Blog Entries for Marian Exall

BANK FIGHTS BACK�AND WINS!

mexall — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Bank's first-round victory in wage-and-hour case carries lessons

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I have written about the growth in the number of wage-and-hour cases filed under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Indeed, federal court filings have tripled over the last decade, according [...]

COLD HARD WORLD OF ZERO TOLERANCE

mexall — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Is a hug a hug? Or grounds for termination?

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I started to write this blog about sexual harassment. (That got your attention, right?) But then I saw a case from my own state of Washington concerning a bank's employee credit card use policy.

"What's the connection?" you wonder. The general poin [...]

RETALIATION LITIGATION: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE?

mexall — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Who's beating whom to the punch?

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"They're retaliating against me!"

This complaint has been increasingly heard in the workplaces of America over the last several years.

Have laws encouraging employee whistleblowers to unmask misconduct unleashed a backlash of vindictive managers?

&nbs [...]

THE ARMCHAIR EMPLOYEE: COMMON ARRANGEMENT, BUT SMART?

mexall — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0100

"Working from Home"--a new oxymoron?

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This month, I'm going to indulge my inner curmudgeon and tell you all the reasons I do not like this oft-requested solution to a multitude of workplace issues. Call me the Grinch or a grouch, or just plain cynical, but I think working from home poses more problems for banks than it solves.

[...]

6 WAYS TO BE A BETTER BOSS

mexall — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Making a list, checkin' it twice ...

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Having missed the mailing deadline for letters to Santa, I'm converting my wish list into a list of New Year's Resolutions. I sat down, put myself in bankers' shoes, and asked, "How can I be a better boss this year?"

1. Hire wisely.

I'm going to practice my active listening skills, instead of list [...]

HR REVIEW AND OUTLOOK FOR 2013

mexall — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0100

An employment-wise take on the New Year

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We are approaching that time when the media of every stripe trots out year-end reviews and predictions for 2013. Let me be the first to jump in, with my employment-focused prognostications.

No action from Congress

If past is prologue, we don't have much to go on. No new federal [...]

MIND YOUR E-MANNERS!

mexall — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 01:00:00 +0100

Digital do's and don't's

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Frequent readers of The Human Element will know from past writings that I take my social media with a dose of salt. I blog, but I do not tweet. I closely monitor my adult kids' Facebook pages, but my wall is bare. I am Linked In (... minimally.)

But lately I have been pondering a pressing question: What is appropriate workplace behavior in the di [...]

10 WAYS TO JUMP START YOUR CODE OF CONDUCT

mexall — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 01:00:00 +0100

Get it going, keep it going, make it real

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The typical Code of Conduct is usually deadly boring. Twenty pages of single-spaced Times New Roman, 12 point, one-inch margins. No wonder no one reads it.

Yes, a code of conduct has long been required for public companies. The bank examiner expects you to have one. Maybe, once a year, senior officers sign off on it, and they may even have a vague idea of what it contains. Con [...]

A BANKER WALKS INTO A BAR �..

mexall — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 01:00:00 +0100

Alcohol abuse in the workplace is no joke

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Dealing with an employee with a drinking problem is one of the thornier issues for a manager.

On the one hand, alcohol use by adults is legal.

In fact, drinking is deeply entrenched in our society's mores. It eases moments of social awkwardness ("Let me buy you a drink!"). It celebrates our triumphs (pop the champa [...]

HOW YOUR BANK CAN BUILD A CULTURE OF ETHICS--AND WHY IT NEEDS TO

mexall — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 01:00:00 +0100

Ultimately, ethics will feed the bottom line

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Over the last decade there appears to have been an increasing focus on ethics in business.

• Spurred by financial scandals at Enron, WorldCom, and other large corporations, in 2002 Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This omnibus legislation was intended to increase transparency and accountability in U.S. public corporati [...]

TIME TO SHRED YOUR OLD DOCUMENT RETENTION POLICY?

mexall — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:00:00 +0100

Does yours still live in the age of microfiche and typewriters?

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Document retention may sound as exciting as watching concrete harden, but bear with me.

Document retention has become a hot button item in the courts these days.

If your bank is a party to litigation, or reasonably anticipates becoming one, it has a duty to put a "li [...]

BANK EMPLOYEE HANDBOOKS: WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

mexall — Wed, 02 May 2012 01:00:00 +0100

Don’t take your HR “bible” for granted

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A couple of months ago, I wrote about the necessity of doing a periodic HR audit. A critical element of that audit is a review of your bank’s employee handbook.

If you have not performed this chore recently, you may be surprised--and perhaps amused--at some of the outdated policies it contains. For example, an ancient personal groomi [...]

WORKPLACE COMPLAINTS NEEDN�T WIND UP IN COURT

mexall — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 01:00:00 +0100

Why can’t we treat conflict as a mutual problem requiring a solution?
* * * As an attorney--albeit a “recovering” one--I’ve laughed at my share of lawyer jokes. I think Shakespeare may have made a fair point, when he has a character planning a utopian society in Henry VI, Part II, say “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”--although I would substitute the word “litigators” for “law [...]

TIME TO SCHEDULE AN HR CHECK-UP

mexall — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:00:00 +0100

Big problems could fester if you don’t nip them now
* * * Every six months, I get a dental check-up. Every five thousand miles, I take the car in for service. These events are calendared in advance, and the appointments kept. My point? Schedule a regular human resources audit; your bank’s health and smooth operation may depend on it.

With all you have to do, setting aside a block of time to analyze documents and review processes [...]

TOO OLD FOR FACEBOOK, TOO YOUNG FOR FACELIFT: WHY I�M NO FAN OF SOCIAL MEDIA

mexall — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0100

Have you taken a close look at what’s going on under your bank’s roof?

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Yes, I’ll admit it. There is a generational aspect to my distaste for cyber-networking. For someone old enough to remember telephones with dials, it is disconcerting to watch my four-year-old granddaughter scroll through the apps on her mother’s iPhone to find a Dora the Explorer video.

But also, as an employment la [...]

EXTENDING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLANS TO VETERANS AND THE DISABLED: ARE YOU READY FOR 2012 COMPLIANCE?

mexall — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:00:00 +0100

Pending proposals could add to banks’ Labor Department compliance duties

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A year ago, I began this blog with an article about the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs: the OFCCP. I remarked how this agency of the federal Department of Labor flies under the radar for most bankers, but with a 20% increase in enforcement activity, banks should start taking notice.

Two significant OFCCP proposals set [...]

VIOLENCE VISITS THE BANK

mexall — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:00:00 +0100

Employees may be victims of domestic abuse. What are your bank’s duties?

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‘Tis the Season to be Jolly”...

But instead I’m going to take this space to discuss a deadly serious issue that comes up for banks quite often: domestic violence at home that follows an employee to work.

This threatens not only her safety, job performance, and attendance, but the security of fel [...]

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS: GOLDEN HANDCUFFS FOR KEY EXECUTIVES

mexall — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 01:00:00 +0100

Contracts must be structured realistically--including “outs” for both parties

• • •

Whether the bank is hiring a brand-new CEO, or seeking to retain a top lender after a merger or acquisition, the investment made in recruiting, training, and developing talent needs protecting with an employment contract.

But senior staff contracts cut both ways:

• The employer’s direction: W [...]

CONGRESSIONAL STALEMATE DRIVES ACTIVISM AT THE AGENCIES

mexall — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:00:00 +0100

Employment regulators fill the legislative void

• • •

Since last November’s elections, it seems Congress has not done much except a lot of squabbling. Whatever your politics, this is frustrating, not least because it leaves a gap that government regulators are only too happy to fill.

On the employment front, the main government agencies are: the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Department of Labor (DOL), Lab [...]

'MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED�: FINDING THE CANDIDATE WHO FILLS THE BILL

mexall — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 01:00:00 +0100

Following a definite routine protects the bank while getting to the right hire

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In a recent blog, I discussed employee terminations. Firing a worker is expensive in time, money, and morale, and should only be done as a last resort.

In my experience, most terminations are the result of poor hiring decisions: the worker should never have been hired in the first place.

So I’m dev [...]