Daylight-saving time in the United States ends at 2 a.m. November 7, when clocks should be turned back one hour. This time change may result in questions about overtime pay rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.  Employers should observe federal rules for late-shift employees who are scheduled...

A recent survey indicates that many companies are increasingly concerned that top-performing employees will leave for better-paying jobs as the economy improves. Accordingly, more and more employers are realizing the critical importance of compensation-related retention strategies to keep these...

As the November 2 elections draw near, employers need to remember that many states have laws granting voting leave for employees. These laws usually call for two to three hours of voting leave and allow employers to designate the hours. About 75 percent of voting-leave laws require paid time off,...

Many people think that back injuries are a result of a single event, such as lifting heavy or awkward objects. Many back injuries, however, result from relatively minor strains that occur over time. When back muscles or ligaments are injured from repetitive pulling and straining activities, the back...

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) recommends that companies develop workplace safety and health programs. Although OSHA does not require employers to have written safety and health programs, many states do. Creating an effective safety and health program can not only help...

In today’s economy, many organizations are focused on getting the best return on investment for their compensation dollars. While rewarding employees for longevity is common, employers can see greater value from concentrating limited funds on the best-performing employees. 

Management 2000, an...

Compliance with employment laws is a difficult task for employers.  Even practices that seem to make good business sense can violate these laws. Recently, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin) ruled that a health care provider’s policy of complying with patients’...

Turnover can be expensive, and have a significant impact on a company’s profitability. Although many factors could be involved, poor hiring decisions often result in high turnover. Understandably, employers want to fill vacancies as quickly as they possibly can. Unless each candidate is properly...

Every company whose employees have E-mail access should have a policy on E-mail use. This policy should include the employer’s right to monitor E-mails. Additional tips employers should consider are including E-mail in document retention programs, limiting information in E-mails to facts rather than...

September 30 is the deadline for employers to file EEO-1 reports.  In general, employers with 100 or more employees, or those with 50 or more employees and at least $50,000.00 in government contracts must file this annual report. Proper record keeping throughout the year is essential in order...

Small business owners often find it difficult to keep up with the various laws and regulations governing employment practices.  Hiring, payment of wages, promotions, maintaining employee records and rest/meal breaks are but a few of the issues impacted by state and/or federal laws. Compliance is...

There can be no doubt that job satisfaction is linked to whether or not employees believe they are compensated appropriately.  Employee morale can be negatively affected when pay is below industry standards or where there is a disparity in pay between employees in similar positions.  This can result...

One of the many costs of doing business is maintaining Worker’s Compensation coverage for employees.  Employers can help control this cost by maintaining sound HR procedures and policies. This includes appropriate safety rules that are communicated to employees, posted throughout the work site...

Whether workers should be classified as employees or independent contractors is an important human resources issue and litigation in this area is likely to increase in the future. Recent cases indicate, however, that the courts do not have a uniform approach to the independent contractor analysis....

A fundamental principle in human resources administration is “if you don’t write it down, it didn’t happen.”  Documentation is critical, in terms of evaluating employee performance as well as defending against allegations of unfair or discriminatory treatment.  It may take a few minutes to document...

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, “outside sales” employees are exempt from the overtime provisions in the Act.  It would seem reasonable to assume, therefore, that pharmaceutical sales representatives who call on physicians would fall into this exempt category.  The United States Department of...

Employers that discipline or terminate employees for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons may still find themselves facing discrimination or other legal challenges to the decision. The best way for employers to protect themselves in these situations is to remember – Document, Document, Document!

Ev...