The Advantage

July 2000

Be the Bunny

Wonder how to generate the energy to keep going and going and going? Just what does it mean to be a self-starter? And once you get started, what will keep you going? Can you tap into your own enthusiasm for a project and use that zeal to keep up the momentum? The ability to maintain our energy, and replenish it when it is depleted, is a critical skill, essential to our overall well being.

Who is not in need of power and vitality, especially nowadays when everybody has to appear dynamic and successful? Multiple priorities, responsibilities and emergencies generate multiple headaches and fatigue. Many of us find ourselves drained at the end of the day, marveling at others who seem to zip by with a zest for life that moves them forward, while we puzzle over how to capture the secret of their energy.

The plain fact is that people do not have an unlimited supply of energy. We can, however, renew our capacity for power and enthusiasm if we focus on a few simple, yet often elusive, guidelines:

• Love What You Do: When people ask me where I get my seemingly endless energy, I have to laugh. I know it isn't limitless. I simply enjoy what I do, and it shows. My energy comes from interacting with my clients and program participants, family and friends. Having passion for your work and relationships that you enjoy will help fuel your day.
• Get Organized and Set Your Course: Define your goals before you get started. Goals come in two sizes; the little ones that help you accomplish day-to-day tasks, and the big ones, the dreams at the end of the rainbow.
  • Daily goals: As simple as it sounds, people who get things done have project lists. Prepare your list at the end of the day, so you can start accomplishing things first thing in the morning. It often helps if you select one of the easy tasks to do first so you can get a sense of accomplishment by crossing something off the list at the start of your day. When you find yourself procrastinating or facing a particularly tough job, it helps to break your goal up into incremental goals or tasks for the project. Not only will your interim goals keep you on track and moving steadily ahead, you will get a sense of satisfaction crossing off pieces of the task.
  • The big goal: Focus on something you want to do, desire or become. Dream about it; picture what it will be like when you achieve it. Now start to make that goal tangible by creating steps that will help you achieve it. For instance, get the travel brochure for a trip you want to take; generate ideas for the book you want to write; or create an invitation for the get-together you want to have. Keep a list of small steps you can take to achieve the big dream so you always know the next step to take. A big dream also helps you accomplish those day-to-day tasks if you remember that they are helping you get one step closer to your pot of gold.
• Shape Up for More Energy: Pay attention to the essential basics that keep you healthy: a well-balanced diet, sufficient sleep and moderate exercise. Remember to take breaks during your day to release tension that is brought on by hectic schedules. Release the tension consciously with some relaxed deep breathing. Get up and stretch a little throughout the day if you are stuck at a desk. And, rely on your sense of humor to overcome tough situations.
• Be Careful of the Company You Keep: Certain people fortify us, and after time spent with them, we wonder why we don't see them more often. Increase time with people who boost your enthusiasm. They are like a surge of energy. Avoid toxic personalities. People who make you nuts, cause your stomach to churn or add to your stress are sapping your energy.
• Maintain a Positive Attitude: It is said that a third of the population usually has a smile on their faces, a third have a frown and a third have no expression. Which third are you in? Catch yourself in the mirror and smile! If you smile more often, you will feel better, increase your energy, and some say, even stay healthier. Smile and others will smile back at you, making them feel better, too!
• Stay In the Moment: Whether you are talking to your kids or your boss, stay focused on the expression on their faces as they tell you their story. If you're dining as a family, savor the food and the chance to be together as a family. Pay attention to NOW.

  Don't get distracted with things that take you away from your goals. If you're at work, concentrate on the task at hand, not on the task that is waiting for you. Set time aside to review mail, act on it by making an immediate response, assigning it to a file, making a to-do notation or tossing it. The goal is to handle it only once.

  Avoid interruptions by setting up simple boundaries for others. For instance, let an assistant or voice mail pick up your calls during a busy period. Plan a convenient time to return all calls. In the same manner, avoid letting other people's needs ambush your plans. You can let co-workers know that a closed door indicates that you prefer no interruptions (make sure to open the door eventually!) If at home, let other family members know that you need uninterrupted time for a project. If necessary, plan to have a sitter for that time. It will be money well spent.

