Human Resources

OMA Webinar: Attracting, Retaining Talent

At 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 24, the OMA will host a webinar on strategies to attract and retain talent. Experts from OMA Connections Partner Gallagher will share insights on building workforce resiliency, as well as the impact of culture and leader influence on talent and employee well-being. OMA members can register at no cost. 5/18/2023

HR Roundup: Ohio’s Labor Situation Better Than Most

• Despite having only 79 people to fill every 100 open jobs, Ohio’s worker shortage is still one of the least severe in the nation, the U.S. Chamber reports.
• As of May 11, there were more than 21,700 manufacturing-related job openings posted at OhioMeansJobs.
• Ohio’s total employment is predicted to decrease at an annual rate of -4.43% for the next six months, according to the most recent Leading Indicators Report.
• The U.S. Department of Labor has updated its required workplace poster to include breast milk pumping breaks for exempt employees.

Meanwhile, the Society for Human Resource Management has published this insight on suggested ways employers can address the generational divide between older and younger employees. 5/11/2023

HR Roundup: Manufacturing Compensation Up 4.2%

• Compensation costs (wages, salaries, and benefits) for U.S. private employees were up 4.8% from March 2022 to March 2023, according to federal data. For manufacturers, the increase was 4.2%, down from 4.9% during the previous 12 months.
• According to federal data, U.S. manufacturers saw more separations in March than new hires.
  • U.S. manufacturing job openings fell to 693,000, the lowest since April 2021, while layoffs hit their highest level since July 2020.
• Data also show labor productivity declines were widespread among U.S. manufacturers in 2022, with decreases in 66 of the 86 manufacturing-related NAICS codes.
• OMA Connections Partner CliftonLarsonAllen has published this guidance for HR leaders to re-evaluate their workplace policies and processes three years after the start of COVID-19.
• OMA Connections Partner Fisher Phillips has published this article on the top 10 ways employers can avoid regular rate wage mistakes.
• In this analysis, OMA Connections Partner Calfee reports Columbus has become Ohio’s third major city to enact a salary history ban.

Meanwhile, OMA Connections Partner Dinsmore reports that companies doing business with the federal government scored a major COVID-19-related victory after a federal court rejected a claim by former employees who claimed their rights were violated when they were terminated for failing to comply with the company’s vaccination policy. 5/4/2023

HR Roundup: Ohio Manufacturers Added 4,200 Jobs in March

• Ohio’s unemployment rate tied a record low in March, dropping to 3.8% for the first time in 22 years.
• Ohio manufacturers led the U.S. with 4,200 jobs added in March, returning Ohio’s manufacturing jobs total to more than 690,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• This map shows the latest jobless rates in every Ohio county.
• The FTC has closed the public comment period on its proposed rule to ban non-compete clauses, reports OMA Connections Partner Shumaker. The firm says compliance with the rule could be required as early as December.
• The NLRB ruled this week that Tesla supervisors violated federal labor law by telling employees not to discuss pay and other working conditions, or to bring complaints to higher level managers.
• OMA Connections Partner Vorys advises employers that the end of the COVID-19 emergency could impact health care plans.

Meanwhile, Ohio Business magazine has examined how employers and HR leaders are addressing “quiet quitting” during the ongoing labor shortfall. 4/27/2023

Who’s Behind Ohio’s $15 Minimum Wage Effort?

This week, organizers of Ohio’s $15 minimum wage initiative said they’re “mobilizing workers” to canvass for signatures to put the measure on the November 2024 ballot, according to Gongwer News Service. Organizers also said they’re prepared to fight efforts to raise Ohio’s voter-approval threshold to 60% for constitutional amendments, such as the minimum wage issue.

Organizers of Ohio’s minimum wage initiative include One Fair Wage, a national group that seeks to raise the minimum wage in 25 states. The organization is overseen by a board that includes a UC Berkeley professor; a climate scientist from George Mason University; and the executive director of the Fund for Guaranteed Income. 4/25/2023

OMA Leads Opposition to FTC’s Ban on Non-Competes

As previously reported, the Federal Trade Commission has proposed banning non-compete agreements. This ban would disrupt the operations of most manufacturers, according to a recent poll that found 70% of manufacturers use non-competes.

