Things you should know

FMCSA warns carriers about "aggressive" marketing to sell training

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently issued an alert warning motor carriers about certain companies using "aggressive" marketing techniques to sell supervisor training for the agency's drug and alcohol testing requirements.

Supervisors of commercial driver's licensed employees are required to take 60 minutes of training on symptoms of alcohol abuse and controlled substance use.

FMCSA warned carriers that the agency does not certify trainers or training companies, and does not pre-approve curriculum. It is up to individual employers to ensure the training they purchase meets the appropriate guidelines.

Reed Group launches Leave of Absence Advisor

To help organizations cope with the growing complexity of leave laws, Reed Group today announced the launch of Leave of Absence Advisor http://reedgroup.com/leave-of-absence-advisor.htm a searchable online reference tool that provides accurate and complete information on FMLA, state FML and other leave laws.

Eating at your desk could lead to foodborne illness

Workers who eat at their desk may be exposed to harmful bacteria, putting them at risk for foodborne illness, the American Dietetic Association warned.

According to an ADA survey, 83% of Americans regularly eat at their desks. However, only 36% of survey respondents said they clean their work areas, desktop, mouse and keyboard on a weekly basis; 64% said they do so on a monthly basis or less.

A 2007 study from the University of Arizona found that desktops have 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen table and 400 times more bacteria than a toilet seat. To prevent the spread of dangerous bacteria, ADA recommends workers:

• Wash hands with soap and warm water before every meal.
• Clean all surfaces before eating on them.
• Refrigerate perishable food items within two hours of the time it was removed from the refrigerator at home.
• Make sure the office refrigerator temperature is set below 40 F, and frequently clean it out.

Employee exercise programs may increase productivity: study

A small reduction in work hours that allows for an employee exercise program may be beneficial to a company's bottom line, suggests a Swedish study, published in the August issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

As part of the study, employees at a large public dental health organization in Sweden were separated into three groups. One group was required to participate in 2.5 hours of exercise per week, conducted during normal working hours; a second group was assigned reduced hours without mandatory exercise; and a third group worked normal hours with no required exercise.

Researchers found that employees who were assigned to the mandatory exercise program self-reported significant increases in productivity and had fewer work absences related to illness. Productivity seemed to stem from higher output during working hours and fewer missed workdays.

IRS offering break to employers who come clean about wrongly classifying workers as independent contractors

Employers accepted into a new IRS program must reclassify workers as employees and cough up a bit more than 1% of the wages paid to the workers for the past year. The IRS says no interest or penalties will be due, and employers will not be audited on payroll taxes related to these workers for earlier years.

The program covers only federal taxes; employers could still be liable for unpaid state taxes.