Keeping it Legal: The Ins and Outs of Employment Law
Online Series presented by Leslie Kimball
Conveniently scheduled from 1:00-2:30pm on the third Friday of each month (except June, July, August, and December), this online series prepares management to adopt and implement good employment practices, consistent with legal requirements, which will help achieve a stable, skilled and (we hope) happy workforce.
The most important resource that any nonprofit possesses is the “human capital” of its staff, and managing employees with legal compliance and sensitivity is a cornerstone of success. While almost all nonprofits have employees, most do not employ a Human Resources professional. In this series of workshops the employment issues commonly confronted by managers of nonprofit organizations are covered. In addition to an overview of the law, some sessions include practical tips and best practices from a human resources professional.
Who Should Attend: Board members, executive directors, and human resources managers
Cost: $35 per course for members, $70 per course for non-members
*January 20, 2012: Employment Law Basics. In this session, a broad overview is given of the cornerstones of employment law, including the presumption that employment is at-will, anti-discrimination laws, employee v. independent contractor status and introduction to wage and hour basics. *This first session is a prerequisite for all subsequent sessions. The session will be recorded so that those not able to attend will be able to hear this content. All other sessions in the series will be built upon the fundamentals learned in this presentation.
February 17, 2012: Complying with Disability Discrimination Laws. One of the trickiest areas of employment law is the area of disability discrimination. In this session, the term “disability” will be discussed (it is surprisingly broad), as well as the legal obligations of the employer to a disabled applicant or employee. Those obligations include engaging in an “interactive process” to determine whether an employee can perform “the essential functions” of a job with or without a “reasonable accommodation.”
March 16, 2012: Effective Hiring. The most critical stage of the employment process, hiring decisions have long-lasting consequences. Good hiring decisions help make management’s job easier. Bad hiring decisions can be a nightmare for management, costly both in terms of money and time. Learn practical tips from a Human Resources professional on how to attract the best candidates and evaluate those candidates. Also learn about legal considerations in the hiring process, including appropriate areas of inquiry, the importance of job descriptions and documentation.
April 20, 2012: Managing Employee Performance. The employer’s job does not end once an employee is hired. Properly managing good employees is important for employee development and good employee morale. Properly managing poor performers is critical to a well-run working environment and minimizes legal risk if adverse action is taken against the employee. A Human Resources professional and lawyer share their advice.
May 18, 2012: Leaves. Many employers are perplexed by the challenges created when one or more employees desire to take a leave. What types of leaves are mandated by law? What is the importance of personnel policies? How does an employer deal with an employee it suspects is abusing leave policies? When can an employer terminate an employee that is out on leave?
September 21, 2012: Wage and Hour Basics. An employer can face significant legal risks if not in compliance with the State and Federal wage and hour laws. When is an employee exempt from the overtime pay requirements? When and at what rate must overtime be paid? What are the record-keeping requirements? When can an employer take deductions from an employee’s paycheck? When must an employer provide breaks, and is it required to compensate employees during those breaks? These are just some of the issues addressed in this session.
October 19, 2012: Termination. How terminations are handled may impact the legal risk associated with an impacted individual employee as well as affect the morale of the entire workforce. Terminations for poor performance and misconduct, as well as reductions in force will be covered. A Human Resources Professional will discuss the practical aspects and a lawyer will discuss the legal issues to be considered before termination decisions are made.
November 16, 2012: Post Termination. Several legal issues may arise after an employee is terminated, such as requests for references and unemployment insurance. In this session we address under what circumstances a reference should be provided, what information it should contain and who from the employer should have authority to give such references. The basics of the State’s unemployment system will be covered, including when it does and does not make sense for an employer to contest a claim.
January, 18, 2013: Employee Handbooks. Throughout the series of workshops, appropriate personnel policies are mentioned in almost every session. The importance of a good handbook is discussed, as well as important policies to be contained in a handbook and consistent application of those policies. This discussion also allows for a recap of major points raised throughout the entire series.
For more information please contact Abbie McGilvery by email.
Snowe, Collins, Pingree & Michaud Need to Hear From You
This week the Maine Association of Nonprofits proudly joined with nearly 4,000 nonprofits from Maine and across America in submitting the Nonprofit Community Letter urging the Supercommittee of Congress to protect and not weaken the charitable giving incentive. You can go to www.GiveVoice.org to see the letters that were delivered to Congress, including the names of all the nonprofits from our state and elsewhere.
