Compliance September 20, 2006

Appellate Court Reinstates Jury Award in USERRA Case

September 20, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a district court's dismissal of a jury award to a police officer who claimed he was retaliated against for exercising his rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).
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According to the opinion, after a jury awarded former San Diego city police officer James Wallace $256,800 in damages, finding the city guilty of retaliation, the district court granted the city’s motion for judgment as a matter of law. The district court said the jury’s verdict was “against the great weight of the evidence.”

However, the appellate court disagreed, finding that Wallace provided evidence of a pattern of discrimination that led to his constructive discharge in October of 2000. According to the court opinion, the discriminatory actions provided as evidence include:

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  • failing to consider Wallace for promotion beyond the level of sergeant;
  • imposing excessive and discriminatory disciplinary action in response to actual misconduct;
  • refusing without justification or explanation to approve Wallace’s requests for permission to teach at the Police Academy;
  • initiating disciplinary proceedings for Wallace’s absence from work while he was on military duty in August 1999;
  • a supervisor refusing to approve military leave on October 2, 1999;
  • initiating termination proceedings and suspending Wallace for four days based on the foregoing discriminatory disciplinary action;
  • threatening Wallace that further misconduct could result in termination; and
  • issuing an “unacceptable” rating on performance reviews and putting Wallace on additional 90-day supplemental performance reviews.

The appellate court remanded the case to the district court to enter judgment based on the jury’s verdict.

The opinion in Wallace v. City of San Diego, et. al. is here .

Benefits September 19, 2006

Effective Relo Programs Possible with Tight Job Market, Soft Real Estate Sales

September 19, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The labor market for skilled employees may be tightening as real estate in most areas of the US continue softening, but that does not mean employers have to give up hope about having an effective and cost-efficient relocation program.
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A provider of corporate relo services, Prudential Relocation, said a relocation program that effectively helps attract skilled talent without suffering runaway costs is obtainable – if HR managers stay on top of the details to get the newest ideas available.

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“Organizations can have it all and achieve their recruiting, relocation and retention objectives; however, standing still is not an option,” Prudential wrote in a report about its latest relocation survey. “The data in this survey indicates some organizations may be looking in the rearview mirror regarding the urgency of changing labor markets, real estate prices and recruiting strategies. Best practice organizations are implementing new and improved Programs…”

The optimism is well founded, Prudential said, despite the increasing difficulties around the country moving real estate, including many areas where housing inventory has skyrocketed. “Unlike past markets, employees today will likely experience a more difficult time selling their homes due to the higher number of competitive listings,” the company said.

“Recruiting and retaining top employees, some employees’ reluctance to move and companies’ financial constraints with relocation incentives all will be potential challenges with broad impacts on the economy and relocation,” Margery Marshall, Prudential Relocation president, said in a news release.

Building an effective relo program may be as hard as ever, but few companies appear to be fleeing from the whole idea. The majority of respondents (90%) reported that future relocation volume will stay the same or increase. Respondents had high goals: 77% of organizations strive to find an effective balance between premium customer service and cost containment, with neither taking priority.

“The question becomes how do you get it all for the employee, while protecting the organization and its investment,” Marshall said in the release. “Organizations must strike an effective balance between policy provisions that attract and retain the most sought after employees and cost containment procedures that keep budgets in check.”

Prudential said that best relo practices continue to involve offering perks that mirror those made available to current employees at a similar level. The most common exceptions: cost of living allowances (COLA) and Loss on Sale provisions.

The top shelf programs also build in enough flexibility so that the company can be consistent but still be able to react to the demands of individual job candidates.

“It may also be necessary to empower recruiters with the flexibility to apply “off-the-shelf” enhanced benefits to meet needs at an individual level, ” Prudential wrote. “Flexibility is the order of the day. The leading-edge relocation programs offer flexibility and choice and contain costs.”

One example, according to Prudential: offering a candidate a fixed lump sum rather than directly reimbursing certain expenses to the candidate can better direct how the money is used and the hiring employer can help hold down costs.

Prudential polled 150 corporate officials for the survey, which focused on four areas including: recruiting, retention and reluctance to relocate; policy and program parameters; outsourcing, program and supply chain management; and cross-border relocations.

The survey report is here .

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