SmartHR

Social Media: SHRM Reports How More Employers Are Plugging in

November 11, 2011 – 3:14 pm | By Gwen Cofield | 2 comments

Nearly 70 percent of organizations are using social media to reach external audiences and build relationships with current and potential customers, and/or potential employees, with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter being the top three sites used, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). This survey is part three in a series focusing on the use of social media in the workplace, especially by human resources (HR). Here are some of the highlights:

• Sixty-eight percent of respondents reported their organization currently uses social media activities to reach external audiences. Of those organizations, 19 percent began using social media within the last year.
• The most frequently used social media and multimedia platforms include: (1) Facebook (45 percent); (2) LinkedIn (34 percent); (3) Twitter (28 percent); and (4) YouTube (18 percent). Company blogs (17 percent) and webinars/webcasts (16 percent) are also popular platforms.
• Marketing (67 percent), HR (44 percent) and public relations (38 percent) were the groups most likely to use social media on behalf of their organizations to reach external audiences.
• Overall, 31 percent of companies track employee use of social media, and 43 percent block access on organization-owned computers or handheld devices. The most frequently blocked social media sites are: (1) Facebook (39 percent); (2) Myspace (38 percent); (3) Twitter (33 percent); (4) YouTube (32 percent); and (5) iTunes (26 percent).
• A slightly smaller percentage of organizations, 39 percent, block access to multimedia platforms (for example, photo-sharing applications, YouTube and other video-sharing sites) on company-owned computers or handheld devices.

The survey sample consisted of 532 randomly selected HR professionals with a recruiting/staffing function. The survey, which was fielded Dec. 17, 2010, through Feb. 1, 2011, had a 19-percent response rate. For a copy of the findings, go here. To learn more about the growing use of social media in the workplace, see Think Before You Click: Strategies for Managing Social Media in the Workplace, published by Thompson Publishing Group.    

Staffing Agency Forced to Pay $30K After Refusing to Provide Alternative Drug Testing Method to Disabled Applicant

November 11, 2011 – 1:09 pm | By Rita Zeidner | No comments yet

[caption id="attachment_2203" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Art: miami.cbslocal.com"][/caption] An Irving, Texas-based staffing company will pay $30,000 and furnish other relief to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC sued G2 Secure Staff, LLC in September 2011, charging that the company unlawfully refused to accommodate a disabled applicant who needed an accommodation during the hiring process and subsequently denied him employment because of his disability. According to the EEOC’s complaint, Sharif K. Thompson has end-stage renal disease, a condition in which his kidneys no longer function and he is not able to urinate. The EEOC charged that around May 2010 Thompson applied for a shift supervisor position at G2 Secure Staff’s facility at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in Raleigh, N.C. Thompson successfully completed all of the requirements for obtaining the position with the exception of a drug test. Due to the fact that Thompson is not able to urinate, he asked if he could take the drug test using a hair sample rather than a urinalysis as an accommodation for his disability. However, the company failed to provide Thompson the opportunity to take the drug test by hair sample or any other means that would have enabled him to be hired into the position he sought. Consequently, Thompson was denied the job, the EEOC said. Disability discrimination violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. G2 Secure Staff, LLC; Civil Action No. 5:11-cv-475) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. In resolution of the suit, G2 Secure will pay $30,000 to Thompson. The consent decree resolving the case also includes injunctive relief enjoining the company from engaging in any further disability discrimination or retaliation against those who complain about it. The decree requires the company to revise its anti-discrimination policy to include, among other things, a procedure for requesting a reasonable accommodation under the ADA and an explanation of an employer’s obligation to engage in the interactive process when an employee makes a request for a reasonable accommodation. The settlement also requires the company to post a notice about the settlement and conduct training on its obligations under the ADA. “We are pleased that we were able to resolve this case,” said Lynette A. Barnes, Regional Attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District, which includes the EEOC’s Raleigh Area Office, where the charge was filed. “This was a situation where based on EEOC’s allegations in the complaint, EEOC contends that the employer could have easily made the requested accommodation and avoided this entire process. This case shows that the EEOC will vigorously prosecute cases where the employer refuses to provide a reasonable accommodation that would enable a person to be hired.” EEOC just last month recommended that employers offer alternative drug testing to workers and candidates who are unable to urinate for a drug test. G2 Secure Staff, LLC is a Texas limited-liability company that provides staffing services to companies in the aviation industry and employs over 3,500 associates nationwide.