The 1986 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (“COBRA”) requires certain employers’ group health insurance plans to offer qualified beneficiaries (including employees, former employees, and certain dependents) the opportunity to continue health insurance despite events (such as termination) that would otherwise result in the loss of coverage. Information on employers’ and employees’ rights and obligations under...
I recently had lunch with a friend who is happily expecting her first child. While this is certainly an exciting time for her and her husband, she couldn’t help but be anxious about her company’s attitude concerning her pregnancy and the new arrival. Specifically, when she asked the company’s HR Manager about her options for...
Conflict comes in all sizes and shapes. It can be both constructive and destructive, productive and unproductive. But one thing is certain: where there are people, there is the potential for disagreements, disputes and interpersonal flare-ups that can undermine the health and well-being of any environment. Being aware of the different types of conflict and...
Especially in these tough economic times, your company is looking to cut labor costs however it can. And if you can, at the same time do, a favor for a deserving young person looking to gain industry experience, all the better. An unpaid intern for your organization, then, would seem like a great idea, right? ...
A couple of years ago, a manager stormed into my office demanding that I launch a full investigation into something that had been posted anonymously online. The particular social media website about which he was complaining allowed employees to post reviews about their company, and while not mentioned by name, the manager suspected that the...
The most common problem I’ve encountered since opening up my practice is employers who are not compensating their employees correctly. Unfortunately for these employers, wage and hour cases are big business for plaintiffs’ attorneys, and the Department of Labor loves making examples out of unsuspecting employers who are, in many cases, simply uninformed about the...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this month issued its final rule extending employers’ record keeping obligations under Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act to those organizations covered by the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act, or GINA. Effective April 3, 2012, employers with 15 or more employees must retain all personnel and employment records for...
Research confirms what HR Professionals already knew: employees that are in the divorce process are often less productive, stressed, and more prone to distractions and increased absenteeism. A recent study by Integrated Organizational Development estimated the cost per worker going through a divorce at about $8,300, an amount that not only quantifies the decrease in...
When the Georgia Supreme Court ruled late last year that companies were required to respond to a Georgia garnishments through an attorney licensed to practice in Georgia, many companies were caught off-guard. Until the Court’s decision, most companies’ payroll personnel simply made the garnishment calculations, withheld the appropriate amount from the garnishee’s check, and returned...
On December 23, 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) again postponed implementing its requirement that employers expressly notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). Unless there are further delays (which is quite possible given the several challenges to the rule), the posting requirement will now go into effect on...
Starting January 1, 2012, Georgia employers with 500 or more employees must enroll and use E-Verify, the online federal work authorization program that determines the immigration status of new hires. The mandate will trickle down to companies with between 100 and 499 employees on July 1, 2012, and companies with 10 to 99 employees must...
The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) will never be a source of quiet repose for HR Professionals. But no matter how big your FMLA headaches become, they’ll unquestionably be a lot worse if you don’t at least implement these six simple propositions to head off the most common employee questions: Display a current version...
A likely story…. An HR director called me last week to ask whether it was okay to fire an employee whom she suspected of fraud. Apparently, because of an accounting system error, the company had unknowingly been paying the employee her regular wages for three months while the employee was out on (supposedly) unpaid medical...
In one of my posts last month, I raised the specter of misclassified independent contractors. If you’d like a refresher about the risks to companies posed by misclassification, take a look here: http://goo.gl/Ptz06. Trust me – it can get ugly. Among the perils created by misclassification are the potential back taxes, interest, and penalties imposed...
Nothing dampens an employer’s holiday spirit faster or more completely than a lawsuit. I can’t promise that you won’t get sued before the end of the year, but I can offer a quick piece of advice that may take one issue off the table. If you have employees using their Family & Medical Leave Act...
A few weeks ago, I tried to talk you out of clinging to your traditional employee performance evaluation. I suggested you scrap your company’s formal, stress-inducing, time-consuming, and ineffective “1-5” annual review in favor of a ongoing, interactive performance management system. I proposed that by involving employees in the goal-setting process, offering immediate and rolling...
Tips for Choosing the Right Business Attorney by Mitesh J. Patel, Principal, MJ Patel Law Group How much time and effort do you put into hiring a new employee? Between writing the job description, reviewing resumes, interviewing candidates and discussing your options internally, it adds up to quite a bit of time, right? So how...
Avoid Hiring the Next Person You’ll Fire On a Cub Scout camping trip this weekend, I started talking with another boy’s dad. He was an emergency room physician at a large public hospital. During the conversation about all the crazy stuff he sees, he told me that the folks in the ER consider trauma to...
Does My Company Really Need a Logo? When most business people are asked, “What is branding?” they are quick to answer, “a logo.” And they are partially correct; a strong logo should be the foundation of your brand. But it’s so much more too. Ultimately, your brand is your promise to your customers and clients...
This is the first in a two-part post addressing a workplace issue that likely causes employees and supervisors as much consternation as any aspect of their employment: The Annual Performance Evaluation. A growing number of small and medium-sized employers are jettisoning the traditional annual performance evaluation for more innovative and inspiring ways of measuring and...
Raise your hand if you’re an abusive boss. Raise your hand if you’ve had an abusive boss. If my experience holds, a lot more hands went up in response to the second question than the first. I’ve found that the reason for this disparity is two-fold. First, one obnoxious manager can wreak havoc on the...
During a recent conversation with a local retailer, I asked him how many employees he had in his shop. He assumed a Cheshire grin… “Employees? Why bother?” he asked rhetorically. “I just use independent contractors. It simplifies everything.” “Really?” I prompted. He did not catch the sarcasm. “Sure,” he proudly continued, “All 1099s. I don’t...