This week, the OMA and other key Ohio business groups submitted comments to the FTC, opposing the proposed rule. The letter has been forwarded to Ohio’s federal delegation. 4/20/2023

HR Roundup: Deadly Sins of Employee Handbooks

• OMA Connections Partner Frantz Ward has published new guidance outlining the “five deadly sins of employee handbooks.”
• Supporters of an effort to raise Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 an hour have been given the OK to start gathering signatures to put the issue on the November 2024 ballot.
• As soon as next month, the U.S. Department of Labor could issue its proposal to raise the exempt salary threshold for overtime pay for white-collar workers, according to OMA Connections Partner Fisher Phillips.
• OMA Connections Partner Dinsmore reports the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has updated its notice that employers must provide to employees before taking adverse action based on a background check.

Meanwhile, WalletHub has published this ranking of states in which employers are struggling the most in hiring. (Ohio comes in at No. 38.) 4/20/2023

$15 Minimum Wage Moves Closer to 2024 Ballot

Activists seeking to raise Ohio’s minimum wage to $15 an hour are inching closer to putting the issue before the voters. Next week, the initiative goes before the state ballot board. Read the proposed language.

Under the plan, Ohio’s minimum wage would go to $12.75 an hour in 2025, then $15 in 2028. It would be indexed to inflation in 2029 and thereafter. (This infographic shows Ohio’s current minimum wage of $10.10 is tied for 27th highest nationally. This infographic shows minimum wage levels worldwide.)

The ballot measure would face tougher odds if the legislature and voters approve a controversial plan to require a 60% voter-approval threshold for citizen-led amendments to the state constitution. 4/12/2023

HR Roundup: Manufacturing Jobs by Subsector

• Manufacturing Dive has published this jobs data, illustrating year-over-year gains or losses for major manufacturing subsectors.
• Columbus, Toledo, and Cincinnati are now among a growing number of states and municipalities that have passed laws prohibiting employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s salary history, reports Vorys, an OMA Connections Partner.
• IndustryWeek reports that labor union leaders are focusing on “micro-unions” and faster turn-around times for unionization votes.
• Federal labor regulations will be among the topics addressed at a small-business outreach webinar hosted by multiple agencies April 27. Learn more.
• Also on April 27, OMA Connections Partner Clark Schaefer Hackett will host an event in Hamilton to discuss successful labor recruitment strategies for manufacturers.
• ADP has published this list of best practices for wage garnishment in the manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber — in this report on the U.S. labor shortage — says even if every unemployed person with experience in durable manufacturing were employed, the industry would fill only 44% of vacant jobs. 4/13/2023

HR Roundup: U.S. Manufacturing Hiring Slows

• The long-anticipated cooling of the labor market seems to have begun as new federal data show 694,000 U.S. manufacturing job openings in February — the lowest level in two years (but still well above pre-pandemic levels).
  • In February, manufacturing hires (422,000) were about 50% lower than a year earlier.
• The National Association of Manufacturers’ latest Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey finds 46.8% of respondents say their company offers flexible scheduling when possible, including a compressed workweek (29.7%) and the ability to swap or split shifts (12.2%).
• Pew says opponents of the four-day week — and even some supporters — question whether a one-size-fits-all approach would benefit all employees and firms.
• After recent action by the NLRB, OMA Connections Partner Calfee advises employers to consider the employee(s) at issue before offering severance agreements.
  • OMA Connections Partner Fisher Phillips says manufacturers should pay special attention to severance agreements.
• Fisher Phillips has published its list of options for manufacturers seeking to hire foreign nationals.
• Gallup suggests three broad strategies to help employers address “psychosocial risks” at the workplace.
• Data show Americans 55 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce. The Wall Street Journal reports some companies are recruiting older workers based on the premise that “age equals a stronger work ethic.”

In other news, obesity is keeping more than 32,000 Ohioans out of the workforce, according to a Buckeye Institute study. This as nearly half of Ohioans (46.7%) are considered obese, per a new analysis. 4/6/2023