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....

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...

Regular attendance at work is an essential function of most jobs. However, there are many legitimate reasons why employees cannot be at work every day. In order to help control absenteeism, employers should have a policy that addresses issues associated with attendance. These issues include...

Whether an employer is required to provide rest and meal breaks is covered by state law rather than the federal wage and hour laws. As with many other state laws, rest and meal break requirements vary from state to state. This can cause headaches for employers who operate in more than one state.

Mana...

Ethical behavior by all employees is critical to the long-term success of any company. Statistics show that employees who believe that their company operates in an ethical manner tend to be more productive and stay with the company longer. One of the first steps in ensuring that a company is run...

Most employers have numerous policies and rules of conduct for their employees. However, many either enforce them inconsistently or not at all.  This can become a problem when an employer decides a particular employee is not performing up to expectations or demonstrates inappropriate conduct. If...

For the first three months of 2010, employee absence rates averaged 0.8 percent of scheduled worker days. While this may not seem to be a lot, absenteeism is one of the human resource issues that frustrates and concerns employers.  

The HR Department at Management 2000, a PEO with offices...

Regular attendance at work is an essential function of most jobs. However, there are many legitimate reasons why employees cannot be at work every day. In order to help control absenteeism, employers should have a policy that addresses issues associated with attendance. These issues include...

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced a detailed enforcement strategy entitled "Plan/Prevent/Protect."  This initiative will require various subunits of the DOL (specifically OSHA, MSHA, OFCCP, and WHD) to propose regulations requiring employers to develop plans for identifying and...

Small business owners are often so busy running their companies that they don’t take the time to establish human resource policies and procedures. This can lead to problems when it becomes necessary to discipline or terminate employees, and even in situations as simple as changing hours of work or...

Cell phones continue to be a popular means of communication. However, if employees use a cell phone while driving and are involved in an accident, their employers could be liable for significant legal damages. Courts have already imposed huge judgments against drivers allegedly distracted by cell...

Although the economy may be showing signs of improvement, employers remain focused on increasing efficiency and holding down costs.  This may include downsizing, eliminating pay raises, and even cutting pay for employees.  While these actions can be justified, employers must be careful.  Top...

Using temporary employees or independent contractors can give an employer a flexible way to respond to changing work demands. Temporary employees can be found through temporary staffing agencies or by direct hire, while contractors are usually obtained directly by the company. Whether help is...