• Enjoy Sweet Rewards: Just because you now have the energy to keep on going and going, you should take a break now and then just for the fun of it. In fact, just knowing that you have a reward waiting for you can make your project list fly by. Many people put their rewards right on their to-do lists. Or they just plan time for things that make them smile, such as playing with a pet, taking their kids to lunch, singing, calling an old friend or taking a walk.

  Big rewards are great motivators too. After tackling a major project at the office or renovation at home, it's fun to plan an outing, an afternoon of spa pampering or an evening at a sports event to celebrate your accomplishments.

  Remember to reward others who have enabled you to meet your goals. Surprise your staff with rewards for tasks well done, under budget or ahead of schedule.

By mapping out your daily and long-term strategies, focusing on well-defined goals, avoiding interruptions and balancing your lifestyle, you will spend your time more wisely, achieve a more organized approach to tasks and discover new-found energy and enthusiasm to accomplish your day-to-day tasks and achieve your long-term goals.

Joni Daniels, Principal of Daniels & Associates, is a dynamic speaker with over 20 years experience presenting topics related to personal and professional development. She is also an instructor in management topics at the Wharton School's SBDC. She can be reached at JDanAssoc@aol.com, 215.635.5359, or http://hometown.aol.com/JDanAssoc/index.html.

EO Survey from OFCCP Here to Stay?

The Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) is marching forward with its agenda to continually gather data from federal contractors. For the past 35 years, contractors have not had to "file" their affirmative action plans with the government. Now, we see a paradigm shift in the government's affirmative action compliance efforts.

The Equal Opportunity Survey (EO Survey) has entered its second phase of existence. Late last year, OFCCP officials received permission to sample 150 contractors to test their survey document. They invited responses. Contractors were not obliged to reply. Only 23 of the 150 returned their survey documents. OFCCP heralded this 15% response-rate as glorious.

The Office of Management and Budget subsequently approved an OFCCP request to send "live" EO Surveys to 7,000 contractors who had been "flagged" as likely out of compliance. Flagging was done by using data in the EEDS (Equal Employment Data System) database into which all employer EEO-1 & EEO-4 reports are entered. The agency has said it will use the same method to select the next 53,000 contractors who will receive surveys in late September or early October this year.

The purpose of the EO Survey is singular...to give OFCCP a tool for making its contractor selections and scheduling compliance evaluations. OFCCP plans to require EO Survey filings from half the contractor community, every year. (There are an estimated 120,000 contractors in all.) That will require contractors to either reprogram their Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) or manually summarize data from their existing system. The data compilation is further complicated by the requirement that employee compensation information be included, summarized by EEO-1 category. It must be broken down to show average compensation amounts within each EEO-1 category for women and for minorities. The government says contractors already have this information available to them. While that may be true, it is often inaccessible in the format required by the EO Survey.

True pain awaits contractors in the private sector who consider compensation information private and confidential for competitive reasons. They will also be required to submit their compensation data. While OFCCP officials have "promised" to protect the data, they are constrained in doing so by the basic premise of the Freedom of Information Act. That premise is all government documents must be released to a requester except in specific cases meeting detailed requirements for an exemption. Blanket exemptions are not common in other than national defense circumstances. Don't bet that the government will be able to protect your compensation data. It isn't likely to happen.

Additional information required on the EO Survey includes data on job applicants, promotions and terminations. These figures will be used to calculate disparate impact, illegal discrimination. Selection rates are the basis of those calculations and the methods for doing the arithmetic have been decided in U.S. Supreme Court cases. OFCCP generally doesn't acknowledge the necessity for testing involving statistical significance or probability. Yet contractors can and should apply those methods to their data. Often, what appears to be disparate impact will disappear under such testing. If that happens, it must be concluded that the initial results pointing toward illegal discrimination could have occurred simply by chance.

