JustUs® Programs for Business
In today's tumultuous environment, organizations are under tough scrutiny and ever-increasing challenges to demonstrate they are meeting financial reporting and regulatory requirements and monitoring their professional conduct. At the same time, each organization is faced with increased demands that they meet or exceed the standards for ethical conduct and fair labor practices.
The JustUs® HelpLine Program offers toll-free telephone and Internet-accessible resources for employees to report concerns about their workplace. The JustUs® Program also allows employees to confidentially report fraudulent or unethical practices they believe may be occurring within the company.
The JustUs® Program is administered by independent experts, who follow strict, confidential procedures, so employees can feel free to voice their concerns without fear of retaliation. Once a concern has been reported, our JustUs® Representatives thoroughly investigate the concern to offer company management a neutral resolution to the dispute.
JustUs® demonstrates an employer’s commitment to ethical conduct and promotes integrity at every level. The implementation of the JustUs® Program has benefits to any organization, large or small. The win-win program benefits employers and employees.
- Enhances employee job satisfaction and security - factors that can positively impact on an organization's high costs of recruiting and training new employees.
- As a resource for the Human Resources department, JustUs® hears about employee concerns early - before they mushroom into big issues, formal complaints or litigation. Action can be taken early, before the issue becomes an expensive drain on company resources - personnel and money.
- Heightens corporate credibility by offering an independent firm to provide neutral, unbiased advice.
- Provides a management tool to reduce risks by preventing and resolving potentially expensive and time consuming employee disputes. Common employment litigation can cost the employer $100,000 and many weeks or months of productivity.
- Is a cost-effective service provider, because we respond on an as needed basis.
- Allows for consistent application of policies at multiple facilities.
- Allows Human Resources to do what it does best - hire, train, manage compensation and benefits plans and develop performance objectives, rather than being distracted by employment issues.
Whistleblower Protection
Many states and, more recently, the U.S. Congress have enacted laws to protect whistleblowers and ensure fair treatment of employees. In particular, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) mandates corporate responsibility procedures for public companies registered under section 12 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (or those required to file reports under section 15(d) thereof), officers, employees, or agents of such public companies, and contractors and subcontractors of such public companies. See 18 U.S.C. §1514(a).
Specifically, many whistleblower protection laws require procedures to:
- Allow employees to anonymously and confidentially submit concerns regarding suspected irregularities, fraud or other auditing matters.
- Receive, record, and provide oversight of complaints regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters.
JustUs® HelpLine programs meet the stringent standards for whistleblower protection compliance.
Union Environments
In addition to our traditional JustUs® Program, employers with an organized workforce are encouraged to consider our Union Call Referral (UCR) Service as a supplement.
Developed by labor attorneys, the UCR Program allows the JustUs® Program to work as a complement to the dispute resolution processes included in many collective bargaining agreements. Typical collective bargaining agreements cover issues, such as wages, hours and working conditions, which are important to employers who want their compliance to be transparent and who are committed to exceeding standards.
Organized employees can call the JustUs® HelpLine regarding issues under their bargaining agreements. A “snapshot” of the information is then referred to the appropriate union leadership. No information is disclosed to management regarding the caller’s contact, except in an annual report indicating the number of calls that were referred.
This program supports good communication among all employees to strengthen productivity and morale. It will be particularly useful for companies that are expanding, acquiring new entities or that have multiple locations.
Ultimately, the employer has the responsibility for legal compliance in the workplace, and the JustUs® UCR Program works as a gatekeeper to ensure that even union issues are properly addressed
Business Sample Issue Resolution
The following is a hypothetical designed to demonstrate the JustUs® process; any reference to real life names or events is purely coincidental.
Personality Conflict:
"Jessie" had been transferred to another shift and did not get along with the new manager. Instead of helping people with their job, the manager just told everybody to "work faster, work harder" and even let bad parts go because they "weren't that bad." Jessie said that people who complained about that manager were fired and their suggestions were ignored. Jesse suggested that management should talk to the manager and tell her to change her ways. An investigation revealed that the terminated employees were fired for valid reasons and the real problem was that Jessie resented being transferred. The HelpLine recommended Jessie apply to be transferred back to his original shift.
Employee Benefits:
"Terry" had perfect attendance last year, but was refused the perfect attendance bonus. The supervisor explained that Terry had several write-ups and the bonus was only for those who show up and do their jobs. Because company policy promised to pay the bonus for attendance only, and not for attendance and performance, JustUs® recommended that Terry be paid.
In both of these instances, failing to properly or adequately address the problem may have left the involved employees unhappy and unproductive. Without clear answers, they may have considered taking some action that could have exposed the company to the risk of bad publicity or litigation, whether merited or not. By having JustUs® the issues were able to be addressed in a timely, cost-effective manner that ultimately improved the bottom line.