Congratulations to the State of Delaware for winning the 2008 National Association of State Personnel Executives (NASPE) Eugene H. Rooney Jr. Award for its DelaWELL program.

DelaWELL is the State government’s comprehensive health-management program for all full-time state, school district, charter school, and higher-education employees and pre-65 retirees.  Spouses and dependents over the age of 18 who are covered under the state group health plan are eligible also.

DelaWELL encourages participants to live a healthy lifestyle as a way of controlling health-care costs. The program offerings are quite impressive:

• Confidential, online or paper-based Health Risk Assessment
• Onsite Biometric Health Screenings to include blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose testing with review of personal results with a Health Coach
• Weight Watchers® offerings to assist employees in their weight management efforts
• Cardio Health Assessments available to employees only, first-come basis, 600 slots available
• Personalized Lifestyle & Disease Management Coaching Programs- delivery options include phone based, mail and online programs.
• Online Health Resources (Health and Safety Education Centers, Self-Care Resources, Wellness Library, Drug Database, Health Quizzes and Calculators, Recipes, Daily Health News, Quarterly Newsletter and Much More)
• Onsite Health Seminars, Events & Activities
• Health Education Campaigns/Communications/Incentives
• Unlimited Access to a HelpLine

Delaware will receive the award during the awards banquet on Tuesday evening, July 15, during NASPE’s 2008 annual meeting. in Oklahoma City.

Information on the DelaWELL is available here.

[H/T to the Capital Comment Blog]

For previous posts on Wellness at Work, use this link.

Delaware employers are immune from being sued for providing (honest) information to a reference request. The State law gives employers extra incentive to actually respond to such checks with more than name, rank, and serial number. And that’s a good thing.

Reference checks are an essential hiring tool for most employers. Hiring managers often complain about the lack of disclosure they receive in response to their reference requests. And it’s estimated that up to one-third of all resumes contain inaccurate information. One British organization has found their own solution to often-restricted access to information about job applicants.

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In Britain, an employer association has taken some creative steps to address what most be some serious headaches in the reference-check system. The organization is creating a National Staff Dismissal Register that will consist of an encrypted list of high-risk employees, identifying employees who were discharged for dishonesty or for damaging their employer’s property, for example.

Member companies will be able to search the list by name, address, birth date, previous employer and national insurance number. The list is expected to be usable by the end of the month.

Employee and human rights organization advocates worry that employees may find themselves unable to obtain work because, unbeknownst to them, they are on the list because of false accusations or errors, with no way to be certain and no appeal. Employers, on the other hand, look forward to the possibility of reducing losses due to employee theft and negligence.

If they were in Delaware, of course, they might find that such extremes are unnecessary. The full text of the Delaware statute (19 Del. C. Sec. 709) is available on the State of Delaware’s website.

[H/T: Workplace Prof Blog]

More at BBC News

Some recent reports about law firms trying to persuade associates to dress better, and even hiring coaches for them, are a reminder that the pendulum seems to have swung back from the days when even old timers were “dressing down” to try and “connect” with the wealthy young techie entrepreneurs.

I, for one, am pleased to see a move toward more moderate dress.

There has been silliness on both sides of the continuum. Some years ago, the Delaware Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, issued an edict that lawyers appearing before it had to wear white shirts. So much for sartorial creativity.

But if I were seeing a lawyer, I’d feel more confident if he or she were wearing a white shirt than jeans or running pants. While I don’t think we need to force associates to pore over “Dress For Success,” I think that dressing up a bit is a step in the right direction, both for the lawyer’s self-image and the clients’ confidence in the attorney. Maybe ties can be optional, especially in the summer, but there’s nothing like a suit or at least a sport jacket to establish a tone of authority (deserved or not).

Delaware has been ranked first among all fifty states in the quality and fairness of its litigation environment, according to an annual study titled “Lawsuit Climate” published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform. Delaware has been awarded this honor for six straight years.

The survey polled approximately 1000 corporate attorneys at the nation’s largest employers and took into consideration factors such as judge competence and impartiality, jury fairness, quality of attorneys, and timeliness for trial. Along with Delaware, Nebraska, Maine, Indiana and Utah were ranked in the top-five. Rounding out the bottom five were Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Illinois and West Virginia.

Delaware’s state courts have been named the best in the country for tort and contract litigation. This is the sixth consecutive year the First State has been awarded this honor. In our experience, the same result holds true for employment litigation.

Not surprisingly, Delaware and the other four states that ranked highest, Nebraska, Maine, Indiana and Utah, appoint their judges, and the three states that ranked at the bottom, West Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi, all elect their judges.

