Navigating the COVID-19 Coronavirus Response Act

The COVID-19 Coronavirus Response Act was signed by the President on March 18, 2020.  We’ve had lots of questions, so are doing our best to summarize below.  The provisions of the Act are effective April 2, 2020 and will remain effective until December 31, 2020.  There are really three components to the Act that specifically apply to employers: Expansion of …

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Kansas City joins growing movement to remove salary question from job applications

The Vote In July of this year, the Kansas City (Missouri) Council reached a unanimous vote to ban the salary history question from city job applications. According to KCTV News Channel 5, this change happened after numerous women’s groups petitioned the city to stop collecting salary history on applications in an effort to combat gender wage gap issues. For now, …

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HR Audit: The Checkup Every Business Needs

As a business owner, you obviously want a healthy company. Perhaps you’ve read or heard about our People Audit, and for various reasons you’ve stalled. But the time to act is now: What you don’t know could put you out of business. As the fourth quarter approaches, there’s no better time to take your company in for a full checkup and …

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Leave Them Kids Alone: Helicopter Parents in the Workplace

With millennials’ entrance into the workforce, an unexpected group has been showing up alongside — their parents. Almost a third of recent college graduates said their parents had a hand in their job searches, according to a survey several years ago by staffing agency Adecco. Now, a hand with scouring job listings or proofreading resumes is one thing, but almost one …

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Coming June 9: Mandatory Changes to Hiring in KCMO

You may have heard about some sort of “Ban the Box” ordinance recently passed in Kansas City. Despite the somewhat cryptic name, it is something small business owners or managers need to know about. I know you already have plenty on your plate — so let me unpack what it means for you. First, mark down this date: June 9. That’s …

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Embezzlement Headlines Show Crime Can Happen Anywhere (Even Your Office)

Just last week, a couple of Kansas City companies showed up in headlines related to a situation no company wants: embezzlement.   In one case, a CFO embezzled millions over a period of nearly 12 years via his company’s credit card and PayPal accounts — all while making layoffs to cut costs.   In another, two DST Systems Inc. employees allegedly embezzled nearly …

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Interview Questions: What’s Legal, What’s Not

An applicant interview is one of the most important pieces of the hiring process. Whether in-person or by phone, it gives an opportunity to assess a candidate’s personality and professionalism, while ferreting out information particular to the position. In an effort to learn about background or interests, an interviewer may inadvertently ask questions that reveal information about the candidate’s religion, …

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Interviewing Internal Candidates

When it’s time to interview an internal candidate, it may be tempting to expedite your interview process – you assume the individual already knows the job and the company culture. No matter how well you may know this person, don’t speed through the interview; asking the right questions can reveal a wealth of information about the internal applicant’s fitness for …

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Stalking or Screening? Social Media in the Hiring Process

Facebook’s new newsfeed may leave you searching for friend updates, but the platform remains a veritable treasure trove of data on job applicants. But many employers are increasingly hesitant to use social media to research job applicants; a survey by the Society of Human Resource Management showed just 22 percent of employers looked up candidates on social media, down from …

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Avoiding Harassment at Work: Business Travel

When it came to light that Harvey Weinstein had lured unsuspecting women to hotel room meetings, then solicited and harassed them, some commentators started recommending the “Mike Pence Rule” for business travel – not meeting alone with a member of the opposite sex who isn’t your spouse. This is logistically difficult to implement, but completely separating genders for business travel …