Text Box: Volume 6, Issue 3 Text Box: June 2008 Text Box: June’s Quote: “How to hit home runs: I swing as hard as I can, and I try to swing right through the ball...The harder you grip the bat, the more you can swing it through the ball, and the farther the ball will go. I swing big, with everything I’ve got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.”              - Babe Ruth         Text Box: Inside this issue: Text Box: Business Bulletin Text Box: Finding the Right Employees Text Box:              The lower unemployment rate, while good for our economy, may present a hiring dilemma for employers. If this is the situation with your business, you may want to ensure that you are utilizing all available methods to access and attract applicants.              One place to start, of course, is to post an on-site job opening notice. If you have several employees, you may wish to explore the possibility of promoting a current employee. Text Box: The WorkPlace Text Box:              Many current local and countrywide economic development and workforce initiatives focus on green jobs-jobs created by a shift to a more energy-conscious, energy-efficient society.  This is a job sector with high growth expected.  Politicians are jumping on the bandwagon with pledges of funding for training workers and developing green industries.               In late 2007 Congress passed the Green Jobs Act, making $125 million a year available across the country to begin training workers for jobs in the clean energy sector.  This provides enough money to train approximately 30,000 workers per year.              Two strong economic advantages to green technology include the creation of more jobs per dollar of investment because of the labor-intensive nature of these technologies, and more energy dollars are kept at home due to using primarily local resources.                        Green technologies have enormous economic potential. The Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) landfill in Rodman is in the process of constructing a power plant that converts methane gas into electricity. The electricity produced and sold has the potential of providing DANC with $3 million per year.              Public and private sector institutions will need to work closely together to develop new initiatives that will supply and train the workforce required to create and expand green technology.                                                       

Text Box: Go Green to Get Green ($)!

Finding the Right Employees cont’d.

2

Are You In

Compliance?

2

NYS Posting

Requirements

3

The Book Corner

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Text Box: Page 2 Text Box: Business Bulletin Text Box: Volume 6, Issue 3 Text Box: wanted section of the newspaper. Placing an advertisement for help could be a costly venture so choose your words carefully. State the job title that accurately depicts job duties, describe the job honestly but as attractively as possible, state job requirements, and provide explicit application instructions. Explore the use of free job boards offered by television, radio or printed publications.              In order to attract desirable applicants, know what your competition offers. Do you know their starting rate of pay, benefits offered, or other perks?              Do you have a reputation as a fair employer? Make sure you reward your great workers because you don’t want to lose them!              When you have a pool of candidates, make sure you check references. Do background checks if the position is one of financial trust. Remember that “past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.” Books have been written on the art of interviewing. In fact, you just may wish to look one over before your next hiring situation arises. You can call the Business Unit to borrow such a book from our lending library. We even deliver and pick up.              Job sampling can determine whether a potential new hire is a “good fit.” Before the individual begins employment, have them “shadow” an employee who does the same or similar tasks expected of the new hire.              Good luck in your quest for a successful workforce! Text Box: (Continued from page 1) some referrals from your current workforce. If the employee who is referring an individual is a good worker, chances are pretty good that their referral is worth interviewing. An incentive such as a restaurant gift card or movie certificate could be given to the referring staff when the new employee reaches a predetermined time on the job milestone.              Does your company have a web-site? Many organizations are accepting applications on-line. This may be worth exploring.              In order to reach the greatest number of job seekers registered with America’s Job Bank, make sure to list your opening with The WorkPlace. Again, call the Business Unit to place your job order or to request a fast fax form to complete. Your opening will be matched with veterans and job seekers who are registered.              Some employers find that using a staffing agency such as Manpower, Kelly or Penski can serve their hiring needs. Once the contract with the staffing agency is fulfilled, the employer may retain employees at will. There could also be a “buy out” clause with some temporary staffing contracts.              Depending on the job opening, you may find good candidates through college or vocational placement offices.  Locally, you could utilize Jefferson Community College or Bohlen Technical Center.              You always have the choice of using the media to advertise your job openings. Most job seekers pay particular attention to the Sunday help Text Box: Are You In Compliance With State Posting Requirements?

