Monthly Archives: February 2020

How to make the most of your multigenerational workforce

Many of today’s businesses employ workers from across the generational spectrum. Employees may range from Baby Boomers to members of Generation X to Millennials to the newest group, Generation Z.

Managing a workforce with a wide age range requires flexibility and skill. If you’re successful, you’ll likely see higher employee morale, stronger productivity and a more positive work environment for everyone.

Generational definitions

Definitions of the generations vary slightly, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation defines them as follows:

  • Members of the Baby Boomer generation were born from 1946 to 1964,
  • Members of Generation X were born from 1965 to 1979,
  • Members of the Millennial generation were born from 1980 to 1999, and
  • Members of Generation Z were born after 1999.

Certain stereotypes have long been associated with each generation. Baby Boomers are assumed to be grumbling curmudgeons. Gen Xers were originally consigned to being “slackers.” Millennials are often thought of as needy approval-seekers. And many presume that a Gen Zer is helpless without his or her mobile device.

But successfully managing employees across generations requires setting aside stereotypes. Don’t assume that employees fit a certain personality profile based simply on age. Instead, you or a direct supervisor should get to know each one individually to better determine what makes him or her tick.

Best practices

Here are just a couple best practices for managing diverse generations:

Recognize and respect value differences. Misunderstandings and conflicts often arise because of value differences between managers and employees of different generations. For example, many older supervisors expect employees to do “whatever it takes” to get the job done, including working long hours. However, some younger employees place a high value on maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Be sure everyone is on the same page about these expectations. This doesn’t mean younger employees shouldn’t have to work hard. The key is to find the right balance so that work is accomplished satisfactorily and on time, and employees feel like their values are being respected.

Maximize each generation’s strengths. Different generations tend to bring their own strengths to the workplace. For instance, older employees likely have valuable industry experience and important historical business insights to share. Meanwhile, younger employees — especially Generation Z — have grown up with high-powered mobile technology and social media.

Consider initiatives such as company retreats and mentoring programs in which employees from diverse generations can work together and share their knowledge, experiences and strengths. Encourage them to communicate openly and honestly and to be willing to learn from, rather than compete with, one another.

A competitive advantage

Having a multigenerational workforce can be a competitive advantage. Your competitors may not have the hard-fought experience of your older workers nor the fresh energy and ideas of your younger ones. Our firm can help you develop cost-effective business strategies while utilizing a multigenerational workforce.

© 2020

Some basics facts about wage garnishment

The prospect of having to garnish an employee’s wages isn’t a pleasant thought, yet it’s a situation that many employers face. As with any onerous task, the more prepared you are, the better. Let’s look at some basic facts about the process.

Various types

The word “garnishment” is defined as any legal or equitable procedure through which an individual’s earnings are required, under a court order, to be withheld for payment of a debt. This may include:

  • Creditor garnishments,
  • Child support,
  • Garnishments to repay nontax debts owed to the federal government,
  • Student loan garnishments, and
  • Tax levies.

As a garnishment, wage withholding for child support usually takes priority over the other types.

There are both federal and state laws covering garnishment. For those issued at the state level, the law that’s most beneficial to the employee is generally followed. However, for garnishments issued at the federal level, state law typically takes a back seat to federal law. (Voluntary wage assignments aren’t considered garnishments and, therefore, fall outside the scope of federal law.)

Consumer Credit Protection Act

Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (CCPA) is the federal law that controls garnishment. The law limits the amount of an employee’s disposable earnings that may be garnished in any one week. The CCPA also protects employees from discharge because of garnishment for any one form of indebtedness. The law’s purview includes city, county and state employees’ earnings — unless a state law exempts them from garnishment.

The CCPA defines “earnings’’ as compensation for personal services. This includes wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses or other compensation (including periodic payments from a pension or retirement program, or payments from an employment-based disability payment program).

For tipped employees, earnings also include cash wages paid directly by the employer and the amount of the tip credit claimed (if any) by the employer. Tips received in excess of the tip credit amount, or in excess of cash wages (if no tip credit is claimed or allowed), aren’t earnings under the CCPA. Lump sum payments may be included in earnings for garnishment purposes. Payments that don’t meet the definition of earnings under the CCPA aren’t protected by the law’s deduction limitations.

Important: As mentioned, the CCPA’s restrictions on garnishment are based on an employee’s disposable earnings. These are the portion of earnings remaining after deductions required by law have been made (not to be confused with “net earnings,” which is the amount left after all deductions have been made). Examples of these deductions include withholding for federal and state income tax, Social Security tax, state unemployment and disability taxes, and deductions required by state employees’ retirement systems.

Contentious undertaking

As you might well imagine, having to garnish an employee’s wages is an often-contentious undertaking fraught with legal risk. Consult an attorney before doing so. For further information about wage garnishment, contact us.

© 2020

Conflict-of-interest policies are too important for nonprofits to neglect

Does your not-for-profit organization have a conflict-of-interest policy in place? Do your board members, trustees and key employees understand how the policy affects them? If you answer “no” to either (or both) of these questions, you have some work to do.

A duty

Nonprofit board officers, directors, trustees and key employees all must avoid conflicts of interest because it’s their duty to do so. Any direct or indirect financial interest in a transaction or arrangement that might benefit one of these individuals personally could result in bad publicity, the loss of donor and public support, and even the revocation of your organization’s tax-exempt status.

This is why nonprofits are required to have a written conflict-of-interest policy. To stress the importance of this requirement, the IRS asks tax-exempt organizations to acknowledge the existence of a policy on their annual Form 990s.

Define and provide procedures

In general, conflict-of-interest policies should define all potential conflicts and provide procedures for avoiding or dealing with them. For example, to prevent a board member from steering a contract to his or her own company, you might mandate that all projects are to be put out for bid, with identical specifications, to multiple vendors.

It’s critical to outline the steps you’ll take if a possible conflict of interest arises. For instance, board members with potential conflicts might be asked to present facts to the rest of the board, and then remove themselves from any further discussion of the issue. The board should keep minutes of the meetings where the conflict is discussed. You should note the members present, as well as how they vote, and indicate the final decision reached.

Making it effective

As with any policy, conflict-of-interest policies are only effective if they’re properly communicated and understood. Require board officers, directors, trustees and key employees to annually pledge to disclose interests, relationships and financial holdings that could result in a conflict of interest. Also make sure they know that they’re obliged to speak up if issues arise that could pose a possible conflict.

For help crafting a thorough policy, contact us.

© 2020