Canadian HR Reporter

CanaDian hr reporTer november 3, 2014 22 InsIGhT unWanteD HooD ornaMent San FranCiSCo — Meter maids have a tough job. When handing out citations to tardy or careless drivers, they face the wrath of many. But one such traffi c offi cer encountered a whole new type of abuse when he tried to put a parking ticket on a vehicle in San Francisco, according to Kron 4 news. police say the driver, Bo Monsoumbath, got into the car and tried to drive away, so the of- fi cer jumped on the hood to avoid being run over. e woman drove for several minutes, even hitting a motorcycle, with the incident caught on camera by a passing mo- torist. eventually, police caught up with the car and the offi cer landed safely. Monsoumbath was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon and misdemean- our in a hit and run. however, she claims she was sexually harassed by the offi cer and was terrifi ed during the incident. "i never tried to run that meter maid over. it's clear i'm at a stop in the pic and i made several stops," she said. 'i Want it sPotless' BriSToL, U.K. — Cleaners, on the other hand, don't typically face such aggression by the gen- eral public. But that was not the case recently when an employee at Double Tree hotel in Bristol, U.K., was mopping the floor. Thirty-year-old John Thornton decided the cleaner wasn't doing a good enough job so he grabbed the mop and began "aggressively mopping," according to the Inde- pendent. "(he) then began to mop the fl oor but became more aggres- sive and mopped over the em- ployee's shoes several times," said police spokesman Donn Watson. "(he then) turned his back to the employee and forcibly backed into her, pushing her into a corner." e cleaner, who was left "shaken" by the mopping attack, will be press- ing charges; ornton was also charged with breach of peace and "threatening in the second degree." it's rumoured the hotel's floors have never been cleaner. Don't Kiss anD tell DoDoMa — Last year, Tanza- nia's police force was ranked the most corrupt in the east african community, according to the east africa Bribery index (eaBi) in the Independent. But it appears the force has bigger fi sh to fry — three Tanzanian police officers were fi red recently after a pho- tograph of two of them kissing went viral. asumba Mwasumbi and Veronic Mdeme were sacked on the grounds of gross miscon- duct in the course of duty while the photographer, a third offi cer, Fadhiri Linga, was also dismissed for photographing the amorous couple. e image went against the moral principles of the force, according to regional commander of the police henry Mwaibambe. While many Tanzanians consid- ered the response to the image — apparently taken back in 2012 — heavy-handed, lawyer Masoud George at the Tanzania Legal and human rights Centre said the decision was fair. "it is according to their code of conduct so, from a legal point of view, we can't say their dismissal was unfair." tHe butt of JoKes FranKLin, Tn. — Two weeks after being named chair of the Williamson County school board, long-time board member Mark Gregory resigned as chair, ac- cording to the Tennessean. Greg- ory was one of the creators of the "Buttleopener," a bottle opener shaped like a female-shaped pos- terior that launched back in 2012. But when he became chair of the board, criticism arose. Brentwood parent heather Carroll started an online petition against him a few weeks ago. "it just became some- thing that really galvanized the community to ask questions," she said. "'is this the best we can do for our school board?'" Gregory apol- ogized for his participation in the business venture and sent an email to fellow board members explain- ing his decision to step down was "because of the incredible distrac- tion that has taken us away from the very important commitments that we all have made to the boys and girls in Williamson County Schools. Let's get back to this most important business." Gregory re- mains on the board. W EIRD orKPlace tHe Vol. 27 No. 19 – November 3, 2014 puBlIsHed By Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ©Copyright 2014 by Thomson Reuters Canada Ltd. All rights reserved. CanadIan Hr reporTer is published 22 times a year. Publications Mail – Agreement # 40065782 Registration # 9496 – ISSn 0838-228X director, carswell Media: Karen Lorimer - (416) 649-9411 karen.lorimer@thomsonreuters.com publisher and editor: John Hobel (on leave) edITorIal Managing editor/acting publisher: Todd Humber - (416) 298-5196 todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com senior editor: Sarah Dobson - (416) 649-7896 sarah.dobson@thomsonreuters.com news editor: Liz Bernier - (416) 649-7837 liz.bernier@thomsonreuters.com employment law editor: Jeffrey R. Smith - (416) 649-7881 jeffrey.r.smith@thomsonreuters.com labour relations news editor: Sabrina Nanji - (416) 649-9348 sabrina.nanji@thomsonreuters.com labour relations news editor: Liz Foster - (416) 298-5129 liz.foster@thomsonreuters.com web/IT co-ordinator: Mina Patel - (416) 649-7879 mina.patel@thomsonreuters.com adVerTIsIng account executive: Stephen Hill - (416) 298-5090 stephen.hill@thomsonreuters.com account executive: Kathy Liotta - (416) 649-9920 kathy.liotta@thomsonreuters.com production co-ordinator: Pamela Menezes - (416) 649-9298 pamela.menezes@thomsonreuters.com marKeTIng and CIrCulaTIon Marketing Manager: Mohammad Ali - (416) 609-5866 mm.ali@thomsonreuters.com Marketing co-ordinator: Keith Fulford - (416) 649-9585 keith.fulford@thomsonreuters.com produCTIon Manager, Media production: Lisa Drummond - (416) 649-9415 lisa.drummond@thomsonreuters.com art director: Dave Escuadro suBsCrIpTIons annual subscription: $169 (plus GST) GST#: 897 176 350 RT To subscribe, call one of the customer service numbers listed above or visit www.hrreporter.com. address changes and returns: Send changes and undeliverable Canadian addresses to: suBsCrIBer serVICes Canadian HR Reporter One Corporate Plaza 2075 Kennedy Rd. Toronto, ON M1T 3V4 ❑ From time to time, we make our subscriber list available to companies and organizations whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you do not want your name to be made available, please check here and return with your mailing label. CusTomer serVICe call: (416) 609-3800 (Toronto) (800) 387-5164 (outside Toronto) Fax: (416) 298-5082 (Toronto) (877) 750-9041 (outside Toronto) email: carswell.customerrelations@ thomsonreuters.com leTTers To THe edITor todd.humber@thomsonreuters.com CHRR reserves the right to edit for length and clarity. Todd Humber eDitor's notes Relax – 'It's just doing its job' I woke up with a start this morning at 4:11 a.m. I had heard a strange sound, a sort of voice off in the distance — one of those middle-of-the- night noises where you can't quite fi gure out if it was part of a dream or something that actually happened. But my wife was woken by it too, so I knew it wasn't part of a lingering dream. We listened in silence to see if the apparition would speak again. It did. rough the house, the words echoed: "Caution. Low Battery." And then the same words repeat- ed in French. Ah, the damn smoke detector. I cursed it for waking me up, then stumbled out of bed to ob- ligatorily change the batteries. But muttered, under-my-breath expletives turned to appreciation as I fully woke up. at's because my grandfather's voice popped into my head as I recalled a story he told me. My grandpa had a smoke detec- tor placed just outside his kitchen. It was always going off . It wasn't Christmas or anksgiving at his house if it didn't start chirping at some point. ose are the strongest memo- ries I have of my grandparents and the holidays — excessively wrapped presents under the tree, the smell of roast turkey in the air… and the wailing of the smoke detector as dinner neared. (It was a sign that dinner was surely al- most ready, an unconventional dinner bell.) One day, the local fi re depart- ment had a booth set up at the mall to remind people to install smoke alarms. Fed up, my grand- father approached a fi refi ghter to voice his displeasure and ask what he could do about the alarm's un- necessary noise. e fi refi ghter's response was simple: " ere's nothing to do. It's just doing its job." My grandfather never com- plained about the smoke alarm again. In fact, he liked to retell that story when it went off . We all have annoyances in our lives, both at work and home, from people and things that are "just doing their jobs." Human resources professionals, in particular, fall into this category. Many managers and executives see them as the annoying fi re alarm that's always going off in the offi ce. "You can't just fi re Bob because you don't like him…" "We have to comply with this new standard…" "You can't turn a blind eye to that… you have to intervene… you can't ask that question…" e list goes on and on and on. But, instead of complaining, employers should be thankful for the chirping coming from the HR department. After I changed the batteries in all the detectors in the house, I stumbled back to bed. I was no longer annoyed at the alarm for waking me. Instead, I was grateful it was doing its job — protecting my family. I just wish it could have told me around 7 p.m. that the batteries were dying. A new era in HR designation: We want your opinion We're curious to hear about what you think of the three new desig- nations — a junior level, mid-level and senior one — being unveiled by the Human Resources Profes- sionals Association(HRPA). On page 1 of this issue, senior editor Sarah Dobson took a look at the sweeping changes that will, among other things: • introduce a junior-level designa- tion that does not require a uni- versity degree •include knowledge of employ- ment law •introduce a senior-level desig- nation that appears to be a very diff erent animal than the cur- rent Senior Human Resources Professional (SHRP) designa- tion off ered by HRPA and, un- til recently, the Saskatchewan Associated of Human Resource Professionals (SAHRP). ese aren't just questions for our readers in Ontario and those who are members of the HRPA. e HRPA is open to sharing the criteria for the new designations with other associations across the country. In fact, HRPA CEO Bill Green- halgh said it's not a question of why other associations would pick it up, "it's a question of why wouldn't they?" Any way you slice it, this is huge news for the profession. And we want to know your thoughts about these changes — positive or negative. We welcome letters to the edi- tor anytime at todd.humber@ thomsonreuters.com. You can also tweet your thoughts to us @hrreporter. Canadian HR Reporter will also be starting a discussion on the new designations on our Linked- In page. If you haven't joined — we just recently launched it — search for "Canadian HR Reporter" in the groups area of LinkedIn. We'd love to have you as a member. buMPer cars ST. PAUL, MINN. — A city employee who ran into a parked car recently was understandably upset. e front-bumper damage was considerable and Megan Campbell was driving a supply van back from a city storage building when she hit the 2001 Nissan Path- fi nder, according to Pioneer Press. Now, the St. Paul Parks and Recreation employee is seeking US$1,600 to $1,900 from the city for the damage. Why? e parked vehicle was her own. "Because I was working for the city and driving the city vehicle, I feel they are responsible for paying for the damage done to my car," she wrote in a notice of claim. e city receives around 400 claims from residents each year, said city clerk Shari Moore. "I can safely say this is a very unusual claim." Complicating the matter is the fact the supply van was a rental but no damage was reported after the crash. "Our safety and security co-ordinator wasn't made aware of the accident that occurred in early August until Sept. 25 so, based on established city accident reporting policies and Parks and Rec Department incident paperwork require- ments, it seems protocols weren't properly followed," said parks department spokesman Brad Meyer. Credit: John T Takai/Shutterstock

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