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Where Do We Stand with the ADA Laws?In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people with correctable conditions are not protected under the law. The 7-2 ruling defines the meaning of "disability" under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Supreme Court ruled employers may consider the effects that mitigating circumstances have on a disability. In effect, the Court ruled out the provisions of the ADA for people with correctable conditions. Conditions that may be corrected or compensated for are not an entitlement under the ADA. Language is the key. Several concepts in the law were vague. According to the ADA, disability meant that the employee has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. To be substantially limited in the major life activity of working, one must be precluded from a broad range of jobs, and not just one specific job. Thus, employers can establish physical criteria for employment, as long as the employment decision is not based on impairments, real or imagined. Based on the Court's ruling, someone with severe myopia, meaning that there is an impact on many life activities, is disabled. However, the application of corrective lenses (or today's laser surgery), gives the employee perfect vision. Therefore, the court opined that there is no accommodation necessary. However, preventing lawsuits may begin with compassion and reasoning with the employee.
Work Year Grows LongerSurprisingly, as reported in early September, the time Americans spend at work is now the longest in the industrial world. In 1997 Americans worked an average of 1966 hours during the year; that is 83 hours more than in 1980. However, they also led the world in productivity. While the benefits of hard work are clear, working more is not the same as working better. What drives Americans to work longer hours? Many organizations ask for their employees for more than a full-time commitment. Special project work, increased customer demand, reluctance to hire a new shift are all positive signs of a healthy economy. However, the question of whether all these hours are used for the firm's business also presents itself. Is this productive time, or do the employees utilize their day hours for social conversation, "day trading" or other non- business activity? Of course, there's always Parkinson's law that states the available work will expand to fill the available hours.
What They're SayingIn the recurring effort to change HR from an administrative to a value-added function, two questions emerged this summer to help us think about and plan for the change. First, does HR broker arrangements, or is it the gatekeeper? Second, does HR defend the organization or facilitate it? Controlling, justifying, coordinating and protecting are functional models for implementing organizational change. They contrast with facilitating, brokering and creating solutions. Striving to sit at the decision table, HR wants to see itself as the equal of other formerly functional units like finance and marketing. To do so will require the HR staff to come up with solutions, abstract the vision from employees and craft interventions to meet business needs.
Readership Survey Reveals High Interest in EIIn early summer, Fauecast surveyed 50 readers to solicit input on the newsletter and gauge interest in the topic of emotional intelligence (EI). The results were very encouraging. Sample comments included; "enjoy the newsletter and route to my department," "remember article on EAP utilization in business," "good background on EAP," "concise," and "helpful and useful." Suggested topics for future newsletters include, treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, emotional issues, family succession, sibling rivalry in business, recruiting, management issues, dealing with people, staffing, change management, mergers and acquisitions, cultural integration and assimilation, downsizing, career orientation and development, change and stress. When we asked about EI, more than half the respondents declared that they knew little or nothing about it. Yet, many had high hopes, verging on plans for EI. Some comments: "not really familiar with El," "would like more information," "aware of EI from professional journals," "EI is part of corporate culture," "used in performance assessments with communications skills and team environment," "uses EI in hiring and performance assessments in form of behavior and expectations - really looking at emotional stability (part of behavior)," "uses in performance assessments for leadership positions only." Given this response, we will publish EI articles from time to time. Finally, over 80 percent of the respondents recognized the Fauecast
Report. They knew that it targeted human resource managers, and that it sought to
highlight trends and developments. Fauecast wants to thank those who took the time to
respond. You've helped us make the newsletter a better product. Practical Factoids
FauecastFauecast is a health and human resources consulting firm that emphasizes trouble shooting for employees and employers at the points where individual behavior and organizational operation produce tension, stress or conflict. Challenging the commonplace, Fauecast brokers innovative solutions among players through employee assistance programs that focus on individuals and "Organizational Transitions" programs that focus on changes in today's firms.
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