common sense by rewarding failure.
  • CEOs like Robert Nardelli and Stanley O’Neal walked away with mega millions after lackluster performances.
  • “Corporate Benevolence” even extends beyond the grave due to controversial provisions called “golden coffins.”

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See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

The goal of a company’s board of directors is to maximize shareholder wealth not the wealth of CEOs.

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COMPENSATING EXECUTIVES
in the FUTURE

Executive Compensation

LG5

  • Boards of directors are being challenged concerning executive contracts.
  • Government and shareholders are putting pressure to overhaul executive compensation.
  • Financial crisis of 2008-2009 strengthened the argument of shareholders concerning limits on compensation.

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See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

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The QUESTION of PAY EQUITY

Pay Equity

LG5

  • Women earn 78.7% of what men earn.
  • This disparity varies by profession, experience and level of education.
  • The 2009 Paycheck Fairness Act strengthened protections against compensation discrimination.

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See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

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EQUAL PAY for EQUAL WORK
Equal Pay Act Factors that Justify Pay Differences

  • Skill
  • Effort
  • Responsibility
  • Working Conditions

Pay Equity

LG5

12-*

See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

Equal Pay for Equal Work

  • This slide presents the Equal Pay Act factors that justify pay differences: skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. The Equal Pay Act prohibits unequal pay to men and women who perform jobs that require substantially the same skills, efforts, responsibilities, etc.
  • Ask the students: Is it fair that different genders receive different pay? (Most will say “NO.”)
  • Yet, in the U.S., women earn only about 80% of what men earn. There are, however, significant disparities by profession, education level, etc.

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THE SALARY GENDER GAP

LG5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Pay Equity

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Age Average Salary
15 to 24 Women - $23,357 Men - $26,100
25 to 44 Women - $41,558 Men - $55,286
45 to 64 Women - $44,808 Men - $67,040

See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

The Salary Gender Gap

  • This slide presents the inequity in earnings: what women of certain ages earn compared with the average salary earned by a white male in the same age range.
  • To start a discussion on this topic ask the students: What are some of the reasons behind this salary gender gap? (Answers will vary but could include issues like women working part-time to raise children or women leaving the workforce due to family issues)
  • If time permits have students read chapter three of Thomas Sowell’s awarding winning book, Economic Facts and Fallacies which explores this issue in depth and will provide for a rich classroom discussion.

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WHAT’S SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Sexual Harassment

LG5

  • Sexual Harassment -- Unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct that creates a hostile work environment.
  • Sexual harassment laws cover men, women and foreign companies doing business in the U.S.
  • Violations can be extremely expensive for businesses.

12-*

See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

Students should realize that sexual harassment covers all employees as well as vendors, suppliers and others who come in contact with company employees. Businesses need to take all allegations seriously and develop a protocol for investigating each claim.

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KINDS of SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Sexual Harassment

LG5

  • Quid pro quo sexual harassment involves threats like “Go out with me or you’re fired.” An employee’s job is based on submission.
  • Hostile work environment sexual harassment is conduct that interferes with a worker’s performance or creates an intimidating or offensive work environment.

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See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

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YOU MAKE the CALL…

  • Two colleagues walk by you as one delivers the punch line to a very dirty joke. You feel the joke is inappropriate. Is this sexual harassment under the law?
  • An employee thinks she may have been sexually harassed. She explains the circumstances to you and asks, “Wouldn’t you be upset?” What’s your response?

Sexual Harassment

LG5

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See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

You Make the Call…

1. Ask the students – Have they felt uncomfortable in situations that can be described as sexual harassment? How about the male students in class?

2. Discuss the situations above with students and then specifically discuss what constitutes sexual harassment.

3. For the conduct to be considered illegal under specific conditions:

  • The employee’s submission to such conduct is explicitly or implicitly made a term or condition of employment, or an employee’s submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting the worker’s status.
  • If the conduct unreasonably interferes with a worker’s job performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

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FACING CHILDCARE ISSUES

Child Care

LG5

  • The number of women in the workforce with children under three-years-old has increased.
  • Childcare related absences cost businesses billions of dollars each year.
  • Who should pay for the cost of childcare - a dividing issue among employees and businesses.

