Human Resources Management (DECA)

Absence

Time off when an employee is not at work during their normal work period. Can be scheduled or unscheduled.

Base Salary

a fixed amount of money paid to an employee by an employer in return for work performed. Base salary does not include benefits, bonuses or any other potential compensation from an employer.

Benchmark Job

A job commonly found in the workforce for which pay and other relevant data are readily available. used to make pay comparisons and job evaluations.

Benefits

a form of compensation above the amount of pay specified as a base salary or hourly rate of pay. Also a portion of a total compensation package for employees.

Bonus

Compensation above and beyond that defined by a base salary our hourly wage.

Bumping

Giving long-standing employees, whose positions are to be eliminated, the option of taking other positions within the company that they are qualified for and that are currently held by employees with less seniority.

Buyout

An offer made by a company to its employees, often including a severance package, in exchange for leaving the company.

Coaching

The first step in any effort to improve employee performance is counseling or _____. Counseling or ______ is part of the day-to-day interaction between a supervisor and an employee. _____ provides positive feedback about employee contributions and helps improve performance.

COBRA

_____ gives employees and their families, who lose their health benefits because of unemployment, the right to continue to pay for group health benefits provided by their group health plan. These health care benefits may be extended for limited periods of time under certain circumstances according to the COBRA regulations.

Collective Bargaining

One or more unions meeting with the representatives from an orgainzation to negotiate labor contracts.

Confidentiality Agreement

a written legal contract between an employer and employee. it lays out binding terms and conditions that prohibit the employee from disclosing company confidential and proprietary information.

Disability

The inability to perform all or part of one's occupational duties because of an accident or illness.

Discrimination

The favoring of one group of people, resulting in unfair treatment of other groups.

Downsizing

____ or lay-offs reduce the number of employees in an organization. Downsizing may be a strategy to save the company, but when layoffs are used repeatedly without necessary strategy, downsizing can destroy morale among employees.

Employee Handbook

a compilation of the policies, procedures, working conditions, and behavioral expectations that guide employee actions in a particular workplace. generally also include information about the company, employee compensation and benefits, and additional terms and conditions of employment.

Employee of the Month

a recognition strategy companies have used successfully and unsuccessfully.

Employee Relations

Developing, maintaining, and improving the relationship between employer and employee by effectively and proactively communicating with employees.

Employment Gap

a period of months or years when the job applicant was not employed at a job for reasons such as attending school full time and raising children.

Empowerment

Giving employees the resources, skills, and authority necessary to share power with management and make decisions. Employees are then held accountable for their decisions and rewarded when appropriate.

Equal Opportunity

The granting of equal rights, privileges, and status regardless of gender, age, race, religion, disability, or sexual orientation

Fair Labor Standards Act

Sets the federal standard for minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor.

Flex Schedule

allows an employee to work hours that differ from the normal company start and stop time

Flexible Spending Accounts

allow employees to set aside a portion of their earnings on a pre-tax basis into seperate spending accounts to fund allowable health care and/or dependent day care expenses

Freedom of Association

The right of workers to join a union and to bargain collectively. This right is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act of 1993.

Furlough

mandatory time off work with no pay. This may be used to control costs of a project which is over budget or when revenue falls short.

Garnishment

a legal procedure in which a person's earnings are required by court order to be withheld by an employer for the payment of a debt such as back taxes or child support.

Grievance

A complaint filed by an employee.

Gross Misconduct

An action so serious that it calls for the immediate dismissal of an employee. Examples include fighting, drunkenness, harassment, of others and theft.

Hierarchy of Needs

A theory created by psychologist Abraham Maslow that states humans constantly strive to meet a series of needs, going from physical (food and shelter) all the way to spiritual (self-actualization).

Hiring Freeze:

When a company discontinues the hiring of non-essential employees, which can allow for restructuring within the organization.

HR Audit:

A periodic measurement of human resources effectiveness conducted by internally or with the use of a HR audits system.

HR Generalist

An individual who is able to perform mulitiple diversified human resources functions.

I-9

Employment eligibility form required by the Department of Homeland Security to be filled out by potential hires to prove eligibility to work within the United States.

Incentive Pay

Additional compensation used as a motivational tool to exceed spcified work goals.

Labor Market

A market where employers find workers and workers find jobs.

Medicare Tax

A payroll tax paid by both employees and employers as part of FICA taxes, which also includes social security.

Nonexempt Employee

Workers who are subject to all Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provisions, including overtime, because of the nature of the work they perform and the method by which they are compensated for their time.

Offshoring

The act of moving work to an overseas location to take advantage of lower labor costs. Manufacturing companies practice offshoring on a regular basis.

Onboarding

Onboarding is the process of acquiring, accommodating, assimilating and accelerating new team members, whether they come from outside or inside the organization.

Overtime

All hours worked beyond 40 per work week for all non-exempt employees. Overtime is calculated on a weekly basis, so a non-exempt employee who works four 10-hour days and is off on the fifth day does not recieve overtime pay.

Performance Management

The process of maintaining or improving employee job performance through the use of performance assessment tools, coaching and counseling.

Promotion

The advancement of an employee internally from a job with a low salary range to a position with a higher salary range.

Recruiter

Someone inside an organization that has the responsibility of finding and training new employees for the organization.

Resignation

Ending or termination of employment by the employee.

Salary

A fixed amount of compensation paid to an employee for the work they perform, rather than an hourly wage.

Severance

Money provided from a company to an employee who is leaving the company for a number of reasons, including layoffs, mutual agreement, or elimination of a position.

Telecommuting

Working on a flexible work schedule at a distance from your place of work.

Total Quality Management

Total quality management strives to improve quality and productivity in many organizations. Instead of using traditional rule enforcement, TQM calls for a change in the corporate culture, where the new work climate has the following characteristics:

An open, problem-solving atmosphere;
Participatory design making;
Trust among all employees (staff, line, workers, managers);
A sense of ownership and responsibility for goal achievement and problems solving; and,
Self-motivation and self-control by all employees.

Turnover

The number of employees lost and gained over a given time period.

Union

Workers who organize a united group, usually related to the kind of work they do, to collecively bargain for better work conditions, pay or benefit increases.

Viral HR

The use of various types of technology to provide employees with self-serve options. Voice response systems and employee kiosks are examples.

W-4

A form used to determine the amount of federal and state income tax that an employer is required to withhold on the employee's behalf.