Policies limiting employees' activities off the job need to be crafted with care

With a case being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, Hobby Lobby has been no stranger to the media this past year

Last week the company's name came up once again on a satirical Web site called the Daily Currant. The Currant's story -- a work of fiction -- was about a 33-year-old Hobby Lobby sales associate who claimed she'd been fired because she'd filed for divorce from her alcoholic husband. Hobby Lobby, which claims to base its business model on Biblical standards, considers divorce a sin and grounds for termination.

The story featured some colorful "comments" by David Green, Hobby Lobby's CEO. While it was satire (other Daily Currant headlines: "North Korean Leader Has Perfect NCAA Bracket" "US Bans The Import of Russian Vodka") – it brought up a good topic for discussion. Just how far can an employer go in limiting an employee’s life outside the workplace? 

As employees, many of us spend more time at our jobs than we spend at our homes or with our families. It would only seem logical that the moment we leave the workplace we are free to be ourselves without fear of consequences from our personal choices and activities, right?

For the most part. I would say that a number of employers don’t monitor their employees’ after-hours choices or activities. Over the past few years, however, I have seen major management practices and trends start to focus on what employees are doing outside the workplace if it's likely to have an impact on business.

Exactly how far can an employer go in limiting what an employee can do outside of work hours? Last year I remember having a conversation with a colleague who is a manager at one of the major car dealerships in southeast Idaho. He said their dealership had implemented a policy in which employees were advised they could not wear their dealership attire in public after hours if there was any possibility they might behave in a way that would reflect negatively on the dealership.

A company that does government contracting has to maintain an even higher level of monitoring. Battelle Energy Alliance, CWI and Bechtel Marine Propulsion all have very strict standards on what employees can and cannot do after hours if they don't want to risk their security clearances. There have been cases in which employees have been terminated due to misdemeanor convictions, credit issues and questionable behavior.

A company can limit the outside activities of its employees if it can prove that a person's behavior has a negative impact on the company (e.g. loss of sales, civil/criminal cases, contractual obligations, etc). Additionally, a company can implement what is called a bona fide occupational qualification to identify qualities or attributes in the hiring and retention of employees. These are more narrowly defined though employment law.

If your business is or has considered limiting outside activities of employees, it’s important to identify what those activities are and why the company does not allow them. It is also important to be mindful that a company cannot identify every action an employee might take that could have a negative impact, and that trying to broadly identify those areas could cause more harm than good.

Policies or procedures that limit people's activities off the clock should be crafted very carefully and reviewed by an HR professional and/or an employment attorney. This is to ensure that employers are not overstepping boundaries and putting themselves in situations where there might be legal liabilities.

Overall, it’s important for companies to understand the impact their employees' after-hours activities might have. But limiting those activities beyond reasonable levels can be damaging to the company and the employee base.

Monica Bitrick is an independent human resources consultant who lies in Idaho Falls.

Luncheon to focus on politcal advertising

Michelle Ziel-Dingman and Dayne Dingman, the team behind Artcore Visual Studio, will be the guests next Thursday at the Idaho Falls Advertising Federation's monthly Lunch 'n' Learn.

Artcore was integral in the election last fall of Idaho Falls Mayor Rebecca Caper, and political advertising will be the subject of the talk. Do basic marketing principles apply? The presentation will focus on the subtleties in the carefully crafted messages of political candidates that can be applied with advantage to any type of advertising or marketing campaign.

The lunch will start at 11:30 a.m. at Dixie's Diner, on Channing Way. RSVP Lisa if you plan to attend. Tickets can be bought in advance here.

Quizzes, aggregation, etc.: What's an old print dog to do?

A metaphor for life, perhaps?

I recently filled out one of those Facebook quizzes, one asking "Are you a journalist?" I passed. :)

This is probably because I know how to use the word "affect," e.g., "The publisher affected an air of haughty condescension." I also know the difference between e.g. and i.e. How 'bout that?

With the results duly posted, I wrote, "I feel like a polar bear standing on ice that's melting out from underneath him." On reflection, that's probably true of my whole life. When it comes to my career, I made my bed a long time ago.

Anyway, I picked this Vanity Fair article by Michael Kinsley off my Twitter feed Thursday morning and as a former newspaper person I found it interesting, so I'm sharing it. If this is what's called aggregation, a dirty word at a lot of newspapers today, I plead guilty.

One passage caught my attention, should you choose not to open the link: "(Most) newspapers aren’t very good and wouldn’t be missed by anybody who could get The New York Times or USA Today and some bloggy source of local news." I don't want to go near that one.

Eagle-based developer eyes land near Pancheri overpass

An Boise-area developer is looking to bring commercial development to 25 acres south of Pancheri Drive to the west of Interstate 15, but it will require an amendment to the city's comprehensive plan before anything moves forward.

At the moment, the land there that is in city limits is mapped out for high density residential development. Zoke LLC, an Eagle company, is seeking to have it rezoned to HC-1 (Highway Commercial). The first step will be a May 6 public hearing by the Idaho Falls Planning and Zoning Commission.

Paul Hilbig, Zoke's site acquisition manager, said he is reluctant to disclose any details this early. But on his LinkedIn profile, Zoke's mission is described this way: "We help growing franchisees and companies find the perfect 'next location.' Franchisees are excellent at running their companies, but when it comes time to expand, things get daunting. We are able to use our decades of real estate experience to find the perfect location, design the perfect site plan and get all the necessary government approvals. We then construct the building and sign a long-term lease with the franchisee or company. We do all this at no charge to the expanding business."

What's not to love about Human Resources?

Someone asked me recently, “You look so young, yet you come with so much experience. How did you get into HR?”

Without giving you my whole resume, here's what happened. I found a job in college that was flexible with scheduling, with an international HR outsourcing corporation called Workscape.  After college, I went to Manpower Staffing, then, after moving from Boise to Idaho Falls, to Advantage Employer Solutions. Finally, I made the big decision to start my own business.

Over 14 years, I've worked with everyone from IBM, GM, Nokia and Whole Foods down to small businesses with one or two employees. From almost the beginning, I recognized I loved HR because I loved working with people. I loved helping people who hadn't received their insurance ID cards and helping people get hired after searching for months. Designing policies and procedures to help streamline business operations -- maybe that wasn’t my favorite part, but I have had the opportunity to do it a lot. HR is a vast array of disciplines and knowledge all centered around a company’s greatest and most valuable resources, its employees.

Because it covers so much, HR can be misunderstood and often hated by both employers and employees. I’ve spoken to a number of business people who loathe anything employment related. In their minds, it’s best to maintain simple HR management. I've also dealt with employees who view the HR department as the company’s KGB for “handling employees.”

The funny thing is, both sides are insanely wrong and could do themselves a big favor by changing their mindset about HR.

Businesses do not have to seek out and hire a true HR professional to maintain great HR management practices. I have seen HR management conducted successfully by office managers, supervisors and business owners. I will say, however, that in order for HR management to be successfully integrated into a business it is important that the person in charge of HR has proper training, experience, knowledge and a steady commitment keep up on the latest developments. There are numerous HR training programs, blogs, newsletters, webinars, organizations, professionals and consultants, all available at the click of a button.

No matter how small, it’s increasingly important for every business to integrate HR management into its organization.  HR management has become the front line for business against potential legal liabilities, but also helps businesses to operate more efficiently and effectively. If you don’t integrate HR management into your organization, I can promise you will continue to have long-term issues that go far beyond losing your last unemployment claim appeals hearing.

For employees, HR professionals are not always the “bad guys.” Ideally, their job is to manage all employment related issues in a fair, impartial and streamlined manner. I understand this doesn’t always happen, but keep in mind most of the time there are probably about 50 things that go into a situation that you will never have any idea of, and a lot of them have to do with employment and labor law compliance. I just ask you to be more open-minded in knowing that their job is to be impartial and fair.

In simple terms for both sides, HR is an advocate of both the business and the worker. While every business may not have a dedicated HR professional in them, those responsible for HR management should in theory be this advocate for both sides of the employment relationship. If that’s the case, what’s not to love about HR?

Monica Bitrick is a human resources consultant based in Idaho Falls. She writes a weekly column on HR issues for BizMojo Idaho.