The end of the year is a time for celebration and festivities. But it can also be a time when questions arise in the workplace about the appropriateness of gifts from vendors and clients. This is a good opportunity for managers to review gift policies with all employees.
Performance reviews encompass more than an individual employee’s career path. Read More
Benefit Open Enrollment meetings happen once a year and many employers go through this process bracing themselves for (what can be) dreadful news. Usually the message is, “your health premiums are going up”! Do you customize your benefits to fit the needs of your staff? Take the time to find out what your employees really want!
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires employers to grant up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year to individuals recovering from a medical condition, caring for sick family members, or following the birth or adoption of a child under the age of 18. This act covers private sector companies with 50 or more employees. Although this law seems to be so confusing, many answers are found within the FMLA regulations found at www.dol/fmla.
You can do this as long as you are paying them overtime for those hours worked over 40. Calculating overtime in these situations can be tricky, therefore, I encourage you to contact your HR Consultant for guidance. Read More
With the changing of seasons comes changes in the workplace along with changes in dress code. This is the time of year when employees typically stretch the dress code policies to try new styles and wardrobe trends. Consistent and uniform enforcement not only reduces potential liability exposure, but also prevents the slow deterioration of your dress code policy in the workplace.
The Iowa’s statute regulating drug and alcohol testing for private sector employers has changed. For employers who conduct alcohol and/or drug testing… this impacts you! Please read on.
Personnel files should be treated as private company records belonging to you and your individual employees. You don’t want to allow just anyone in the company to rummage through the performance evaluations, salaries, and job applications of coworkers. Keep employee files in a locked cabinet. Make them available only to those people in your company who have a legitimate business need to access the files.
With so many stories in the news that have heightened the awareness of sexual harassment, employers are showing concerns about whether they may be at risk of similar claims. There are three key components in having an effective anti-harassment strategy and they are detailed below. Read More
Some employers think it’s not necessary, reasoning that Interns are still in school, live with their parents, receive valuable experience and may even drive their own new cars to work. These employers believe using unpaid Interns is a smart financial move that allows their companies to save money on wages. However, this line of thinking has become risky based on recent court decisions and the filing of new lawsuits.
If you don’t know the rules of the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) then it’s time to refresh yourself with the law. In the state of Iowa, breaks are not legally required, employers must pay employees for time they spend working and for shorter breaks (less than 20 minutes) during the day. An employer that chooses to provide a longer meal break, during which the employee is relieved of all job duties, does not have to pay the employee for that time.
While some stress is normal, excessive stress can cause damage to your employee’s mind and body as well as interfere with their job performance.
Stop and think about all the things we can do with our smartphones. How did we ever live without them? Isn’t it crazy to think how much our phones have become a part of our lives? In many ways cell phones are great, but for employers, they can cause more grief than what they are worth. Read More
ERISA (the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act) requires employers to have an ERISA Wrap Document in place if they offer or sponsor benefits to their employees. If employers don’t have this in place they may be liable for serious penalties and fines.