Here is another short True/False quiz to test your HR and employment law knowledge: 1.  You cannot require an exempt employee to punch a time clock.  T ____   F____ False – You can, and we recommend that you require exempt employees to keep a time record.  However, unlike non-exempt employees (even those paid by salary), [...]

Earlier this month, a troubled employee fatally shot nine people (including himself) and wounded eight others when he arrived to the warehouse where he worked for the last two years. He was there to meet his manager for a disciplinary hearing. This tragic case is reflective of the startling statistic that homicide is the second [...]

Take this short True/False quiz to see how knowledgeable you are on some basic payroll laws. 1. If a majority of employees agree, an employer may require payroll direct deposit. True or False? False – The Field Operations Handbook of the U.S. Department of Labor states that direct deposit is an acceptable means of payment, [...]

Why are health care costs so high? This question has been asked by individuals and employers for many years, but over the past 6 months, the question of rising health care costs has stolen the spotlight away from almost every other domestic agenda topic. In March, 2010, Peter Duncan from Sidles Duncan Insurance answered the [...]

There are many federal laws and state requirements, ranging from the Fair Labor Standards Act to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, that require employers to retain employee records. In addition to maintaining employment files, accurate documentation will assist in addressing employment claims. Most employment documents are required to be maintained for up to [...]

Remember the playground bully? The kid whose purpose was to torment, threat, and (at times) physically assault others? Well, that bully grew-up and became your co-worker. If not addressed, bullies can cost an organization over $750,000 annually, according to Allison West, Esq., SPHR at the HR Star Conference hosted in Los Angeles.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the IRS claims to lose millions of dollars in uncollected taxes each year due to independent contractor misclassification by employers. As such, as part of a national research project on employment taxes, the IRS is scheduled to audit 6,000 randomly selected companies ranging from large to small [...]

When you, the employer, deliberately choose to develop your staff, you are investing in the solidarity of the company as well as your people. When you train your staff, you provide more meaning for people at work, and you build and strengthen the skills, processes, and knowledge development that your organization will need in the [...]

Companies both large and small are finding themselves in legal battles against employees for not complying with overtime laws. A New Jersey federal court jury unanimously awarded $2.5 million to Staples, Inc. employees in a class-action lawsuit for failing to comply with the laws that require the correct classification of employees (e.g. exempt or non-exempt) [...]

The absence of an Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) ranks among the most frequent Cal/OSHA (California Occupational Safety and Health Administration) citations against businesses. Fines for the failure to have an IIPP are upwards to $7,000. Many California employers are not aware that it is mandated by law to have a written IIPP. The [...]

Most people will agree that there is never enough time in a 24-hour day. If there were ten more hours added to each day, would we still have enough time to accomplish what we want? While we will never know the answer, according to the monthly publication, “Communication Briefing,” there are five major time-wasters that [...]

The State Compensation Insurance Fund, or SCIF, announced a mid-year rate hike of almost 15% in its workers’ compensation rates, effective July 1, 2009. While this may sound like bad news for a quarter of California’s employers who are covered by SCIF, the news could have been a lot worse – the 15% increase is [...]

In response to current economic pressures, companies are forced to quickly rethink their ways of operating and learn new groundrules. Working through a myriad of challenges, business must continue to remain focused on profitability and stability.

Small Business Insight: Downsizing Can Raise Legal Issues Four important considerations to make before reducing staff Employers are faced with the tough decision to reduce staff in response to the deepening recession. There are important legal issues that may negatively impact business owners, if not considered prior to downsizing.

Employment costs often comprise the greatest area of expense within a company. Salaries, benefits, taxes and related insurances typically constitute more than half of an organization’s operating budget, and in service industries, it can be significantly higher. As such, they are often the first area of expense to be considered when companies are forced to [...]

Accurate and up-to-date personnel files provide protection when faced with litigation . With unemployment reaching double digits, it may only be a matter of time until an employer will be sued over a personnel issue. But keeping accurate, up-to-date, consistent personnel files can help mitigate the damage.

Research Brief Human Resource Outsourcing Trends and Their Impact in a Tight Economy SUMMARY While there are indications that the tight economy may be starting to turn around, small businesses may feel the squeeze for some time to come. The government has instituted certain economic incentives, but small business must also take matters into their [...]

Summary: Following the highly publicized lawsuit brought against Isiah Thomas and the New York Knicks, sexual harassment has once again reared its ugly head. Despite strides to reduce harassment in the workplace, employers must still do more to educate themselves and their staff. Professional HR consulting and outsourcing firms such as CPEhr provide such a [...]