Human Resources

By Jennifer Lobb –

For many small business owners, HR is a complicated web of internal and external policy, law, regulation, and documentation. Neatly packed into the HR box is an array of considerations and tasks that govern the relationships between your business and those you hire (or fire), as well as your business and the organizations that govern labor and industry (federal, state, and local).

For small business owners, failure to properly manage human resource tasks can quickly lead to substantial and detrimental personnel and legal problems. And while there are plenty of factors that must be considered to meet all HR responsibilities and factors, here are 5 common HR snafus that can sink your business: (more…)

By ComplyRight –

The issue of sexual harassment in the workplace continues to attract extensive media coverage, as more victims are empowered to report misconduct against them.

Since the start of 2018 alone, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed or settled several high-profile sexual harassment lawsuits. Beavers’ Inc., which owns several Arby’s fast-food franchises, is among the latest companies to face the courts after the EEOC filed a lawsuit against them. The federal agency charged that the company broke the law when it subjected several teenage female employees at an Arby’s in Atmore, Alabama, to sexual harassment. (more…)

By ComplyRight –

Posting compliance is a lot more complicated than most people think. In fact, there are common misconceptions about this mandatory government requirement – even though it applies to every U.S. employer. Let’s look at the top three.

• Posting Law Myth #1: Ignoring Posting Laws Carries No Risk

“Government fines are so small, it’s no big deal if we don’t post.”

“There are no poster police out there … so how would I even get caught?”

It’s not unusual for business owners to underestimate the importance of posting compliance or to think the risk is so minimal it doesn’t really matter. But this could get you in trouble. (more…)

By ComplyRight –

What to Keep and What to Toss (per Legal Requirements) –

Spring is right around the corner – the perfect time to refresh, reboot and get rid of anything that is bogging you down. How about your employee paperwork? Are all those dog-eared files and folders taking over your space… and your patience?

It doesn’t have to be like that! Here are some guidelines for organizing and purging your employee records legally and safely:

1) Build a better foundation

Whether you keep paper or electronic files, best practice is to maintain three separate folders for each employee: personnel, payroll and medical. Personnel files cover everything from job applications to performance reviews, payroll files include salary-related paperwork and time sheets, and medical folders hold documents such as health insurance forms, doctors’ notes and medical leave paperwork. (more…)

By Andrew J. Sherman
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

My latest book, The Crisis of Disengagement, discusses the multifaceted workplace dilemma — disengagement. It examines how apathy and complacency effects leadership and governance, company culture, fellow peers and team members, and lastly, the individual itself.  Layer by layer, I uncover the impact disengagement has on innovation, creativity, productivity, and profitability within an organization and in our communities.

At the America’s SBDC Annual Meeting in Orlando in the Fall of 2016, I gave a “Small Talk” sponsored by American Express where I discussed the impact of our nation’s current levels of disengagement on small business, innovation and entrepreneurship.  Small companies are struggling to compete for recruitment and retention of a qualified and motivated workforce and cannot withstand the financial and productivity consequence of a small group of workers who are not engaged. They also face the challenges of the “gig economy” and “the free agent nation” where nearly a third of all U.S. workers are independent or self-employed, with no loyalty on engagement towards a particular company, creating a modified set of expectations, relationships, and workplace norms.  (more…)