Employer Bulletin No. 319
June 1999

ARE YOU A TARGET?

All employers want to think they are not a promising target for class action lawsuits, investigations by government agencies, or campaigns by union organizers.  In spite of this wishful thinking,  many are, especially those with multiple facilities operating under fairly decentralized management.

A first step in determining whether your company is at risk is to assess the extent to which the company is in compliance with the confusing and ever-changing collection of federal, state and local laws governing the employment relationship.  Constangy Brooks & Smith has developed a process for assessing compliance and vulnerability covering all labor and employment laws.  By visiting work sites and conducting thorough interviews, reviewing files and programs, and carefully touring the facility during a workplace inspection, our attorneys can provide a detailed verbal and written report to senior management.  These reports describe existing issues, show where the employee relations program is strong, and highlight areas with opportunities for additional review.  The information contained within these reports provides the basis for future discussion of proactive methods for eliminating risks. 

Clients who have used this process report many benefits.  For example, we have identified critical workplace safety issues and addressed them before OSHA arrived.  We have identified issues creating situations ripe for union organizing efforts, making it possible to take steps to reshape the bargaining unit, train supervisors and address the specific classic organizing issues in the workplace.  We have identified wage and hour issues and addressed them before anyone contacted the Department of Labor or filed a lawsuit.  We have found an employer which genuinely believed it was not a government contractor only to learn the purchase orders from its two largest customers contained clear language requiring compliance with Executive Order 11246.  We found a company using "temps" for long enough periods to create serious issues under benefit plans pursuant to ERISA.  Obviously, many other legal issues can be (and have been) identified.

We always encourage clients to invest in assessing and addressing employee relations before problems occur.  Our emphasis on preventive labor and employment relations has immediate and long-term returns, even though those returns do not show up directly on financial statements.  If the investment is successful, it will show up on a financial report only as an expense.  However, if this investment is not made or is not taken seriously, the expenses show up in a variety of forms, including litigation expenses, settlements or judgments, lost management productivity and countless adverse employee relations issues.

We believe compliance audits are the first step an employer should take to examine the risks at its work sites.  The audits are especially useful because they enable employers to address these risks before they become a lawsuit, government inspection, or organizing drive.  If you would like more information, please call or e-mail William A. Blue, Jr. (Zan) at wblue@constangy.com, Daniel P. Murphy at dmurphy@constangy.com and W. R. Loftis, Jr. (Randy) at wloftis@constangy.com.  All of us with the firm look forward to working with you.