Text Box:              You may wish to check the table on page 3 of this newsletter to ensure that you meet state requirements for workplace posters which address the issues of discrimination, minimum wage, safety & health, public work/prevailing wage rates, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation and disability benefits, and smoking.

Text Box:              For further information on any of these issues you may go to the following link: http://www.labor.state.ny.us/workerprotection/laborstandards/employer/posters.shtm              You will find a link to required federal postings at the end of the required state posting chart.

Text Box: Finding the Right Employees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: PAGE  3

 

New York State Posting Requirements (Non-Agricultural)

 

Topic

Statute

Poster

Source

Discrimination

New York State Human Rights Law (Executive Law, Article 15)

Discrimination based on Race, Creed, Age, Color, Disability, National Origin, Sex or Marital Status is Prohibited... (in English and Spanish combined)

New York State Division of Human Rights 1-718-741-8459

 

Minimum Wage

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York State Labor Law

Attention Employees Minimum Wage Information (in English and Spanish combined).

Every employer engaged in the sale or service of food or beverages must post the following:  LS 605 - Deduction from Wages (Section 193 of the NYS Labor Law) and LS 204 Tip Appropriation (Section 196-d of the NYS Labor Law).

Attention Employees: Labor Law Information (Four Language Poster).

New York State Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards

2007 Minimum Wage Poster

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the above file

Safety & Health*

New York State Labor Law

Job Safety & Health Protection Same as federal requirement. Public employers must post You have a right to know!

New York State Department of Labor, Division of Safety & Health Public Employees Job Safety & Health Protection Poster

Public Work/ Prevailing Wage Rates

New York State Labor Law Article 8

The current Prevailing Rate Schedule must be posted in a prominent and accessible place on the site of the public work project; encased in, or constructed of, materials capable of withstanding adverse weather conditions; and be titled "PREVAILING RATE OF WAGES" in letters no smaller than two (2) inches by two (2) inches.

Department of Jurisdiction (Contracting Agency)

Unemployment Insurance

New York State Unemployment Insurance Law

Notice to Employees (IA 133)

New York State Department of Labor,
Registration Subsection
State Office Building Campus
Albany, NY 12240-0339
Phone: (518) 485-8589
Fax: (518) 485-8010

Workers' Compensation and Disability Benefits

New York State Workers' Compensation Law

Notice of Compliance (White) for Workers' Compensation
Notice of Compliance (Blue) For Disability Benefits

Supplied by employer's insurance carrier.

Smoking

New York State Clean Indoor Air Act

No Smoking signs or the international No Smoking symbol must be permanently posted in every place where smoking is prohibited or restricted under the act.

For more information on the Clean Indoor Air Act call 402-7600 or 1-800-458-1158 X27600.

* Employers must maintain a "Log and Summary of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses" and post in workplace on February 1 and keep posted for three months. Private Employers can obtain log from OSHA. Public employers should contact the Division of Safety and Health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text Box: The WorkPlace 1222 Coffeen Street Watertown, New York 13601       Text Box: wrongs, delivering results and practicing accountability. Covey's down-to-earth approach and disarming personal stories go a long way to establish rapport with his reader.              If this is of interest to you, we have The Speed of Trust  in audio book format. Just call the Business Unit at 782-9252, and we’ll deliver it to your doorstep. Text Box:              Trust is so integral to our relationships that we often take it for granted, yet in an era marked by business scandals and a desire for accountability this book by leadership expert Stephen M. R. Covey is a welcome guide to nurturing trust in our professional and personal lives. Drawing on anecdotes and business cases from his years as CEO of the Covey Leadership Center (which was worth $160 million when he orchestrated its 1997 merger with Franklin Quest to form Franklin Covey), the author effectively reminds us that there's plenty of room for improvement on this virtue. Following a touching foreword by father Stephen R. Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and related books), the junior Covey outlines 13 behaviors of trust-inspiring leaders, such as demonstrating respect, creating transparency, righting Text Box: The Book Corner - The Speed of Trust Text Box: Phone:315-782-9252 Fax: 315-782-2073 Email: theworkplace@sunyjefferson.edu