With the dawn of a new year, many of us are compelled to try to improve. For many businesses, this compulsion means implementing new workplace policies or changing existing ones. Maybe you work for one of these businesses and already have identified the policies you want to add or change. Or maybe you have just … Read more
If you are a business and you are hiring employees, you are either running background checks on applicants or you have likely thought about it. The good news is that you are legally able to do so. The bad news is that, as with most business activities when it comes to employees, there are federal … Read more
If you hire employees and you haven’t heard the term “ban the box” or don’t know what it means, now is a good time to learn. Depending on where your employees work, failing to do so may leave you open to an increasingly common type of discrimination claim. What does the term “ban the box” … Read more
When asked by businesses what they can do to avoid legal claims by employees, one of the first things I tell them is to be consistent when applying workplace policies and rules. There are few things that seem to get well-intentioned employers into more trouble than when they apply workplace policies differently to similarly situated … Read more
Information is power and in the hands of serious employers this information can help to ensure that they are treating all employees fairly and according to state law. Employee handbooks should be standard for every company, especially companies in California, but in the event that your business does not have one, there are resources on … Read more
If done well, a performance appraisal program can be an excellent tool to help improve employee engagement and performance. They also provide an opportunity for managers and supervisors to build stronger relationships of trust with employees and can lead to greater work satisfaction. If done poorly or haphazardly, however, performance appraisals can have exactly the … Read more
Employee discipline is a necessary evil for most employers. It’s never fun to do and can lead to unhappy employees. Moreover, there is always the risk that discipline will lead to discrimination or other work-related claims, whether merited or not. But the long-term consequences of neglecting employee discipline can soon out outweigh the short-term discomfort … Read more
Most employees are creatures of habit and like coming to work each day knowing what will be expected of them. Changes can be unsettling and disruptive to employee morale, especially when those changes are perceived as creating greater restrictions. When implementing a new employee policy or changing an existing one, you should be aware of … Read more
Many small businesses sense a need to have an employee handbook, but for various reasons haven’t made it a priority to put one in place. Perhaps you own or help run one of these small businesses. To be honest, with the demands on most small businesses, both in terms of time and money, it is … Read more
Hiring interns may be an effective strategy for employers to control labor costs while providing individuals, typically college students or recent graduates, an opportunity to gain valuable work experience. The hallmark of an internship is that both the employer and the intern realize that the benefits of the relationship outweigh the sacrifices each makes. Historically, … Read more