It may not always seem like meetings serve a purpose, but they do. When handled correctly, meetings can clarify objectives, boost morale, save time, and generate plans of action. The problem is, far too many meetings achieve the opposite. They waste time, bore everyone in the room, and suck the life out of the workday.
Tags: meetings, presentations, conference, meeting
Cal/OSHA recently launched a statewide Confined Space Special Emphasis Initiative to focus attention on the hazards posed by confined spaces in worksites. Cal/OSHA also issued a Confined Spaces Hazard Alert to assist employers with identifying confined space hazards and taking steps to prevent injuries.
The initiative was spurred by investigations of confined space deaths and injuries in California. In 2011, seven California workers were killed in confined space incidents, including two young brothers who died from toxic gases in an underground drainage system at a recycling center.
Confined spaces can include tanks, silos, pipelines, sewers, storage bins, drain tunnels and vaults, and can be found in many industrial worksites and also in non-industrial settings, such as health care, education and retail.
Tags: OSHA, Confined Spaces, Hazards, Cal/OSHA
The landscape of employment laws evolves quickly, and entrepreneurs and small business owners are often left scrambling to understand new rules and implement new procedures. To reduce the stress, read these legal updates on seven employment law “hot buttons” that should be on the radar screen of every small business:
Tags: Immigration, contractor, employment law, entrepreneur, Business, Small business, employment law labor, right-to-work, exempt, arbitration, workplace safety, Employment, social media
| IRS Issues Updated W-2 Reporting FAQs and Chart |
Tags: health insurance, IRS, Health Cost, Insurance Cost, IRS Reporting
Our podcast explains the difference between an independent contractor and an employee. The courts and government agencies use many factors to determine independent contractor status. Calling someone an "independent contractor" does not make him/her an independent contractor in the legal sense. Mislabeling a worker as an independent contractor creates potential liability for employment taxes and penalties, and liability for failure to fulfill the many legal obligations owed to an employee, such as wage and hour requirements. For your own protection, make sure that a person working as an independent contractor truly meets the difficult tests required by law.
Tags: employee vs independent contractor, misclassifying employees, misclassify employees, independent contractor, employee
I know I’m starting to sound like the boy who cried wolf, but I swear that I’m getting closer to actually hiring someone to help run the business. While hiring someone has always scared me, I’m starting to see that the real pain point is payroll.
Tags: in the trenches, payroll companies, payroll service, payroll companies in California, payroll companies in Arizona, payroll companies in Nevada, Payroll company, outsourcing, Hiring, Payroll Outsourcing, payroll, outsourcing payroll
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a final rule that extends its existing recordkeeping requirements under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to employers covered by Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The final rule was published on Feb. 3, 2012, and it takes effect on April 3, 2012.
Tags: GINA, Recordkeeping, EEOC
Few business owners or managers will cite payroll management as one of their favorite tasks. But when, from a strictly financial perspective, does it make sense to outsource payroll operations? Here's a quick look at the top reasons that businesses turn to payroll-services providers.
Tags: Payroll Outsourcing, payroll, outsourcing payroll, 10 reasons to outsource payroll
There comes a time in the life of most successful businesses when a decision has to be made as to whether certain HR tasks are best handled in-house or by an HRO (human resources outsourcer). Making the right call at the right time isn't easy, but certain telltale signs can indicate when it's time to "pull the trigger" and call for help. This is what you should look for:
Tags: Human Resource Outsourcing, Outsourcing HR, Outsourcing Human Resources, HR Outsourcing
The last-minute enactment of the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 (TPTCCA) in December, 011 made it difficult for many employers to ensure they would be able to correctly calculate social security tax withholding for their first payroll runs of 2012. Additionally, the extension of the payroll tax cut last week might leave small business employers wondering about any adjustments they need to make to their employees’ paychecks.