So maybe democracy isn’t what its cracked up to be?
Or maybe it’s a bit more complicated.

Unlike the other branches of government, the courts are not supposed to simply reflect the will of the people. Judges are required to apply the law, whether “the people” like it or not. And that’s where it gets messy for elected judges. As we can easily glean from what goes on in our neighboring state of Pennsylvania, judges have to spend large sums of money to get elected, and they get most of that money from interested constituencies like trial lawyers and unions. So when a large donor, in the form of an attorney as advocate, or a union as litigant, appears before the judge, . . .

. . . Will the judge “bite the hand that feeds him?”
Human nature has the answer.

That is not to say that Delaware and other states that appoint judges do so free of politics. But the politician in Delaware who appoint the judges, Delaware’s governor, has for many years recognized that Delaware stands to gain from maintaining its preeminent position as a quality court system, and governors of both parties have made a point of appointing capable jurists rather than political hacks. What that means is that all parties in a lawsuit get a fair shake based on the merits of the case, rather than money talking to tip the scales in favor of the largest contributors.

And that is how a real democracy should work.

Employers, today is Earth Day. It would be hard not to notice. It seems that every media outlet is “going green.” NBC, for example has an entire website on the topic of environmental friendly options. The latest issue of Time magazine cover reads, “How to Win the War on Global Warming.”

While the green movement has certainly taken center stage in the popular press, has your workplace started to change? Are you or your coworkers stuck in a “why bother” mood? I suggest that you read Michael Pollan’s article, which asks the same question, “Why Bother?” Pollan’s article was featured in this past Sunday’s New York Time magazine, which, by the way, was titled, “The Green Issue.” Pollan tries to answer just that question. In the article, he addresses why we should all look for and make small changes, even if the environmental problems facing us and our planet seem so incredibly large. He argues, among other things, that one of the best reasons for each of us to change is that we will influence others to make similar changes which together can truly make a difference.

In honor of Earth Day, I added a small gizmo on my shower which cuts off the water when it gets warm. The device, called Evolve, was needed to combat my family’s habit of starting the shower running and then leaving the bathroom, allowing gallons of water to go wasted down the drain. I know that there are other ways to address the situation, including simply putting our hand under the water, but this approach will prevent me from becoming the shower police.

While this is just the latest effort I have taken at home, I still remain, as I have said before, a “paler shade of green” at work. Earth Day has gotten me thinking as to how to get changes started in the office. While I can replace my Styrofoam cup with a ceramic one, how can I get others to go along? Well according to Pollan, they might just do it because I did it.

That sounds ok but there must be more, right? Another way might be to get co-workers to start brainstorming on ideas to green up our workplace. I am very impressed by the list developed by the Employees of the State of Kentucky with their list of Earth Day Suggestions for Office Workers.

I would appreciate your ideas.

Delaware employers, you can celebrate Earth Day today by passing along the following list of State-wide activities to your employees. Or, for the innovative employer, why not turn one of the many environmentally friendly activities into a (voluntary) corporate outing. It’s a great opportunity for a little team building and a chance to feel good about giving back. Plus, it’s a beautiful day in the First State today, so get outside while you can!

Here in Delaware, Delaware State Parks, along with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DENREC) will celebrate Earth Day 2008 with events throughout Delaware. Residents of the First State can do their part to help conserve Delaware’s precious resources by participating in any one of the nearly 20 activities happening across the State this week. There are events in New Castle County at Bellevue State Park in Wilmington, Brandywine Creek State Park, also in Wilmington, and White Clary Creek State Park in Newark, as well as at the Brandywine Zoo. Kent Count and Sussex County have events at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Delaware, Delaware Seashore State Park in Rehoboth Beach and Killens Pond in Felton.

Another helpful resources for Delaware employers looking to “go green” is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) website, which has a page for Earth Day At Work. The EPA identifies workplace-specific suggestions for being more engery efficient, managing electronic equipment replacement, and other tips to help protect the environment.

The parents in the group might need to sit down for this story. . .

In a bizarre and frightening incident, a middle school girls’ softball coach at the Seaford School District apparently injected one of the girls on his team with an adrenaline-filled Epi Pen–not to save her life by combating an allergic reaction—but apparently in retaliation for lackadaisical play on the field.

The girl’s family is now suing the school district for failing to properly and thoroughly verify the coach’s background.

Hiring is one of the most important decisions any employer can make. A failure to carefully screen employees can not only result in adding underperformers to your workforce, it can result in exposure to theft, violence, and legal liability.

