Most Popular

Wage & Hour: How Do We Handle Disaster Pay for Nonexempt and Exempt Workers?

We have both a construction staff and an office staff, and we’re trying to put together a policy for paying employees in the event of an emergency. What happens if the construction staff needs to be sent home during inclement weather or the office staff and upper management can’t work because their computers are down? […]

Take control of your time in five minutes or less

All of us begin each day with exactly the same number of hours—24. That’s 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds. If we don’t guard those hours, minutes, and seconds, we’ll waste them. That can happen in a number of ways. Often, because we are so connected, we allow others to dictate our day. We find ourselves […]

Independent contractor model survives Lyft settlement

Lyft, a ride-hailing service that uses independent contractors as drivers, has agreed to settle a proposed class action lawsuit in California by paying $12.25 million and giving drivers certain protections, but the settlement doesn’t call on the company to reclassify its drivers as employees. The larger ride-hailing service Uber also is facing court action. The […]

Voters reject changes to South Dakota’s right-to-work law

by Jennifer Suich Frank On November 8, South Dakota voters rejected Initiated Measure (IM) 23, which would have allowed unions to charge nonmembers reduced “fair share” dues for services like collective bargaining. An overwhelming 79 percent of South Dakotans voted against the measure. A right-to-work law means employees have the right to work without being required to […]

And the Winner Is …

Litigation Value: $0. The last time The Surplus episode of The Office aired, we talked about Dunder Mifflin’s good behavior (relatively speaking). In the spirit of award season –- specifically the Golden Globes, which are on this Sunday –- let’s give some awards to folks for their exemplary behavior during the episode. Best Actor – […]

Quick Hiring Decisions Can Backfire on Employers

At the risk of falling into a male gender stereotype, we’re not shoppers; we’re buyers. We don’t browse. We know what we want, go directly to it on the store shelves, grab it, and head for the cash register — almost always without trying it on. Most employers feel the same way about hiring. No […]

Hot List: Wall Street Journal’s Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the Wall Street Journal with data from Nielsen BookScan. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? Do you feel […]

Houston Equal Rights Ordinance to take effect

by Michael P. Maslanka Houston employers need to be ready for the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO), which will take effect June 27. The new law adds to the protected classes already covered under federal and state law. Here’s a look at the major aspects of the law. Covered employers. During the first year, companies […]

Content

Why You Want Your Employees to Be Content Creators

In the modern age of the Internet and social media, employees are always accessing and sharing content, whether it’s about your organization or not. The average person spends a lot of time on the Internet and social media creating, reading, engaging with, or sharing content, so you should encourage your employees to be content creators […]