Page 129 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

Collaborate with your local OSHA offices to explore prevention, training,
and recommended best practices to ensure safe workplaces for all employees.

Ensure that all EEO, ADA, ADAAA, ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act),
ERISA (Employment Retirement Security Income Security Act), COBRA
(Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act), Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), HIPAA (Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act), NLRA, and other employment laws are properly
complied with in all respects, and that all managers and supervisors with any
oversight of any employee is fully trained in their roles regarding these. Quickly
acknowledge and remediate any errors to show good-faith dealings with employees.
Over-respond to management errors by ensuring necessary corrective training is
provided promptly to prevent future errors.

Ensure that errors are handled with a high level of customer service directed
at employees as internal customers, with the first consideration being that the
customer may be correct about any concern about any of these issues.
When management, supervisors, leaders, or HR make errors, openly acknowledge
them and promptly remediate them to create a culture of trust between manage-
ment and employees as well as a learning organization that fosters an environment
where errors, conflicts, and misunderstandings are opportunities for improvement,
learning, and innovation.
Provide the same quality and level of health, disability, death, dismemberment,
dental, orthodontic, vision, chiropractic, mental health, substance abuse, and other
benefits to all employees, regardless of job description, title, or level.
Don’t allow the highest salary in the company to be more than 5, 10, 15, 20, or 40
times that of the lowest-paid employee. Choose a number appropriate for your
industry and commit to it. Don’t get around this by using bonuses or other means
to avoid this cap. Publicize this policy to all employees. Demonstrate that when
company profits grow, employee salaries will grow; this is only one way to get
loyalty and commitment from employees.
Allow employee involvement in as many policy and practice issues as possible
through the use of open-systems feedback solicitations. Take this feedback
seriously, and consider every employee to be your corporate partner whose
feedback has value, is considered, and is responded to with some form of change,
whenever possible, practical, reasonable, and legal.
Provide the same quality and level of training, recognition, and advancement
opportunities to all employees regardless of job description.

Implement sound internal conflict resolution procedures in which employees
have significant involvement on decision-making committees composed of both
management and employee-peers.
Implement sound performance management procedures that include extensive,
thorough, and semiannual training for all managers, supervisors, leadership, HR,

112 The H R Toolkit