This recent incident in Seaford underscores the importance of a thorough and productive background check. But how do you get real, useful information in a world where many employers are advised to divulge only “name, rank, and serial number” of their former employees?

Tips for Conducting An Effective Background Check:

1. Get a release - the best way is to reduce the fear of a lawsuit. Get a release of liability from the applicant whose references you are checking, and provide it to the employer. Common sense dictates that the chance of a lawsuit will be substantially reduced when the potential plaintiff has already authorized the release and discussion of employment-related information.

2. Inform of Delaware’s reference check law - you should also tell your contacts about Delaware’s reference check law, which gives former, current, and prospective employers immunity from a lawsuit for providing references in “good faith.” Better yet, give them a copy of the law to review and provide to their legal counsel.

3. Say the password - most experienced HR professionals you contact will be just as frustrated as you are about the inability to get information about prospective employees. As a result, you might want to give them the opportunity to help you out and still sleep at night. Try asking whether the applicant is “eligible for rehire.” A negative answer might be just what you need to steer clear of an individual.

4. Find a secret source - another way to get information is to go directly to the applicant’s supervisor. That person will have the most information and will be more likely to provide it than the HR department. Of course, you want to prevent such a maneuver against your company, so make sure you constantly remind your own supervisors about your policies on background checks and that all inquiries should go through HR.

5. Go public - your high-school principal was right when he warned you that your youthful transgressions would be “on your permanent record.” Criminal arrest and conviction records are a matter of public record. They are not only public but also easy to get, at least for offenses committed in Delaware. A visit to the prothonotary (clerk) in the state courthouse located in Wilmington, Dover, or Georgetown can get you free access to an applicant’s arrest and conviction record free of charge.

6. Visit cyberspace - another source of information is the Internet. Search engines like Google can scour the Internet for websites, newspaper articles, and postings by applicants. Similar checks on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook can provide useful information as well. Use of such searches is becoming common. A 2006 survey by CareerBuilder.com indicated that 26 percent of hiring managers have used the Internet to collect information on applicants. Half of those managers said they had accessed personal information on social networking sites.

Yesterday, the local newspaper, The News Journal reported on an employment discrimination case that is currently in trial in the federal District Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

The plaintiff in the case is a 19-year veteran of the Wilmington Police Department who claims he was improperly demoted in retaliation for reporting offensive comments made by a supervisor. According to the officer’s attorney, he was demoted and denied transfers after he reported that another officer said that “all Puerto Ricans have low riders and fuzzy dice hanging from their mirrors” and that “all Puerto Ricans and Mexicans are alike.”

The City of Wilmington, the named defendant in the case, alleges that the comment was taken out of context and that the demotion and denials of transfers were the result of the officer’s poor work performance.

Retaliation claims like this are clearly on the rise. According to EEOC data, retaliation claims have increased by approximately 100% during the period 1992-2006! (Link to a previous post on the rapid increase of charges filed with the EEOC here). Indeed, retaliation claims now comprise 30% of the total charges filed.

What steps can an employer take to miminimize the risks of retaliation claims?

First, it’s important to have a policy prohibiting retaliation your harassment and discrimination policies.

Second, make clear in your policies that suspected retaliation must be reported and provide employees several avenues through which they can do that.

Third, make sure all supervisors and managers know that it’s unlawful to retaliate against employees for protected activity, which includes formal charges of discrimination as well as internal complaints about harassment or discrimination.

Fourth, if you receive complaints about unlawful activity or are charged with discrimination, protect the source of those complaints as much as possible. One of the best defenses to a retaliation claim is that the person who supposedly retaliated wasn’t even aware of the charge or complaint in the first place. Of course, in many situations, the employee’s immediate supervisor must be told about a complaint so an adequate investigation can be conducted.

Fifth, treat the complaining employee as if nothing has changed. Remember, however, that filing a charge or internal complaint doesn’t insulate the employee from future disciplinary action

Yesterday, Delaware’s two largest public employers indicated that they were facing fiscal challenges. Governor Ruth Ann Minner announced a hiring freeze to address a $126 million dollar budget shortfall. New Castle County Executive Chris Coons announced a budget proposal requiring the use of $17.2 million dollars of its cash reserves.

The State and the County and other governments are feeling the effects of a softening economy. Since personnel wages and benefits costs make up a large part of their budgets, it is clear that public employees will be asked to make sacrifices as governments struggle to balance their budgets.

Sheldon Sandler and I will be discussing the state of public labor relations in Delaware at our Department’s upcoming Annual Seminar on April 16th. Hope to see you there.