The true story is related by Anita Bruzzese, who writes about workplace issues for USA Today and is the author of 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy … and How to Avoid Them.

In the middle a job interview with an HR director, the woman in the story jumped up, said, “Excuse me,” grabbed a waste basket and puked in it.

Now here’s where it gets even more interesting.

After throwing up, the woman composed herself and apologized — but not for puking. Instead, she  said she was sorry she was unaware of her illness before coming in. And had she been aware, she would have canceled rather than risk spreading illness to the interviewer’s workplace.

She then asked if she could reschedule the interview.

The interviewer said OK, and the woman eventually met with the hiring manager, who gave her the job.

Why’d she get the job?

Managers always say they’re looking for people who know how to react in, and recover from, a difficult situation. This was an actual case where someone did it — including expressing her concern for others who might be exposed to the illness.

There’s a lesson in there for applicants and interviewers.

Members of the executive suite rarely have much time to spare, making it critical that you make your point fast.

Here’s a three-step strategy you can use to consistently grab execs’ attention quickly and garner a budgetary thumbs up:

Step 1: Stress the big-picture strategy

It’s essential to begin by showing the top brass that you’re thinking strategically about adding to the company’s bottom line.

One way: Research wellness programs companies similar to yours have used, and provide actual figures on how much they’ve saved on health care as a result of their wellness initiatives.

Step 2: Focus on the quick returns

The bottom-line concern of the top brass is just that: the bottom line.

So make sure you have solid numbers on when your new program will start to see a return on the company’s investment.

Example: If you’re proposing an investment in smoking cessation, provide research showing how companies with similar programs are seeing fewer medical claims in year one.

Step 3: Keep their attention

C-level execs usually aren’t all that interested in the small details of the program — plan design, administration issues, etc.

To keep their interest, only tell them the highlights of your plans.

Example: Tell them that you’ll reward wellness participants — but leave out details like who’ll keep track of those who participate.

1. How much time will the training take?

If you have an array of topics to cover, it’s best to only cover one or two per session to avoid overloading employees with too much info.

Tip: Set aside time at the end of each session so that employees can ask questions that’ll help the info sink in.

2. Should I create small groups or one-size-fits-all sessions?

It’s rare to find one type of training that’ll work for everyone.

When deciding between small sessions or larger ones, it’s important to keep in mind that smaller, more intimate sessions tend to help people connect better.

3. What type of medium should I use?

Not sure whether to go with a PowerPoint presentation or to take a more unconventional approach?

Consider switching between several different mediums (group discussions, computer training, etc.). It’ll keep people from thinking they’ve “been there, done that” and switching off during training sessions.

4. What will managers be asked?

Mangers are the first line of defense when it comes to answering employees’ questions.

Do they know enough to be able to answer any questions that come their way from employees? Test them to find out.

Tell us in the Comments Box below what you do to help benefits info sink in with employees.

General manager Mike Andrews gathered up his paperwork as he spoke: “So, Jen, you’ll be sure to take care of everything involving Len Barker’s termination?”

“Sure, if that’s the decision you’ve made,” answered Jen Durso, the HR manager. “I would like to raise one issue before we proceed.”

“Go ahead, please,” Mike encouraged her.

“This termination is going to come less than 60 days after Len complained to the state about safety problems in the warehouse,” Jen noted. “That could look fishy.”

“Oh, that,” Mike nodded. “We did a thorough investigation about Len’s complaint. Even had an outside guy come in and look at it. We got a clean bill of health on that – no violation.”

“That’s true enough,” Jen agreed. “Still, it could look as if we’re firing Len because he complained about a safety issue.”

“As I see it,” Mike broke in, “there was no violation and we’re terminating Len clearly for performance, not the complaint.”

When Len was terminated, he filed a lawsuit charging the company acted out of retaliation for his safety-violation complaint. The company noted there was no violation and asked a judge to throw the case out of court. Did the company win?

The decision

No. The judge refused the company’s request to throw the case out and allowed it to go to trial – and a likely hefty cash settlement negotiated outside the courtroom.

The judge said the firing indeed looked suspicious, coming on the heels of Len’s complaint about a safety violation. When it looks suspicious, it goes to trial.

What about the fact that Len’s complaint ended up being nothing more than that – a complaint – and the company had committed no violation? Doesn’t matter, the judge explained. The employee doesn’t have to prove the validity of his complaint to show there was retaliation. He complained, and he got fired. Let a jury decide if one and one equal two.

One more thing, the judge noted: Safety complaints involve matters of “public policy” since possible violations affect more than just the single employee. As such, those complaints – even more than others – fall under special legal protections.

Important supporting docs
When an employee complains about something as serious as safety and then gets fired, your managers have to be certain to have the right documentation. There’s not much you can do to stop an employee who’s bent on suing, but you can prepare a good defense.

Cite: Kohrt v. MidAmerican Energy Co.

Begin by looking at everyone else who touches claims, says Laura Clifford, owner of California-based Employers Fraud Task Force.

In a recent interview, Clifford said less than 10% of the comp fraud her firm’s uncovered was committed by employees.

The other 90% was committed by everyone else (lawyers, adjusters, bill review companies, etc.).

First step to take

What can employers do? One tactic Clifford says cuts down on fraud: Sit down with workers with an explanation of the benefits (EOB) they’ve received and go over it with them.