Why it matters:
The Supercommittee of Congress is racing to meet its deadline of November 23 to produce a plan that reduces the federal budget deficit by at least $1.2 trillion. Spending cuts, entitlement reforms, and altering the tax code are all on the table, and each decision could directly impact the ability of nonprofit organizations to provide essential programs and services in communities. The charitable giving incentive, which benefits all 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofits, could be cut back, altered, or even eliminated unless Congress hears how vitally important charitable donations are to the work of nonprofits. Although the Supercommittee has an official deadline of November 23, it is making these critical decisions NOW, not later.
It is time to lift your voice. We urge you and all who care about the vital services and programs that nonprofits provide in our local communities – board members, staff members, volunteers, service recipients, donors, friends, and family members – to join us in IMMEDIATELY lifting our individual voices to inform federal policymakers that they cannot continue to cut public programs and expect nonprofits to fill in the gaps and pick up the slack.
Please continue our positive momentum by taking these two simple steps:
1. Call, email, and/or tweet your Member of Congress (find contact information and key messages here); and
2. Cut & Paste this blog posting into an e-mail to all you know who care about the vital work that nonprofits do in our communities, urging them to take these two simple steps, too – including forwarding this message to their board members, staff members, volunteers, donors, friends, and family members!
Melanie Herman to Speak in Maine- December 2, 2011
Location: The Iris Network, Portland
The nationally recognized director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center, Melanie Herman, will be presenting two back-to-back trainings to Maine’s nonprofit community:
Morning Session: (9:00 am- Noon) Strategic Hiring, Supervision and Performance Management
A compelling mission and a team of enthusiastic professionals provide a great foundation for organizational success. But the sustained effectiveness of an organization and its ability to seize opportunities to grow are compromised without careful attention to how staff are selected, trained, coached and supervised. This workshop explores practical human resource management strategies for each phase of the employment lifecycle, beginning with hiring do’s and don’ts that increase (or jeopardize) the odds of hiring staff who meet your needs.
The program will continue with a presentation and discussion on the core elements of performance management, including:
Creating shared expectations and buy-in
Holding staff accountable
Coaching
Conducting performance reviews
Managing workplace conflict
Understanding, addressing and exploiting generational differences in the workplace
Discipline and separation
Afternoon Session: (1:00pm – 4:00 pm) Show Me the Money! Financial Risk Management
Most nonprofit leaders recognize that managing finance-related risks is an important responsibility. And many are aware of the big risks they face, including loss of a major funding source, penalties for non-compliance with regulatory requirements at the like. What’s lacking in many nonprofit board rooms and executive offices is confidence about whether the organization has its bases “covered.” This workshop outlines an approach to identifying key finance-related risks and practical steps to fill the gaps. Most importantly, this program offers strategies for inspiring confidence among the nonprofit’s top leaders that the organization’s “house” is indeed in order.
For more information please contact Abbie McGilvery by email: amcgilvery@nonprofitmaine.org
Alliance for Justice is Coming to Maine
We are pleased to be working with the Maine Philanthropy Center to bring the Alliance for Justice to Maine for a half-day training on nonprofit lobbying rules and regulations.
Creating Change: Worry-Free Advocacy for Nonprofits
As our nation and local communities tackle crisis after crisis, the usual strategies are simply not enough. There is a growing interest among nonprofit organizations to expand their advocacy efforts and for grantmakers to learn how to fund this work.
The Alliance for Justice (AFJ), the leading advocacy resource for nonprofits and foundations, is coming to Maine to conduct this half day workshop for nonprofit decision makers – staff and board.
Whether you have years of experience or are just beginning to engage in advocacy, AFJ attorney-trainers can provide the knowledge and tools you need to advance your organization’s mission, help you shape public policy, and answer your questions:
What are the various ways that I can influence policy as a nonprofit?
How can I position our advocacy work to increase our chances of success when submitting a request to a funder?
How can I capture the outcomes of our advocacy work and convey it to funders?
What are the differences between lobbying and advocacy?
How much can a 501(c)(3) lobby and how can we easily track our work?
How do these rules apply to ballot measures?
Date: Friday, November 18, 2011
Time: 1 to 4 p.m. (check-in begins at 12:45 p.m.)
Location: USM Glickman Library, 7th Floor
Fee: $25 MPC/MANP Members
$40 Non-Members
Following our last post, Governor’s Business Workshops Closed to Nonprofit Businesses, quite a few media posts reflected our view that nonprofits are indeed an important segment of the Maine economy – not to mention critical to our quality of life. The Portland Press Herald summed it up nicely in their editorial in today’s paper, “Nonprofits won’t take a back seat in job creation.”
Thanks to all of you who have commented on articles and offered to write letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Let’s keep the conversation going!
Brenda Peluso
Annie Sutton
Elizabeth Banwell
LK Gagnon
Jessica Lantos
Scott Schnapp
Abbie McGilvery
Molly O'Connell
Mark Hews