Lastly, the Equal Opportunity Survey contains a written definition of (Job) Applicant, for the very first time. It says, "the concept of an applicant is that of a person who has indicated an interest in being considered for hiring, promotion, or other employment opportunity. This interest might be expressed by completing an application form, or might be expressed orally, depending upon the employer's practice." You will notice that there is no mention of "qualified" in the definition. OFCCP has consciously omitted that basic precept of equal employment opportunity from its data requirement. In my 34 years of management experience, I have never seen an employer interested in considering unqualified people for job openings. They simply are not considered. Yet, the EO Survey is demanding contractor data on everyone who expresses interest, not just those who are qualified.

There are many dangers associated with the new EO Survey from OFCCP. Contractors should be careful to study the form thoroughly, spend whatever time is necessary to determine what data is available and respond accordingly.

And, be sure to realize that this will become the tool for selecting who is audited in the following fiscal year. You may find a Compliance Officer on your doorstep in the months ahead.

You can obtain a free copy of the EO Survey in Adobe PDF format at our web site. Look in the "What's New" section. http://www.management-advantage.com

Overtime Exemptions in California

Overtime computations have always been a point of difficulty for California employers. It's not just the calculation of rates which has challenged entrepreneurs, but the rules under which some people are entitled to overtime payment and some are not.

The California Labor Commissioner is charged with enforcing overtime payment regulations in the state. Any employee who believes he/she has not received proper pay treatment is welcome to file a complaint with the Labor Commissioner's office. Branches are located in many cities throughout California.

One business owner discovered the hard way that overtime rules are nothing to fool around with. He had employed a woman, whom we will call Martha, for the entire 12 years of the business' life. She had become a friend and supporter throughout that time. One day, for a reason he can't remember, he and Martha had a disagreement which led to her resignation. Martha left her office supervisor job, taking her personal belongings with her. She also took the steno pad she used to log the hours she had worked each pay period during the previous six years. The owner had told her to keep track of the hours herself and he would give her time off to compensate for them. Martha, as you can guess, filed a complaint alleging unpaid overtime hours. Her records were used to prove her position. The owner had no option but to write a check for $18,000, nearly half of it in penalties. If he had only understood the regulations and applied them he could have avoided the penalties.

Another manufacturing company had a group of inside sales people who actually provided support to customers and outside marketing people. They were incorrectly classified as exempt by the employer. When a complaint was filed with the Labor Commissioner the company found itself in the position of having to pay over $125,000 in unpaid overtime.

Start with the premise that everyone you employ is entitled to payment for overtime worked. There are many rules, based on the industry you are in, but the most common are these: Hours worked in excess of 8 in one day are paid at time and a half. Hours worked in excess of 40 in a week are paid at time and a half. Hours worked in excess of 12 in a day are paid at double time. If you have alternative work schedules such as 10 or 12 hour shifts you need to determine the rules which apply to your situation.

Some jobs are EXEMPT from these overtime payment requirements, but the rules governing exemptions are very narrowly interpreted by the Labor Commissioner and you should be careful not to apply them incorrectly. It could be an expensive mistake.

EXEMPT means the employee is not subject to payment for overtime hours worked. Employer policy may elect to compensate incumbents in these jobs for their overtime, but there are no restrictions on rates used or quantity of hours paid. In fact, there is no legal requirement that EXEMPT workers be paid anything for the overtime they work.

Overtime requirements apply to the JOB not the EMPLOYEE. It is the responsibility content of the job which determines if incumbent employees must be paid for their overtime worked.

There are five categories of exemption from overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Orders.

1. Executive Exemption
   • Receives at least $1,993.33 per month in salary, that is not reduced for quality or quantity of work, nor for absences of less than one whole day.
   • Manages an enterprise or a customarily recognized department or subdivision.
   • Supervises at least two subordinate employees.
   • Has authority to hire, fire and give pay treatment, or recommend those actions.
   • Customarily and regularly exercises discretionary powers.
   • Devotes no more than 50% of weekly hours to work on duties not closely related to managerial.

