Corporate Social Responsibility

News

8.30.2007 - 05:42pm ET

CSR News from:	OCEG - Open Compliance & Ethics Group
News Categories:	Business Ethics
	Corporate Governance

OCEG Provides Clear Path to Employment Compliance with Release of Employment Domain

Launch coincides with new OCEG survey of General Counsels, HR Executives and Compliance Officers

(CSRwire) PHOENIX, AZ - August 30, 2007 - The Open Compliance and Ethics Group (OCEG) today released its Employment Domain, an integrated online database of guidance and resources to provide employers with a clear path to employment compliance.

The searchable collection of thousands of employment and labor practices, along with hundreds of linked tools and resources, is the only independent, publicly vetted guidance available in an online database that employers can utilize to develop or improve a compliance program.

"Until OCEG developed this guidance, each employer has had to determine what applied to them, and what steps to take to meet the requirements," says Laura Owen, VP, HR, Credence Systems Corporation and member of the domain advisory group. Determining "how much is enough" or "what are the right steps to take" has been an overwhelming task leaving employers still wondering if they were doing the right thing. The OCEG Employment Domain is an invaluable tool to help them know what to do."

"The overwhelming majority of employers want to comply with legal requirements. The challenge has been a lack of common measurements for compliance," says Garry Mathiason, a shareholder in the global law firm Littler Mendelson and lead manager of the Employment Domain. "OCEG answers this challenge with practical standards and guidelines that will become the benchmark for employment law compliance. I believe that over the next five years, the goal of employers worldwide will be to meet OCEG standards and guidelines, to become OCEG aligned."

"The Employment Domain is an astounding body of work created by leading professionals," says OCEG CEO Scott Mitchell. "With this tool, in-house employment counsel and HR managers can now easily find not only what they must do, but also how they can do it effectively and efficiently to ensure compliance and drive value."

OCEG worked with legal editors Littler Mendelson and Orrick Herrington, and business editor Ernst & Young LLP, who donated their time to develop the Domain content. They were aided in the development process by a 30 member Advisory Board who offered comments in the initial scoping of the Domain structure and, under the guidance of Domain Manager, Littler Mendelson, at a two day draft review session attended by attorneys and human resource executives from over 100 companies. This was followed by an extended public review process during which thousands of individuals were able to review the contents of the Domain and had the opportunity to provide comments.

The Domain addresses key employment and labor subjects, including:

Benefits and compensation

Contingent Workforce

Discrimination and Accommodation

Employee Information Privacy

Employment Law Torts

Executive Compensation

Hiring and Retention

Labor Relations

Global Migration

Harassment Prevention

Lawful Terminations and RIF

"Given the pace of change in the world of executive compensation and benefits and the increased demands placed on the various corporate functions with responsibilities in these areas, it can be invaluable to have a consistent, organized approach to manage risk and improve compliance," said Dave Johnson, partner, Ernst & Young LLP and a principal author of the OCEG Executive Compensation Supplement. "The OCEG Employment Domain is a practical and effective approach to help those in the corporate world fulfill their responsibilities."

To coincide with the launch of the Domain, OCEG recently polled 50 General Counsels, Chief Compliance Officers, HR Executives and others on their compliance challenges and concerns. The survey revealed:

Litigation: Over 75 percent of respondents said their biggest litigation fear is discrimination or harassment class actions. Almost half also fear benefits related litigation. Wage and hour class actions, and liability for action by outsourcing vendors, tie as a "top three" concern for nearly 30 percent of respondents.

Management difficulties: Eighty six percent worry whether they have effective communication of policies and procedures. Half are concerned about being sufficiently prepared to address workforce concerns in the face of a disaster, as well as preventing and detecting theft of intellectual property.

Executive compensation: Two-thirds of respondents expressed concern about the governance process. Forty five percent worry about a perception of excessive pay due to ineffective governance. Nearly 40 percent worry that there is a perception that stock based compensation lacks adequate performance conditions and that deferred compensation and supplemental pension arrangements present reputation risks.

Technology Needs: Nearly 60 percent worry about preventing data security lapses and see that they have insufficient technology resources to address this and other HR concerns. They also see the need for integrated systems that share information.

BACKGROUND

OCEG is a nonprofit organization that provides:

Common Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC) language and structure - a Framework that can be followed to assess the risks, design and apply appropriate controls, and continually evaluate and improve them

Compliance Metrics - Bullet Sized Measurements of Compliance Practices to ensure strong performance aligned with company objectives

Online Access - a searchable database that provides ready access to key legal requirements (and to the laws and regulations themselves), clearly stated practices to aid with compliance, and tools and resources to make the process easier

A community of practice to share ideas, ask questions, and benchmark against peers

OCEG helps organizations drive Principled Performance(TM). www.oceg.org

For more information please contact:

Carole Switzer
520-232-0952
520-360-0016

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