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Are you familiar with the Portal-to-Portal Act?
Last Updatedin Benefits & Compensation
Question: If I need to send an employee to “cover” at a worksite other than where they are regularly schedule to work, am I required to pay them for the time it takes them to get there? Answer: It depends! Luckily, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) addresses this issue specifically. Section 29 CFR § […]
Making A Drug Free Workplace Exception
Last Updatedin Employee Relations
Question: We recently acquired a company. We are a drug free workplace and conducted drug screens across the entire workforce for the new company. One employee did not pass, however, he was a top performer and highly recommended by the management of the company we acquired. Our policy does say failure to pass the drug […]
Performance Management: The Individual Strategic Plan
Last Updatedin Employee Relations
by Robin Throckmorton, MA, SPHR Performance management has become an ever-increasing critical tool to success for businesses. Within the last year we have experienced both a booming economy as well as a recession; a historically low unemployment rate combined with massive layoffs and business closings. But the bottom line to all of this is people! […]
Co-op and Intern Exemption Status
Last Updatedin Benefits & Compensation
We would like to add a co-op student to our staff this year. Are Co-ops and Interns considered exempt or non-exempt? How do you determine this?
Disposing of Old Records
Last Updatedin Recordkeeping
Question: What is the proper way to dispose of old employment records? Answer: Recycling is good for the environment, but it’s not the best way to dispose of your old employment records. While there are no hard-and-fast rules for “how” to dispose of such documents there are some other examples we can look to for […]
Should I be worrying about employee retention?
Last Updatedin Communications, Employee Relations, HR Strategy
Question: Should I really be worried about employee retention during economic downturns when unemployment numbers are so high? Answer: YES!!! It is still a shock to the system when we give presentations to HR professionals and small business owners and ask “what are you doing about retention?” and we get these looks like “retention” why […]
Writing a Winning Employee Newsletter
Last Updatedin Communications
Question: I’m trying to improve our old traditional employee newsletter. What information will help create a communication piece that is effective and meets the needs of all of our employees (onsite, remote, etc.)? I really want it to be worthwhile. Answer: The days of the old employee newsletter have really changed. With today’s technology, we […]