2. Professional Exemption
   • Receives at least $1,993.33 per month in salary that is not reduced for quality or quantity of work, nor for absences of less than one whole day.
   • Licensed or certified by the State of California and is engaged in the practice of: law, medicine, dentistry, optometry, architecture, engineering, teaching or accounting, or is engaged in an occupation commonly recognized as a learned or artistic profession.
   • Educational requirement for the job is very advanced. Employee must have a degree or certificate requiring at least one year of specialized study in addition to completion of a four-year college course.
   • Work is creative or intellectual more than 50% of the time. It depends on imagination or invention or is involved in analysis and the drawing of conclusions.
   • Exercises discretion and judgment most of the time. Work is predominantly intellectual, managerial or creative.

3. Administrative Exemption
   • Receives at least $1,993.33 per month in salary that is not reduced for quality or quantity of work, nor for absences of less than one whole day.
   • Customarily and regularly exercises discretion and independent judgment in performing "intellectual" work which, in the context of an administrative function, is office or non-manual work directly related to management policies or the general business operations of the employer or the employer's customers.
   • Regularly and directly assists a proprietor or an exempt administrator, or performs, under only general supervision, work along specialized or technical lines requiring special training, experience or knowledge, or executes special assignments and tasks under only general supervision.
   • Devotes more than 50% of work time to such activities.
   • Types of Exempt Administrative Employees are:
     1. Insurance, Sales research, Wage-rate experts.
     2. Foreign exchange consultants & statisticians.
     3. Purchasing agents, buyers.
     4. Credit managers.
     5. Personnel directors.
     6. Safety directors.
     7. Labor relations directors.
     8. Lease buyers.
     9. Some field representatives.

4. Outside Sales Exemption
   • Employee must be 18 years of age or older.
   • Customarily and regularly works away from the employer's place of business, selling tangible or intangible items, or obtaining orders or contracts for products, services or use of facilities.
   • Does not perform work other than that described above which exceeds 20% of the hours worked in the work week by non-exempt employees who perform that kind of work.
   • No salary test is applied to outside salespersons.

5. Data Processing Exemption
   • Job requires the application of systems analysis techniques and procedures, including consulting with users, to determine hardware, software or system functional specifications.
   • Job requires the design, development, documentation, analysis, creation, testing or modification of computer systems or programs, including prototypes, based on and related to use or system design specifications.
   • Job requires the design, documentation, testing, creation or modification of computer programs related to machine operating systems.
   • Job requires a combination of the items listed above, the performance of which requires the same level of skills.
   • Receives a minimum monthly salary of $1993.33 which is not reduced for quality or quantity of work, nor for absences in less than full-day increments.

If you have employees who perform exempt functions part of the time and non-exempt functions for the balance of the pay period, any time worked on non-exempt activities must be compensated for overtime if appropriate.

You should also note that anyone who is paid a salary is not automatically exempt from overtime rules. On the other hand, ANYONE PAID ON AN HOURLY BASIS CAN NOT BE CONSIDERED EXEMPT, REGARDLESS OF THE AMOUNT OF THEIR COMPENSATION.

COMPENSATING TIME OFF is another potential pitfall for many employers. Beginning in January 2000, California's rules about comp time changed. According to California regulations, compensating time off must meet these conditions:

1. Request for Compensating Time Off is in writing to employer - initiated by the employee.
2. Compensating time off is computed at the same rate as if the overtime worked were to be paid. That is, time and one half or double time. For every hour of overtime worked, the employee is given one and one-half or two hours of compensating time off.
3. Compensating time off is taken within the same payroll period or the payroll period immediately following the one in which the overtime is worked.

There is no magic about overtime rules. There is, however, a great deal of misunderstanding and misinformation. Employers would be well advised to make themselves familiar with the rules and regulations for payment of overtime hours.

Recommendations

1. Have written job descriptions which specify exempt/non-exempt status.
2. Keep written time records for all non-exempt employees. Include start time, ending time and any un-paid meal time for each work day.
3. Pay for all overtime worked according to IWC regulations.
4. Post the required IWC Order pertaining to your industry.

In the final analysis, the employer gets to decide whether or not to pay overtime to workers. That decision is open to review by the State Labor Commissioner's office if an employee complaint is filed. Sometimes, income tax audits will also raise the issue and be cause of back payment awards to employees.