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See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

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BUSINESSES RESPONSE to
CHILD CARE

Child Care

LG5

  • Firms have established discount arrangements with national childcare providers.
  • Employees are given vouchers that offer payment toward childcare.
  • Referral services identify high-quality childcare facilities to employees.
  • On-site childcare centers and sick-child centers have been established at some companies.

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See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

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INCREASING ELDER CARE CHALLENGES

Elder Care

LG5

  • Households with at least one adult providing elder care has tripled.
  • About 20 million workers provide care which costs companies $11 billion a year in absenteeism, reduced productivity and turnover.
  • Costs could rise up to $25 billion.

12-*

See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

As the population ages caring for one’s parents will be a bigger employment related issue. Proactive companies will develop benefits to meet this challenge.

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DRUG USE in the WORKPLACE

Drug Testing

LG5

  • Alcohol is the most widely used drug - 6.2% of full time employees are considered heavy drinkers.
  • Over 8% of workers aged 18-49 use illegal drugs and are more likely to be in workplace accidents.
  • Drug abuse costs the U.S. economy $276 billion in lost work, healthcare costs and crime.
  • Over 70% of major companies drug test workers.

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See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

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VIOLENCE in the WORKPLACE

Violence in the Workplace

LG5

  • OSHA reports homicides account for 16% of workplace deaths.
  • Violence is the number one cause of death for women in the workplace.
  • Companies have taken action to deal with potential problems by using focus groups and other interactions.

12-*

See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

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WARNING SIGNS of POSSIBLE WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

LG5

Violence in the Workplace

  • Unprovoked outbursts of anger or rage
  • Threats or verbal abuse
  • Repeated suicidal comments
  • Paranoid behavior
  • Increased frequency of domestic problems

12-*

See Learning Goal 5: Assess some of today’s controversial employee-management issues, such as executive compensation, pay equity, childcare and elder care, drug testing, and violence in the workplace.

Warnings Signs of Possible Workplace Violence

  • Managers and workers must be on the lookout for possible signs of workplace violence.
  • Most companies do not have formal training or a formal policy to deal with workplace violence.
  • Ask students to discuss the following question: What actions can management take to prevent workplace violence? (Firms that maintain positive employee relations tend to experience fewer problems. The key to prevention of workplace violence is being proactive.)

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PROGRESS ASSESSMENT

Progress Assessment

  • How does top-executive pay in the U.S. compare with top-executive pay in other countries?
  • What’s the difference between pay equity and equal pay for equal work?
  • How is the term sexual harassment defined and when does sexual behavior become illegal?
  • What are some of the issues related to childcare and elder care and how are companies addressing those issues?

12-*

  • How does top-executive pay in the U.S. compare with top-executive pay in other countries? Executive pay in the U.S. is significantly higher than in other countries. For example, the typical European CEO earns only about 40 percent what their U.S. counterpart makes.

  • What’s the difference between pay equity and equal pay for equal work? Equal pay for equal work refers to giving equal pay to men and women who do the same job. This concept was codified in the 1963 Equal Pay Act. Pay equity goes beyond this concept and says people in jobs that require similar levels of education, training, or skills should receive equal pay. For example, the pay of an occupation traditionally considered a women’s job such as a bank teller should pay the same as a truck driver typically considered a man’s job.

  • How is the term sexual harassment defined and when does sexual behavior become illegal? Sexual harassment refers to any unwelcome sexual advance, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that creates a hostile work environment. This behavior is considered illegal if the conduct unreasonably interferes with a workers’ job performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. It is also considered illegal if the sexual harassment constitutes a quid pro quo.

  • What are some of the issues related to childcare and elder care and how are companies addressing those issues? Issues of childcare or elder care are of concern to employers, since these issues account for reduced productivity, absenteeism and high turnover. Another issue to consider is who pays for the care of a child or an aging parent. Companies are addressing these issues by arranging discounts at national child care chains, subsidizing payment for childcare, developing referral services to identify high quality providers of care, creating on-site child care centers or sick-child centers, offering health-spending accounts allowing workers to set aside pretax dollars for elder-care expenses and offering flexible work schedules.

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