Supervisors and managers need to understand the basics of labour laws and regulations when dealing with employees, but few have received training in these areas. In this workshop, you will learn what you need to know to avoid legal and practical problems and to meet your obligations to your employer. It will also help you work with human resources. The workshop can also support people who have just entered or want to enter the field of human resources. The Fair Labour Standards Act sets standards for overtime wages and remuneration that affect most private and public labour relations. The Act is administered by the Department of Remuneration and Hours. It requires employers, insured employees who are not otherwise exempt, to pay at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay in the amount of one and a half times the regular rate of pay. For non-agricultural holdings, it limits the working time of children under the age of 16 and prohibits the employment of children under the age of 18 in certain occupations deemed too dangerous. For farms, it prohibits the employment of children under the age of 16 in school and in certain professions deemed too dangerous. Employers (i.e., organizations) are required by law to ensure that workers` rights are protected. However, employers can only act through their executives and managers. It`s important to point out that many states and cities have similar laws, some of which are stricter than federal laws. For example, several states list other protected features and activities and have stricter wage and labor laws.

Managers should understand that they are responsible for compliance with federal labor laws, as well as state and local laws. Superiors should treat pregnant workers in the same way as other employees with a temporary disability based on their capacity to work or incapacity for work. This includes requests for accommodation to perform the essential tasks of the work. For example, if you are doing light work to an employee who cannot lift boxes due to back pain, you will need to make similar arrangements for a pregnant employee. Like other laws, supervisors should not discriminate against pregnant workers in terms of hiring, firing, remuneration, training, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment. Management teams have struggled with huge changes over the past year. But this constant change goes without saying. Employees are regularly confronted with new management policies and priorities. Management teams are then tasked with ensuring smooth operations, which often means retaining critical employees of the company despite all changes.

According to Michãle Flournoy, who served as Under Secretary of State for Defense Policy under President Obama from 2009 to 2012 and co-chaired President Obama`s transition team at the Department of Defense, the best leaders were characterized by a people-centered approach. “There are too many people who want to come and who are just doing the political part of the job, and they don`t understand that their ability to do it well depends on how they lead and manage the people in the organization,” she said during a recent webinar as part of the Public Service Partnership`s Leadership in Transition series. When Flournoy took over the transition to the Defense Ministry, she inherited about 1,000 employees in three agencies, without the support of other team members who have yet to undergo political confirmation. She quickly realized that she needed to connect with all kinds of people and functions throughout the organization. “I wanted to understand what the experience really was for her,” she said. Here are five strategies Flourney has found that leaders can use to manage effective transitions while keeping their employees at center. 1) Be sure to listen It has been said that listening is the highest form of respect. As she led her transition, Flournoy set up listening tours with staff at all levels. I really tried to understand where the organization was.

Where was he strong? Where was he weak? What did morality look like?” she asked. When you`re willing to listen, people become more open about the things they hope to change. Flournoy began to hear comments such as: “We are exhausted”, “No one has received education or professional development for as long as we remember”, “We spend a lot of time reformatting the same material for different people”. Listening provides people with a safe space to engage in constructive criticism. 2) Act on feedback In addition to simply listening, people need to know that they have been heard. While Flournoy believes that leaders don`t have to respond to every comment, they should be seen as reactive to the organization. If they don`t, employees won`t make their voices heard. Flournoy wasn`t afraid to have fun either to make sure her teams knew she was going to make it. “We announced a contest for the top 10 things that made us waste our time that we should finish immediately. We have received hundreds of nominations,” she said.

Just going through a very high level of the exam, I was able to take several dozen and say, we`re not going to do this anymore, we`re going to be smarter with our time. And it was a big moral boost in the organization.â It turned out that she asked for feedback, listened to her staff and put a plan into action.3) Investing in people From her listening tour, Flournoy found problems with low morale and performance that she knew she had to be solved before a big political goal had a chance of successful implementation. One change she made was the introduction of predictable free time. For employees who often work 12 or 14 hours a day, it was important to have dedicated and constant time off, for example, so that they could be with family or have time to exercise. “It`s been a huge boost to morale, and it`s brought the team closer together because people share what`s important to them,” Flournoy said. “There`s a risk of avoiding investment in human capital that goes beyond employee underperformance: `You`re probably going to let people vote with their feet,`” Flournoy said. Usually, the best people go the fastest because they have other options.4) There is no overcommunication Effective government leaders are strong, flexible and concise communicators. And while some people prefer to hear a message in a town hall, others prefer a small group where they can ask questions.

“Often you can feel like you`ve said the same thing 10,000 times,” Flournoy said. But the 10,001st time you say something, it can click for someone. Someone will say, “I`ve never heard this before.” And finally, communication will take action. I think at the end of the day, everyone knew we were doing a human capital strategy and what it was all about, because even if they didn`t hear about it, they started to feel it.