Penalties are computed by the Labor Commissioner as follows:

• $50 per employee for the first pay period incorrectly paid.
• $100 per employee for every subsequent pay period incorrectly paid.
• PLUS, 25%.

You can avoid the upset and financial burden of back pay awards and penalties imposed by regulatory agencies if you think through your overtime status in the beginning and pay workers who are entitled to overtime payment. It sure beats the alternative.

Public Sector: One Final Note

The Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, has issued final rules to address the problem of public employers being sued by employees classified as exempt, but who claim they should have been paid overtime because they are not paid a "salary" within the meaning of the FLSA.

The final rule outlines criteria for establishing "exempt" status for legitimate executive, administrative and professional employees working for state and local governments who should truly be exempt from FLSA overtime pay requirements. The rule states that payment "on a salary basis" for public sector employees is now to be determined without regard to whether an exempt employee can be docked for absences of less than one day when paid leave is not used or for budget-related forced leaves of absence. The DOL took steps to clarify the FLSA rule due to a potential rash of lawsuits from public employees stemming from a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal decision. The court ruled that an employee's pay can not be subjected to reduction for absences of less than one day, because a salaried employee is paid, not for time spent on the job, but rather for the general value of services rendered.

Recruiting from the Retired Population

On March, 2000 the United States Senate voted 100-0 and the House of Representatives voted 422-0 unanimously to eliminate the retirement earnings test. In turn President Bill Clinton signed the "Senior Citizens Freedom to Work Act" on April 7, 2000. The retirement earnings test reduced or eliminated current eligibility for Social Security payments for retirees who earned income over an established maximum ($1,417 per month in 2000). This test kept millions of retirees from drawing their full pensions when they continued to work after retirement. Now retired seniors can make unlimited income while receiving their full benefits. There were 44.5 million Americans who received social security in February, 2000. Of this total, there were 27.7 million retired workers. These individuals now have an opportunity to re-enter the work market as part-time consultants. We feel that the number of retirees will accelerate because those individuals that were considering retirement between 55 to 65 could now retire, continue to work and receive their full allowable social security. There are 2.9 million people per day that are employed in temporary jobs, a $64.3 billion industry in 1999. The Gross Domestic Product expanded 4.2 percent after inflation to an astonishing $9.3 trillion. The accelerating productivity has allowed unit labor costs to decline while real wages and employment increased. According to Forrester Research, total business expenditures for online recruiting will balloon from approximately $100 million to $1.7 billion by 2003. The influx of retired seniors will only accelerate this growth. Not all will support the re-entry of retired workers even though the economy is starving for workers.

Recruiters have been reluctant to pursue the appointment of retirees because of small placement fees for part-time workers. Companies need the knowledge, skill, experience and wisdom of these retirees in an economy starving for employees. Unfortunately, employers have no easy way of finding these qualified individuals other than word-of-mouth, classified ads and some employment agencies. It made sense to create an Internet website that allows retirees to post their qualifications. At the same time, a site that allows employers to post jobs. The website "retirenwork.com" has been created by Retire & Work Inc. and is on-line now. It includes easy to fill out forms, list of wages for checking incomes and list of services that are beneficial to all retirees. The unique advantage to this website is that it's free to list the retirees qualifications and free for employers to post their jobs. Posting for jobs and retirees qualifications will be stored in our database where we will match jobs to retirees. Once a match has been made, both the retiree and employer are notified. This approach makes the site extremely attractive.

Once retired, individuals face two problems. One, when working as a consultant, instead of a full time employee, retirees have to track their own taxes, payroll deductions, investments, etc. that normally come out of their paychecks. Two, working as a part-time consultant requires the retiree to bill the employer for services rendered. The retiree now becomes a vendor which makes them subject to a net 30 day waiting period to get paid. Retire & Work Inc. eliminates the problems. First, we contract with the employer for services and invoices. Then we collect from the employer. The retiree receives a check with all the appropriate deductions.

Second, Retire & Work Inc. will pay the retirees within 7 days from services rendered by electronic bank payment. The burden of collecting from the employer now is the responsibility of Retire & Work Inc.

