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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
FedEx, employee relations a ‘package 5 deal?
Dear Readers, A cli
ent of mine works
as a Federal Express
driver. When I noticed a
legal/financial story on
FedEx at MSNMoney.com,
I took notice. The article,
written by Jeff Schnepper,
concerned the legal rela
tionship between Federal
Express and its drivers.
If a business pays anyone
more than S6OO in a tax cal
endar year, those payments
must be reported to the IRS.
The employer either has
to claim the person as an
“employee,” resulting in a
W-2 being issued at the end
of the tax year, or treat
ing this person as an “inde
pendent contractor,” result
ing in a 1009 being issued
at the end of the tax year.
Either way the income and
relationship is reported to
Nobody wants
How many real peo
ple have you heard
say, “I need to hire
a coach!”?
Nobody! Nobody wants
to endure being coached!
Improvement often requires
a lot of work. Isn’t meeting
with a coach an admission
that you’re not as good as
you think you could be?
However, EVERYBODY
wants to be a winner!
Everyone wants to succeed.
In response to any given situ
ation, we all want to achieve
clearly desirable outcomes!
We want greater freedom,
ami we want the respect of
our peers, our bosses, and
our direct reports.
What do you think it
means when people ask you,
“What do you think I should
do?” That’s a way of say
ing, “1 want to achieve some
particular outcome - please
help me think about how to
‘ln pig’s heaven’ w
Today's adolescent adults (hid little to Inspire them
MHy father married
in 1948. At the
time, he was a for
mer naval officer, headed to
law school - and he was 21
years old.
When I was 21, I still had
three years of college, gradu
ate school ahead of me and
(as 1 would find out later)
marriage 12 years in the
distance.
Though there isn't a soul
on this planet that would
accuse me of being a wild
man during those days,
there’s an obvious contrast
between my father’s experi
ence and mine.
Fifteen years ago, when I
walked down the aisle, there
wasn’t what 1 would call
a coherent “cultural script”
that communicated the
nobility nor the preference
for getting married. There
was only a faint message
that said it is good for a man
to “lay aside childish things”
(to borrow a Biblical phrase)
and take responsibility for
himself and his nascent fam
ily. The cultural script was
hazy at best and not nearly
as clear as it was in my par
ents’ day.
For me, the onset of mar
riage provided a cold slap
in the face. What hit me
on the doorstep of marriage
was an incredible sense of
responsibility to be a good
man, a good husband and
eventually a good father. But
that sense of responsibility
was not shaped so much by
the culture, but by my faith
and the example of a very
responsible father.
Today, things have
changed. The script that
was faint and fading when I
got married is all but forgot
ten now.
I recently read a compelling
account of this phenomenon
by Kay S. Hymowitz called
Child-Man in the Promised
Land. The article provided
a vivid depiction of today’s
20-something male who,
unlike generations before
him, is not taking up the
mantle of responsibility to
achieve milestones of adult-
The'Law'Man
jk
Jim
Rockefeller
Attorney,
Rockefeller
Law Center
the IRS for tax purposes to
ensure that all income and
payroll taxes are paid.
When we think about
taxes, most of our thoughts
gravitate to income taxes,
corporate taxes, or proper
ty taxes, but payroll taxes
are paid by everyone who
works.
These are the Social
Security and Medicare taxes
we have withheld in our
paychecks, for which the
Building Future Leaders
.■f
i
* i
Dennis
Hooper
Leadership
Development
Coach
get there.”
Having a coach is mere
ly a means to an end. The
desired outcome is success,
achievement, or at least clar
ity in the face of uncertainty.
Stretching beyond our com
fort zones-our current limi
tations-is required to make
improvement.
When you experience a
few months of support from
a good coach, you usually
undergo a major growth
spurt* your self-awareness
expands, your imagination
Families- today, tomorrow
Randy
Hicks
President,
Georgia
Family
Council
hood. Things like financial
independence, marriage and
family. Instead, as she points
out, “He lingers - happily
- in a new hybrid state of
semi-hormonal adolescence
and responsible self-reli
ance.”
Her article continues with
a comprehensive description
of the tens of millions of
young men today who are
living their lives occupied
with diversions that do not
encourage them to grow up,
but rather to maintain their
adolescence. It’s a world
consumed with video games
(men between 18 and 34
play more video games than
anyone else), magazines like
Maxim, television networks
like Spike, Comedy Central,
and even the Cartoon
Network that feature pro
gramming specifically aimed
at them. And for many, free
time and decent income per
mit plenty of hanging out
with the guys, bar-hopping,
sexual encounters with
various women and other
amusements.
Hymowitz points out an
“uncomfortable fact” about
today’s adolescent adult:
“He’s immature because
he can be.” She goes on:
“There’s no denying the les
son of today’s media mar
ketplace: give young men
a choice between serious
drama on the one hand, and
Victoria’s Secret models,
battling cyborgs, exploding
toilets, and the NFL on the
other, and it’s the models,
cyborgs, toilets, and football
by a mile. For whatever rea
son, adolescence appears to
be the young man’s default
state, proving what anthro
pologists have discovered in
“full” tax rate is 15.3 per
cent of income. Employers
must match the tax paying
7.65 percent (or one-half)
of these payroll taxes; the
self-employed pay the entire
payroll tax (15.3 percent).
This means that above and
beyond your actual salary,
your company pays its share
of matching payroll taxes to
the IRS.
By trying to character
ize its-relationship with its
drivers as “independent con
tractors,” FedEx is trying to
shift responsibility for pay
ing the employer’s share of
payroll takes onto the backs
of the drivers. To quote from
the article framing the legal
issue, “What got the IRS and
FedEx into a tussle was the
package company’s assertion
that drivers were contrac
tors who operate their deliv
to admit they need coaching!
and creativity intensify, and
your willingness and ability
to serve expands to a new
level.
Maybe you’ve gotten by
in the past because you
are naturally gifted, but
you realize now that there
is greater potential to be
tapped. Or maybe you feel
you are being underutilized;
you’re not quite sure how to
step up and be recognized
for greater challenges.
Perhaps you want stron
ger relationships with fam
ily, friends, or colleagues at
work-maybe with your boss
or your direct reports. Maybe
you want to set and achieve
higher goals for yourself.
Who provides the inspira
tion that causes you to push
yourself to greater heights?
Does your existing environ
ment provide all the intel
lectual stimulation you need
or can handle?
cultures everywhere: it is
marriage and children that
turn boys into men. Now
that the single young male
can put off family into the
hazily distant future, he
can - and will - try to stay
a child-man ... Not only is
no one asking that today’s
20- or 30-something become
a responsible husband and
father - that is, grow up - but
a freewheeling marketplace
gives him everything that he
needs to settle down in pig’s
heaven indefinitely.”
Hymowitz puts her finger
on the problem by point
ing out that these men, who
have a tendency to avoid
any deep commitment,
do not make very promis
ing husbands and fathers.
And therein lays one of the
fundamental problems of
this contemporary cultural
script.
A healthy society and the
wellbeing of children depend
on mature men and women
committing to one another
in wedlock and developing
an other-focused, self-sacri
ficing view of their marriage
and parenting. Today, we
have a culture that is not
conducive to this mindset.
That script is gone in the
culture at large.
Fortunately in most com
munities of faith, the script
is still there, yet it must live
at odds with what culture is
saying. And very often one
can overwhelm the other.
Another problem and per
haps every bit as harmful
are the many young women
who are taking cues from
their adolescent male coun
terparts and lowering expec
tations for themselves, their
relationships and ultimately
for their marriage.
Now, I can certainly imag
ine someone reading this
saying: “Cultural script?
Our lives are not supposed
to be scripted; people are
free to live their own way.”
But the fact is that we live
by cultural scripts all the
time - commonly adopted
prescriptions for how to
See HICKS, page ioA
ery routes as independent
businesses, even though the
drivers use FedEx equip
ment, wear FedEx uniforms
and work under explicit
FedEx rules.” This correctly
describes FedEx’s business
model - drivers are required
to purchase FedEx vans and
“own” their routes, yet oth
erwise they “look” like an
employee of FedEx.
While the IRS is loosen
ing some of the strictures
in the code, FedEx is prob
ably on the losing end of
this argument. To qualify
as an independent contrac
tor, the employee must have
almost complete discretion
on how to carry out their
jobs and provide all of the
necessities to carry out
their responsibilities. For
instance, an independent
contractor hired to clean a
Who is holding you
accountable for the prom
ises you make to yourself?
Who cares that you actu
ally follow through with the
hard work that is required
to make progress?
Ecclesiastes 4:9 says: “Two
are better than one, because
they have a good reward for
their labor.” A good coach is
able to help you grow from
your current level of perfor
mance to a superior level of
competence and confidence.
Coaching is a high form
of customized learning. The
coach creates an environ
ment where you are free
to generate and explore
options, capitalizing on your
strengths to achieve your
aspirations.
Your coach helps you move
from where you are now to
where you want to be, ask
ing thought-provoking ques
tions and evoking answers
act and relate to one
another including: “Don’t
pollute,” “Don’t cheat on
your wife,” or as many of
we parents recite repeatedly,
“Share your toys.”
But today’s dominant
script for how to live as a
young man is characterized
by immaturity and self-cen-
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house may bring most or all
of the cleaning equipment
to the house, as opposed to
having it provided, and will
make all decisions on how to
clean and what to wear. On
the other hand, if this per
son was given a uniform or
dress code and was expect
ed to work every Tuesday
from 9-4, this is more of an
employer-employee relation
ship. This is where you have
heard of “nanny-gate”-type
of political problems, i.e.,
regular household help (nan
nies or housekeepers) for
whom no payroll or income
taxes are paid.
As Schnepper points out
in the MSNMoney.com
article, the ramifications of
defining FedEx drivers as
employees versus indepen
dent contractors affects a
wide swath of employment
from your own awareness
and perceptions.
A good coach deals with
your agenda, sees you as
capable, and assists you
with discipline, holding you
accountable for following
through on the actions to
which you commit.
In his highly respected
book The Next Generation
Leader, Andy Stanley has a
section devoted to “coach
ing.” In it are these power
ful words: “You will never
maximize your potential in
any area without coaching.
It is impossible. You may
be good. You may even be
better than everyone else.
But without outside input,
you will never be as good
as you could be .... Don’t be
deceived by measuring your
leadership against what oth
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
-SBS/person
A Safeguard Worth Noticing
In this country, politicians understand that the more you
know about government, the better off we all are. So, they mT
created public notices to be printed in the newspaper. •§>
Georgia’s newspapers go one step further and also make
public notices, trom all 159 counties in the state, available in a I s',';
free anti searchable database online. It's fast. It's easy. . /.J* ",
It Serves The Public’s Right To Know.
GeorgiaPubmcNotice.com
Georgia Statewide Database of Public Notices
1601 ?2
478.218.0168
SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 2008 ♦
relationships. This case is
bringing industry-wide prac
tices to the spotlight, which
will probably change the
way some transport compa
nies do business, but it may
very well affect you down
the road. Keep your eye on
this case and make sure to
consider both Federal and
State guidelines when deter
mining a worker’s status.
Local attorney Jim
Rockefeller owns the
Rockefeller Law Center and
is a former Houston County
Chief Assistant District
Attorney, and a former
Miami Prosecutor. E-mail
confidential legal questions
to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.
com. Visit www.rockefeller
lawcenter.com for Frequently
Asked Questions and
Jim’s blog, The Rockefeller
Report.
ers are doing rather than
against your God-given
potential.”
Nobody wants to endure
coaching. But who wants
to miss the opportunity to
reach their potential?
Dennis Hooper is a lead
ership development coach,
inspiring leaders to stretch
the individuals under their
authority. Call him at 478-
988-0237, or send an e-mail
to dhooper2@juno.com.
MusicUssons #
150 5. Hoeiloe Like Rd. (11« i dm) Zcldt’s)
Winer Robins 4ZB-9ZI-1139
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237 dhooper2fojuno.com
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