Congratulations, Shari!

Shari has been working for us part-time since February 2001 while she continued her studies at the University of Arizona.

Well all of that hard work is now paying off.
Shari is graduating from the University of Arizona on May 15th!
She will have completed a BS in Speech and Hearing Science and a BA in Linguistics.

We are proud of her accomplishments and we are so glad
she has been part of the TG & Associates team all along.

Ahoy, matey! Are ye harboring music pirates?

-Adapted from Connecticut Employment Law Letter prepared by attorneys at the law firm Halloran & Sage LLP http://www.HRhero.com/ctemp.shtml?HLe
by Jonathan C. Sterling

Many landlubbers are modern-day pirates, and their booty is music that they illegally download from the Internet at work. You may think this is just a relatively harmless aspect of the digital age. But beware - it's called piracy because it's stealing. And if you turn a blind eye to illegal downloading by your employees, your company may end up walking the plank.

Some people, including certain recording industry groups, believe employers should be held liable for copyright violations arising out of your employees downloading protected music and movies even if the music and movies are purely for your employees' personal use. The law is by no means clear in this area, but it's important that you know that there are legal theories that could hold you liable for your employees' illegal downloading.

* The law in brief *

The federal Copyright Act grants the holder of a copyright the exclusive rights for reproducing and distributing that copyrighted work. When an employee downloads music or movies from the Internet for his personal use without permission and usually without paying for it, he's probably violating federal copyright law. Courts have specifically held that downloading copyrighted music and movies from the Internet can constitute reproduction and distribution in violation of copyright law.

* Employer liability *

There are potentially two legal theories under which you may be exposed to liability for your employees illegally downloading protected content at work. First, and most obvious, is when your company benefits from your employee's illegally downloading. An example might be a nightclub disk jockey who illegally downloads songs from the Internet to play at the club. In such a situation, you can theoretically be held liable even if you were unaware that the downloading was taking place.

Even more alarming, however, is the possibility that your organization may be held liable when your employees use your computers to download music and movies for their own personal use. Some lawyers and recording industry trade groups believe that employers that turn a blind eye to employees downloading music and movies at work may actually be contributing to copyright violations and therefore should be held liable for that infringement.

Those lawyers and trade groups argue that by supplying computers, network access, and Internet access, the employer has contributed to a copyright violation. If an employer has the ability to supervise its employees' computer usage and fails to adequately do so, some believe it should be held liable. Additionally, they argue that the employer derives a benefit from employee downloading - namely that providing the resources to download music and movies helps the employer attract and retain employees.

You should also keep in mind that the danger of employee downloading doesn't end with copyright infringement. Employees may claim a hostile work environment if co-workers download and expose others to sexually explicit or otherwise harassing material. In this way, you may be exposed to liability for sexual harassment arising out of employees' illegal downloads.

* 'How are they going to find out?' *

Thanks to programs instituted by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), it's easier than ever for your employees' music and movie piracy to be exposed. The RIAA and MPAA are trade associations that, among other things, act to enforce the copyrights held by their recording and movie industry constituents.

Both organizations sponsor programs (know as "CD Rewards" and "DVD Rewards," respectively) that feature cash incentives for citizens to report instances of copyright violation. Thanks to those programs, the chances that illegal downloading will be reported have increased exponentially. Reports may come from your employees or their friends, family, and acquaintances. Moreover, reports can come from disgruntled present and former employees or from civic-minded employees who feel duty-bound to report this illegal activity.

You should realize that if your employees are illegally downloading content, the chances are real that their conduct may be reported to copyright holders and their representatives and that a lawsuit may soon follow. For example, the RIAA filed 532 lawsuits earlier this year against alleged copyright infringers.

* Bottom line *

Employer liability for employees illegally downloading music and movies is largely an unexplored area of law. There's a definite possibility that you could be held liable for copyright violations perpetrated by your employees even if they're downloading music and movies for their personal use.

To protect yourself, you should have a policy in place against illegal downloading and should investigate all alleged incidents of copyright infringement. The policy should make clear to employees that illegal downloading won't be tolerated. If employees are caught illegally downloading music or movies, you should ensure that you take appropriate disciplinary measures and document those measures.

Reprinted with permission from Connecticut Employment Law Letter. Copyright 2004 M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC, www.HRhero.com.

Connecticut Employment Law Letter does not attempt to offer solutions to individual problems but rather seeks to provide information about current developments in Connecticut law. It is provided as a means of conveying accurate, but general, information. It is not intended as legal advice, which must always be tailored to individual needs and particular circumstances. Questions about individual problems should be addressed to the attorney of your choice. The State Bar of Connecticut does not designate attorneys as board certified in employment, and we do not claim certification in any listed area. For more information on the state-specific employment-law newsletter written by attorneys in your state, go to: http://www.HRhero.com/empnl.shtml?HLe

The Rochester Institute of Technology Employment Resources

It is absolutely critical that you have the right people on your staff to deal with the tough technical issues of today. We have recently learned of a unique new source for these high tech employees. The Rochester Institute of Technology has always been renowned as a source for qualified personnel for the Graphic Communication Industry. But there may be one aspect of this great school you did not know about.

