What is "being a member?" American Express defined that question several years ago. With clichés such as "security," the "knowledge that we're there," and "knowing you're never alone." Those same concepts define being a member of The Employers' Association. Our members: 

• Have access to the most comprehensive benchmark Compensation and Benefits Data available in West Michigan (PLUS knowledgeable experts to help interpret and apply the data to YOUR organization). This data can be used to develop (or maintain) employer of choice status within the community.
• Receive proven Leadership Development, innovative Sales/Customer Service, and practical Human Resource compliance training at a fraction of the cost should you seek similar programs (should they even exist) elsewhere.
• Have unlimited use of our FREE HR Issues Hotline. You can receive practical solutions to complicated problems from our experienced staff professionals whose purpose is to build lasting relationships designed to make your business more profitable in an ever-changing world just by picking up the phone and calling 616.698.1167. We are able to provide solutions to members having affiliations elsewhere in the country through our membership in the Employers Associations of America and through CCH Human Resource compliance software.
• Are able to identify employment candidates through a free resume bank or discounted advertising THEN test for skills or perform background investigations to confirm your hiring intuition.
• Receive updates on the status of pertinent HR legislation and timely HR articles through our Executive Update newsletter and within our website, www.teagr.org.
• Can accomplish projects you do not have time to develop but could easily maintain if put into place. Consulting support is provided through:
• Writing/reviewing employee handbooks
• HR Audits
• Developing/implementing comprehensive compensation administration and performance management programs
• Checking the pulse of organizations through the facilitation and analysis of employee opinion and engagement surveys
• Helping to refine/develop employee potential through coaching/mentoring activities

We want to thank you, our members, for supporting The Employers' Association as it has provided Human Resources Solutions since 1939 - and to assure you that TEA plans to play a continuing active role in YOUR organization's sustainability by aligning our efforts with your future reality.

We believe that excellent customer service is a prerequisite to thriving within a highly competitive global market - that price and quality alone will not assure success - emphasized by the expansion of our Sales/Customer Service Training and one-on-one consulting activities. Our vision to help make Human Resources a vital strategic partner is being realized as we redesign our Human Resource Certification series and add a Senior HR Executive Management Roundtable. Our vision to strengthen organizational leadership is being accomplished through a re-structuring of our Leadership Development series and the addition of a Leadership Roundtable for individuals completing advanced leadership training.

While American Express has attempted to provide a definition of "a member," perhaps we could paraphrase an old General Motors advertising by saying that "we are NOT your father's Association!" Again, thank you for your continued support...together we can insure a profitable, sustainable and bright future for West Michigan!

Visit our BLOG (Dave's Deliberations) to view the recent post Fulfilling Life's Potential.

New Guidance Issued On Criminal Background Checks By Employers

On April 25, 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued updated recommendations that urge employers not to misuse criminal background checks in filling job openings. The EEOC issued the new guidance mainly in response to two related issues: (1) employers' increased access to and use of criminal background history information when making hiring decisions and (2) the concern that the use of arrest and conviction records in employment has a "disparate impact" on minorities. According to the EEOC, 1 in 17 white men will service time in jail during their lifetimes, compared to 1 in 6 Hispanic men and 1 in 3 black men. About 92 percent of companies report using background checks as part of their hiring process.

Building on existing guidelines, the new guidance specifically addresses the following issues (among others):

• The EEOC's view that records of arrests and convictions must be evaluated differently. The EEOC advises that a blanket ban on hiring an individual solely on his/her arrest record violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act because an arrest does not establish actual criminal conduct occurred. By contrast, a conviction record will usually serve as sufficient evidence that a person engaged in criminal conduct. However, the Guidance makes it clear the EEOC's belief that a policy which bars hiring applicants who have criminal convictions of any kind would also violate Title VII.
• It is unlawful for an employer to treat individuals with similar criminal records differently based on factors such as race or color.
• An employer may be in violation of Title VII if its policy against hiring all individuals who have criminal arrests/or convictions results in disparate treatment applicants of a particular race or color, unless the employer can show that its policy is "job related and consistent with business necessity."

The guidance also offers the following best practices for employers that consider criminal record information when making employment decisions.

1. Eliminate policies or practices that exclude people from employment based on any criminal record.
2. Train managers, hiring officials and decision-makers about Title VII and its prohibition on employment discrimination.
3. Develop a narrowly tailored written policy and procedure for screening applicants and employees for criminal conduct. The policy should require identifying essential job requirements and the actual circumstances under which the jobs are performed, along with specific criminal offenses that may demonstrate unfitness for performing the jobs.  
4. Train managers, hiring officials, and decision-makers on how to implement the policy and procedures consistent with Title VII.
5. When asking questions about criminal records, limit inquiries to records for which exclusion would be job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity.
6. Keep information about applicants' and employees' criminal records confidential. Only use it for the purpose for which it was intended.

The guidance issued by the EEOC does not appear to be as bad for employers as it could have been considering there was fear that the agency would declare that conducting any pre-employment criminal background checks would be a violation of Title VII. As SHRM pointed out in a recent statement: "SHRM is pleased that the guidance does not appear to impose a one-size-fits-all set of rules on employers and seems to take into consideration that every employer will have different needs and concerns in the use of criminal background checks in hiring." On the other hand, no one who has read the new guidance believes conducting criminal background checks just got any easier. Rich Meneghello, a labor attorney from Portland, Oregon, made this comment on his blog: "The good news is that the updated guidance provides employers a road map for avoiding liability under Title VII based on a criminal background check policy. The bad news is that some of the suggestions are burdensome, difficult to implement and not crystal clear. This is not an exact science."