Up Close and Personnel
Personnel File Documents The importance of having in place complete, accurate, and appropriate employee records cannot be overstated.? Remembering that 25% of court actions are employment-related, the employee file is often a landmine where plaintiff?s attorneys make hay with the contents. Accordingly, creating and maintaining appropriate employee files is a critical first step in establishment... Read More
Reaping What You Sow
Employers are increasingly reflecting on the utility of their performance management programs, particularly in light of a growing trend to do away with such systems entirely. ?While it is without question that many traditional programs — typically involving annual merit and bonus systems — aren?t doing what they were designed to do: drive and reward... Read More
Covering Your Assets – Why Use Non-Compete Agreements?
Too often, we encounter small business owners who have expressed reluctance to use non-compete and other restrictive covenant agreements.? In addition to expressing concern over the cost of engaging legal counsel to draft an agreement, many believe that their business is too small to worry about non-competes or similar restrictive covenants. The term ?non-compete agreement?... Read More
Weathering the Storm
With all the talk about weather, particularly the massive storm that recently hit the East Coast, it’s?an opportune time to highlight how inclement weather can present??issues? in terms of managing human capital and/or responding to questions about how office closure affects compensation. ?Although?most issues created by weather-related office closures involve non-exempt employees, the reality is... Read More
Get Smart with the New I-9 Form
?Smart? Form I-9 to be Released in 2016 All employers are required to complete and maintain a Form I-9 for each employee hired, in order to verify identity and authorization to work in the United States. ?Form I-9s are regulated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS or Agency), which wants to create... Read More
A Wrinkle in?Overtime
Background Overtime regulations were first implemented as part of the original Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938 to provide minimum protections to American workers.? Although the FLSA deals with worker compensation, it has not been regularly updated, a fact that has drawn the attention of the Obama Administration. ?Accordingly, last year the DOL issued... Read More
Religious Accommodation in the Workplace ? 2016
A?December 31, 2015 Denver Post article written by Emilie Rusch and Jesse Paul reported that Cargill Meat Solutions terminated the employment of approximately 190 employees when it was unable to resolve a workplace prayer dispute with Somali workers at its Fort Morgan, Colorado meatpacking plant. ?Impacted employees allege that the plant changed its religious accommodation... Read More
Compensation Trends & 2016 Best Practices
Data from 2015 reveals that organizations of all sizes and across multiple industries, including not-for-profits, performed well, a fact that reflects continued optimism toward the U.S. economy in general. ?In an environment of growth, however slight, employers look for ways to at least maintain, if not further, revenue growth. Although revenue or charitable-giving growth objectives... Read More
Permissibility of “Use It or Lose It” Policies in Colorado ? Update
As many of our clients are already aware, in late September, the Colorado Department of Labor (CDOL) announced that ?use-it-or-lose-it? vacation policies would no longer be permitted pursuant to its enforcement policy. ?A few short weeks later, that same office reportedly acknowledged to the Denver Post that the materials it issued on this subject... Read More
Handling the Bomb Dropped By The DOL
The U S Department of Labor recently dropped a bomb when it announced dramatic revisions to overtime regulations.? The new regs, which take effect in 2016, put into place new higher minimum salaries for exempt employees, even those who are compensated.? Given this development, one thing is certain:? employees have never had more cause to... Read More