Reason: If just one injured worker looked at his EOB and said, “I only went to the doctor twice, not five times — like it says here,” then the employer could look at that doctor and see what other patients the doc has seen.

The research was conducted by Kelly Services, Inc, between October 2009 and January 2010 — in the teeth of the recession. It essentially asked 134,000 people to describe their level of loyalty to their employers, and how that level had changed with the dire economy. Here’s how the employees responded:

• 27% said their level of loyalty to their employers had gone up as a result of how the employers treated workers during the tough times — and not necessarily because of increases in pay and benefits.
• 10% said employer reaction and treatment of employees during tough times had lessened loyalty to the company.
• 63% said their level of loyalty stayed the same.

The apparent lesson: Employees sympathize that times are difficult and employers have to make tough choices. Employees don’t sympathize when they perceive that companies are taking advantage of the times to mistreat workers who, because of the job market, are afraid to look elsewhere.

The bottom line: The job market will get better. And when it does, companies that handled employee relations with integrity will have the edge.

The Department of Labor’s released new proposed regs on providing advice to participants in individual retirement plans.

The proposed investment advice rules are intended to make sure that workers receive unbiased advice about how to invest in 401(k)-type plans.

The DOL will be accepting comments on the regs until May 5, and the regs are expected to be effective 60 days after publication of the final rule.

Here’s a quick look at some of the key provisions.

According to the proposed rules, investment advice can be given under the Pension Protection Act’s statutory exemption from liability (which allows employers to hire outsiders to provide investment advice to plan participants), but only if the advice is provided in two ways:

• through a financial advisor who is compensated on a “level-fee” basis, or
• through the use of a computer model that is certified as unbiased.

Level fees

The financial services company has to charge a flat fee schedule — in other words, fees don’t change depending on what investment options participants choose.

Computer models

If the rules are adopted, computer models used to offer advice would have to be certified in advance as objective and unbiased by an independent expert.

To comment on the proposed rules, click here.

Sarah Kohl-Leaf of Taylors Falls, MN, complained in an e-mail to Evergreen Entertainment, which operates a chain of movie theaters, about several service shortcomings and payment problems at the company’s St. Croix Falls cinema. In the letter, she threatened to take her business to a competitor:  “I would rather drive to White Bear Lake, where they obviously know how to run a theater than have this experience again.”

Evergreen VP Steven Payne reacted with this response (which we cleaned up to achieve a rating of PG):

“Drive to White Bear Lake and also go f*** yourself. If you don’t have money for entertainment, get a better job, and don’t pay for everything on your credit or check card. You can also shove your time and gas up your f****** a**. Also, find better things to do with your time. This email is an absolute joke. We don’t care to have you as a customer. Let me know if you need directions to White Bear Lake.”

Something resembling customer-service sense must have kicked in later for Payne, because he followed up that message with another that apologized for the first message.

As you might imagine, the whole thing ended up on Facebook, motivating the formation of a group calling itself “Boycott St. Croix Falls Cinema 8.” At last count, it had 4,300 members — twice the population of St. Croix.

And, yes, there is a rival Facebook group called “We Support Steven Payne.” It has 68 members.

To get a better understanding of what meets the standard for appropriate documentation, answer True or False to the following:

(Answers are at the bottom.)

1. If you’re writing up documentation about an employee’s major violation of behavior or performance standards, you should try to stick with the major problem, and don’t include other minor violations.

2. For performance appraisals, the following statement is acceptable: “Your work is consistently below the quality of others in the group.”

3. Promises of promotions, raises or other employee rewards are binding only if they’re in writing.

Answers

1. True. Courts are suspicious of documentation that starts to look like a grab-bag of offenses. If you’re writing someone up for a string of unexcused absences, it’s dangerous to let the write-up wander into something like, “And you were five minutes late twice.”

2. False. The problem: Making a comparison with others doesn’t address the important question: Was the employee’s performance below acceptable quality standards? Better to give examples of deficiencies, such as, “You missed three important deadlines.”

3. False. Many court cases have illustrated that spoken promises can be as binding as written ones. Of course, spoken promises are tougher to prove, but no one wants to be put in a position in court where a lawyer asks: “Did you say you’d promote Miss Smith?”

Example: You don’t want to tell an employee you’re laying him off if you have no intentions of recalling him when business picks back up. It could result in countless phone calls from the person wondering when he can come back or — worse yet — legal trouble.

Three types of staff reductions

Furlough. The idea behind a furlough is to share the burden so companies can avoid layoffs. Everyone works reduced hours so all employees can keep their jobs.

Example: A company may furlough non-exempt workers one day a week for three months. Then the company can pay workers for 32 hours instead of 40.

If the company has exempt employees, furloughs can be tricky. Most companies furlough exempt employees for a specific number of full weeks during the year. And since employees’ work weeks aren’t split, their exempt status isn’t jeopardized under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Layoff. Usually layoffs are the solution companies use when the lack of available work is expected to be temporary.

When companies lay off employees, it means the employer expects to recall workers when business picks up again.

Reduction in force (RIF). When a company permanently cuts back on its staff, the move is called a RIF.

RIFs also can occur when the company decides laid off employees will not be recalled to work.