You can give your business a competitive advantage in bringing the skills of today's high tech economy and diversity to the workplace by hiring deaf and hard of hearing co-op students and graduates from the Rochester Institute of Technology/NTID Center on Employment (NCE). NTID co-op students and graduates possess the skills necessary to effectively do the job and are trained in state-of-the-art processes on the latest equipment in high demand technical fields.

Students are trained in many areas including: Digital Imaging and Publishing Technology, Imaging Systems Management, Graphic Communications and Graphic/Digital Media Publishing. NCE works with employers before, during, and after hiring a deaf or hard-of-hearing person.

If you would like more information, or would like to discuss possible job candidates, please contact Linda Iacelli, Senior Employment Specialist, at: 585-475-6710, or by email at: lai6148@rit.edu.

For more information on the Digital Imaging and Publishing Technology program please visit www.ntid.rit.edu/nce/program_pdfs/dipt_ad.pdf.
For more information on the college and services of the NTID Center on Employment please visit www.rit.edu/ntid/coops/jobs.

Having HR Documentation Woes?

Documentation is a difficult, frustrating problem for many judging from the HRhero.com Monthly Survey for March 2004, which was on the topic of documentation.

Where does your company fit in?

Only 11 percent thought their organization's overall documentation was very good; 55 percent said it was pretty good, and 31 percent were just limping along.

Whose responsibility is it?

Who's the weakest link in your organization's documentation system? About half of the people taking the survey said supervisors.

And what are the negative effects of poor documentation?

A full 71 percent of respondents said poor documentation allowed unresolved problems that hurt morale or productivity; 62 percent said it caused them to withhold disciplinary action; and 58 percent said it kept an employee on the payroll who should've been fired.

So, what can you do to improve documentation?

One of the most popular employee responses was that to supervisors supply forms. Take the first step to solving your documentation problems with TG & Associate's HR Forms*! Our complete set of HR Forms has the forms you need to hire, develop and retain your people in addition to forms for disciplinary action, attendance and other employee issues.

Complete Set of 46 forms - Download - $59.95
Individual forms are only $5.99 each!

New - Updated Prescreening Forms!

* All forms meet all EEOC and ADA guidelines. The forms can be copied and printed as needed.

Here's where you can find the complete results of the documentation survey:
http://www.HRhero.com

Is it a Strength or a Flaw?

When you are ready, the teacher will be there!
But very little happens until you are ready to change.

I must say that the most rewarding feeling I can ever have as a consultant or coach is to watch a person reach their goals. When this happens, it's a win/win situation for everyone. My client moves forward successfully in their endeavors and I am at peace knowing that I had a little something to do with their success.

On the other hand, the most disappointing thing is working with a client who continues to fail at reaching their goals. When I work with someone who continues to struggle, it becomes very frustrating for both the client and for me. When I sit back and try to analyze why some people are able to reach their goals easily and why some cannot, it has become apparent that the results are a direct correlation to a person's mindset and their ability to make the necessary changes that must occur. And this is where the saying of "When you are ready, the teacher will be there" comes in.

I'm sure many of us have had the experience of being given advice about handling a certain situation for a very long time, but never acting on it. Then one day down the road, we are given the exact same advice again, and this time we take action. Why did it take us so long to respond to the information that we had received weeks, months or even years ago? Had we acted upon the advice right from the beginning, maybe we would be that much further ahead by now.

This is where "would have," "should have" or "could have" always comes up. The bottom line is that no matter what others were telling us at the time - even if it was for our own benefit - we were not ready to hear the message. For some reason, we were not ready to make the necessary changes or take on the challenge or deal with conflict in order to accomplish our goal. The goal kept getting over-shadowed by our own personal issues or our reluctance to face the real issues head-on. Taking the tough actions is often necessary to get where we really want to go.

The difference between the people that continue to have success and move forward and the people who tend to become stagnant or always struggle is the ability to hear what is being said and then execute the necessary actions. Even though what might need to be done is very arduous and might require huge amounts of change, the successful ones don't procrastinate or ignore. They develop a plan of action and then they implement it and follow-through until the path is clear for them to continue toward their goal.

Many people are standing in their own way of reaching success or accomplishing their goals. Are you one of those people? You keep talking about making more money, changing jobs, increasing sales, etc., but are you willing to move the obstacles out of your way? Until you make that decision yourself, no one can help you.

As Henry Ford once said, "Whether you can or can't, you are right!"

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Recommended Reading : The Precious Present

Many of us talk about having more balance in our lives, but can't quite seem to accomplish it. Once you read The Precious Present, you will have the secret to finding a more fulfilling life. The Precious Present is a very simple book, but extremely powerful. It was written in 1994 by Spencer Johnson, but I think it is even more relevant for today's society. We are all so busy running from thing to thing and place to place that life is passing us by. This book is a must read for everyone.

More from Debra on Work/Life Balance:
How to Balance Your Work Life and Personal Life
Work/Life Balance: It's all About Perspective
Ask Debra Archive: Work/Life Balance
Plan Work/Life Balance Now

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Under the Tucson Sun Update & Preliminary Information