We expect that retirees and employers alike will take full advantage of this service that meets the needs of retiring seniors and the lack of qualified workers.

To learn more, please visit http://www.RetireNWork.com.

Ms. Patricia Bunner is President of RetireNWork.com. She can be reached at PBunner@RetireNWork.com or http://www.RetireNWork.com.

New Web Resource for Workers' Comp

Florida attorney Alex Lancaster, a worker's compensation specialist, has spent two years developing a national Internet website that offers a quick free source for clear, simple to understand, comprehensive workers' compensation information. The website is designed for injured employees, employers, health care providers and other concerned parties.

Until recently, a worker injured on the job or an employer who urgently needed workers' compensation information had to wade through a virtual swamp of confusing, often misleading and sometimes incomprehensible information. That process wasted precious time and money.

To make matters worse, each state has its own peculiar and often conflicting set of workers' compensation rules.

Help for workers, employers, attorneys, physicians and others needing workers' compensation information is now immediately and easily available online. And it doesn't cost the user anything.

By going to http://www.workerscompensation.com and specifying the state in which they are interested, visitors can find out about that state's workers' compensation laws, rules and regulations. They can even download forms along with helpful charts and tables.

"By midsummer, workerscompensation.com will have complete, specific and updated information for all 50 states on line," says Robert H. Wilson, president of WorkersCompensation.com, Inc. It presently offers detailed workers' compensation information for 30 states.

Mr. Wilson can be reached at Wilson@workerscompensation.com or 711 N. Washington Blvd., Sarasota, Florida 34236.

Comments on OFCCP Regulatory Proposals

As we told you in one of our Special Reports for HR Professionals recently, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has published its proposals for changing regulations governing affirmative action plan development and implementation.

All federal contractors and all employers with voluntary affirmative action programs should have an interest in these proposals.

We have prepared some detailed comments and sent them to the OFCCP for consideration. We hope there will be many other letters delivered to the agency's office before the July 3, 2000 deadline.

If you would like to see our response, we have made it available on our web site in the "What's New" section. Go to: http://www.management-advantage.com . The file is available in Adobe PDF format for your convenience.

We welcome your feedback.

The Youngest Rose

(Editor's Note: The following story came to us from friend, colleague and mentor, Rod Hanna. There is no author identified, although I wish there were. We share it with you, not as an original work, but as a universal reminder that we should enjoy every day we have.)

==========

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel." "No, seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began:

"We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. "You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!" "There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change."

"Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose." She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

~At the years end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.

~Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

~If you read this, please send this peaceful word of advice to your friends and family, they'll really enjoy it! We send these words in loving memory of ROSE.

Remember, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY, GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

==========

"I'd rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing."
-- Julia Roberts in "Steel Magnolias"

A Gentle Word on Behalf of Our Business

When you need help developing your affirmative action program, give us a call. We specialize in AAP development, implementation training and compliance review support for clients all over the country. Find out more about our AAP development service by looking at our sample agreement and other information. You will find it all at http://www.management-advantage.com.

You wouldn't go to an IRS audit alone. Why think about going into a Department of Labor compliance review without professional support? The stakes are just as high either way.

We are ready to give you the support you need.

And while you're at it, think about ordering a copy of our reference and training book on preparing affirmative action plans and managing compliance reviews. You will find it an invaluable resource at a price that just can't be beat.

Secrets of Affirmative Action Compliance, new 4th edition, contains over 500 pages of the latest and current regulation requirements and practical suggestions for your organization. Includes new Federal Regulations. $99.95 plus $7. shipping/handling and CA sales tax for CA destinations. Credit Card Orders ... Call Toll Free: 1-888-671-0404

We can help with your other human resource management needs as well. Think of us the next time you need:

• Employee Handbooks
• Management Training in Compliance Issues
• Affirmative Action Plan Development
• Affirmative Action Statistical Analysis
• Disparate Impact Testing for New Hires, Promotions, Transfers, Terminations
• Expert Witness
• Books, Software or Other Support Materials for HR Professionals

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