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Free Speech: Is It Really Free at the Office?

We Americans love to tout our First Amendment rights, particularly the freedom to express our opinions. But do those freedoms apply around the water cooler? Sure, federal law prohibits employers from firing people over things like gender, race or religion.  And union members may be shielded by contracts that say terminations must be performance-based. But once the scope broadens, many …

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Preparing for Emergencies: Part 2 – Assisting People with Disabilities

We discussed the importance of thinking through potential emergencies and coming up with a plan to handle them, but an effective plan also must account for the needs of employees with various types of disabilities. During the planning process, there are opportunities for clear and acceptable communication between employees and employers, and usually people with disabilities will be best able …

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Preparing for Emergencies: Part 1 – The Plan

The recent hurricanes that have ravaged coastal parts of the United States can prompt introspection here in the central part of the country, where that particular situation is unlikely, but businesses may want to take a serious look at how they would face the unexpected. The best protection for businesses is to establish an emergency plan in advance so employees …

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Nagging Questions: Religion in the Workplace

Next week is a sacred time for the country’s two largest religions. More than 231 million Americans will commemorate Passover or Easter. That’s more than 100 million employees, and more than 100 million opportunities for manager missteps. It’s imperative to understand how to address religion in a respectful, compliant way. Sensitivities can exist even with day-to-day issues like PTO and …

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Not Having Policies Can Carry a High Price Tag

Unlike our supposed competitors, at hr-haven we really aren’t into scare tactics. We don’t scare the living daylights out of business owners in order to secure business from them. But, every once in a while we see something that we feel is necessary to pass along to keep our entrepreneurial brothers and sisters from inadvertently screwing up the business they’ve …

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Ready for a 37.5% Increase in Payroll Costs?

Don’t wait until it’s too late….. Earlier in the year, the U.S. Department of Labor announced an increase in the wage threshold amounts for determining whether an employee is exempt (salaried) or non-exempt (hourly, and thus eligible for overtime. Those new rules are set to take effect on December 1, 2016, and we expect that almost every business in Felt …

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What Do You Need To Know About Benefits

We all know compensation packages are important. It’s one of the first major sticking points you will encounter when hiring new team members and unfortunately can be a major motivator for people to look elsewhere. But where do you start in deciding what you should be paying for a given position? When creating a new compensation package, start with the …

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A Really Big Deal for Small Business

The Department of Labor (DOL) has been mulling over an increase in the wage threshold amounts for determining whether an employee is exempt (salaried) or non-exempt (hourly and overtime eligible). The conversation about changing the wage threshold has been going on quite a while, was subject to a comment period, and it seems that the final rules could be enacted …

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It’s the Law

Here’s an eye-opening statistic for you. Did you know that the U.S. Department of Labor enforces hundreds (yes, hundreds) of Federal employment laws? As an employer, that means that whether you have one or 1,000 employees, you are under the strict, watchful eye of Uncle Sam. And believe us, you don’t want to cross him. As an employer, you have …