The Folly of Employee Misclassification: Law Suits on the Rise!
The list of lawsuits against Uber is long, and appears to be growing. From rider safety and information security to employee misclassification, the legal team over at Uber has its hands full! Back in September, California drivers for Uber were granted class-action status over the company’s failure to pay for necessary benefits in an employment relationship. Currently, all Uber drivers are classified as independent contractors, which means that these self-employed drivers are responsible for paying for gas, insurance, and car maintenance – expenses which would typically be covered by the company in an employment relationship. The issue with Uber’s classification [...]
Natural Disasters at Work: Are You Prepared?
Natural Disasters are unpredictable and always seem to strike at the most in-opportune times. In California, the natural disasters we tend to plan for most are fires and earthquakes. Many people have at least one, if not multiple earthquake kits should a disaster strike while you are at home, but what about natural disasters at work? What are the emergency supplies you have at the workplace? Who knows where these supplies are and how to access them? Responsibilities like these tend to be the responsibility of HR professionals, owners, and operators. If this blog is setting off the “panic” alarm [...]
Top 10 Compliance Considerations for 2016
A few weeks back we brought you the top ten list of issues that could get employers sued in 2015. This week we are reviewing Mercer’s Top Ten Compliance-Related Issues for Employers! As you are finalizing the 2016 health benefit programs, contribution strategies, vendor terms, and employee communications, here is Mercer’s list of things to think about: 1. Employer shared-responsibility (ESR) strategy. Ensure the intended goal of avoiding or paying ESR assessments for 2016 coverage is supported by coverage offers, administrative and recordkeeping processes, and benefit documents. 2. ESR reporting. Arrange data sources, systems, and administrative processes to collect all [...]
What do the Proposed New Overtime Rules Mean?
It’s been talked about in the news a lot lately. The Labor Department has made recommendations to raise the threshold on the salary rate that would makes employees exempt from being paid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Currently under the FLSA, employers are not generally required to pay employees overtime premiums (time and a half) if they earn more than $23,660 per year. (NOTE: In California the Minimum Wage is higher than the federal rate) The proposed change is to raise that threshold to $50,440 per year. This plan also proposes raising the rate each year to [...]
It’s Not Just Customers. Employees are Reviewing Your Company, Too!
Yelp!, Google, Angie’s List, TripAdvisor…. There’s no question that consumers truly have a wealth of information on other customers’ experiences online, but did you know your employees are reviewing your company as well? With sites like Glassdoor.com, CareerLeaks.com, and Vault.com on the rise, it’s time to start thinking about how you will respond to reviews – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Like most consumer sites, the ability to have reviews removed can be very difficult, but responding to reviews can show that your company is actively engaged in what current and former employees are saying about your company! [...]
It’s GAME DAY!!! Does Fantasy Football Belong At Work?
Every year, near the end of summer, as Football season approaches, people start to get really amped up about the Football season. More specifically, people get excited about their fantasy football leagues. As business owners and operators, the idea of a company-sponsored Fantasy Football league might be cringe-worthy, but maybe it’s not as bad and scary and it seems. Sure, a study came out last year from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. that had employers absolutely terrified that Fantasy Football was costing BILLIONS! Headlines read “Study Shows Fantasy Football costing $13 Billion Annually” or “Employers Paying Billion Dollar Price for [...]
Are You Making These 3 Mistakes on LinkedIn
“We all know that with more than 310 million members in more than 200 countries and territories, LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network. It has executives from all of the Fortune 500 and most businesses are at least represented, but most have their entire executive teams connected.” – Ryan Bradley LinkedIn has quickly become the professional face of the next generation. If you do not have a LinkedIn identity, you should probably think about creating one! Instead of scouring the newspaper looking for job ads, job postings, group posts and status updates are all free for the taking on [...]
Nickels & Dimes: Examining Your Wage Practices
“There has been a 77% rise in lawsuits tied to wage-and-hour disputes since 2004.” – Replicon.com Wage and hour lawsuits continue to be the hot ticket for employment related litigation. It is critical for employers to provide specific and concise guidelines for overtime, clocking in and out, and meal and rest periods to name a few! Without these policies in place, employers open themselves up to liability and potential for astronomical amounts of money and time lost due to costly legislation. Conducting a self-audit and analyzing the “nickels and dimes” of it within your organization can really help to beef [...]
Workplace Bullies: Do You Know One, And How to Stop Them
Workplace bullies, like schoolyard bullies, have always existed. But only recently, with revisions to sexual harassment legislation and inclusion of anti-bullying policy in company handbooks nationwide, have the bullies been identified as harmful to productivity and legal liabilities for employers. Studies have shown that an estimated $200 billion is lost annually due to higher absenteeism, lower productivity, and litigation caused by workplace bullies. Here’s a handy list of potential problem employees to watch for. Do you know someone in your organization that fits the bill? Or an even tougher pill to swallow: are you one of these bullies? If you [...]
Why is Employee Retention Getting Worse?
“Today the average worker’s tenure is just 4.4 years, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics with expected tenure of the workforce’s youngest employees at about half that.” – Seth Ollerton, www.decision-wise.com I remember as a kid, we would visit my dad at work on his lunch break, or stop by to say hi on our way home from running errands. My dad’s workplace was a familiar place for all of us, because he has been employed at the same employer for over forty years. He’s switched buildings a couple times, but has held the same [...]