	Human Resources Management

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-HR 5: Human Resource Practices*

Human resource practices are equitable and consistently applied

Note: Please see Worksheet: Staff Turnover Rate in the Tools Index for additional assistance with this standard.

PA-HR 5.01

The agency complies with applicable laws and regulations governing fair employment practices and contractual relationships.

Interpretation: This standard applies to the agency’s employment practices and contracts, including its use of independent contractors, volunteers, temporary employees and its compliance with collective bargaining agreements. Review of compliance is part of the agency’s risk management review process described in PA RPM 2.

Some of the major federal laws in the United States that govern employer/employee relations include: Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 and the Civil Rights Act of 1991), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the National Labor Relations Act, as well as the regulations implementing all of the above statutes, and Executive Order 11246.

Typically, state or local law or regulation, when more stringent, supersedes federal regulation. Agencies are expected to review and monitor their compliance with federal or state law and regulations.

PA-HR 5.02

All personnel receive, and confirm in writing, receipt of an up-to-date employee policies and procedures manual that articulates current:

conditions of employment;
benefits;
rights and responsibilities of employees; and
other important employment-related information.

Interpretation: Policies and procedures can be written or electronic and address:

conditions and procedures for layoffs;
emergency and safety procedures;
equal employment policies;
nepotism and favoritism protections;
grievance process procedures;
insurance protections including unemployment, disability, medical care, and malpractice liability;
performance appraisal system;
promotions;
professional development;
standards of conduct;
time-off policies;
wage policy; and
working conditions.

PA-HR 5.03

Total compensation and benefits are reviewed regularly in relation to industry practices and legal and regulatory requirements.

PA-HR 5.04

To ensure compliance with legal requirements the agency reviews its use of contingent workers, including independent contractors, leased workers, volunteers, and temporary employees, with respect to exposure to tax law, wage and hour laws, and other applicable employment and labor laws.

Update: Moved Previous Standard to PA-HR 2.02, Moved New Standard From PA-HR 5.05 - 12/01/11

Original PA-HR 5.04 Standard:

The agency analyzes employment patterns, and when the cultural characteristics of personnel do not generally reflect those of its defined service population, the agency implements a plan that:

establishes goals for recruitment, employment, and promotion; and
includes timetables for correction.

Interpretation: All agencies are expected to analyze employment patterns. If the analysis indicates that the agency’s employment patterns are not reflective of the community, the agency is required to develop a plan that includes the elements in the standard.

Interpretation: For networks, the analysis is conducted annually, and is network-wide, covering all employees, partner organizations, provider organizations and independent providers providing direct services to persons and families for whom the network is responsible.

Note: Please enter demographic information on the organization's personnel on the Community Demographic Profile.

NA The agency does not use contingent workers, including independent contractors, leased workers, volunteers, and temporary employees.

PA-HR 5.05

Updated: Moved Standard to PA-HR 5.04 - 12/01/11

NA: The agency does not use contingent workers, including independent contractors, leased workers, volunteers, and temporary employees.

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	PURPOSE: A stable, qualified workforce contributes effectively and efficiently to consumer satisfaction and positive service delivery results.

RELATED FILES


	CONSUMER The individual, family, group, or community that seeks or receives services.


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	CONTRACT A formal written agreement between two or more parties that specifies the services, space, or products to be provided in exchange for some form of compensation. Also known as "purchase of service arrangement."


	INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR An independently employed individual who contracts with an organization to do a piece of work according to his/her own methods and is subject to an employer's control only as to end product or final result of the work, not as to the means whereby it is to be accomplished.


	VOLUNTEER An individual who performs services for an organization for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons, without promise, expectation, or receipt of compensation for services rendered. Such service must be offered freely and without pressure or coercion, direct or implied, from an employer. If the individual is otherwise employed by the same employer for which s/he volunteers, the individual cannot volunteer to perform the same type of services that s/he is paid to perform as an employee.


	EMPLOYEE Paid member of an organization. Foster parents are not considered employees and are specifically referenced in relevant standards.


	RISK MANAGEMENT A systematic process of evaluating and reducing potential risks that may befall personnel, clients, an organization, or a facility. Risk management activities are directed toward reducing an organization's legal and financial exposure, especially to lawsuits.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards