HR Tips

Cold, flu, and respiratory virus season can affect productivity, staffing, customer service, and employee morale, especially for small employers with lean teams. Taking a few proactive steps before illness spreads can help reduce workplace transmission, support employees who need time away from work, and keep business operations running smoothly.

Misclassifying employees as exempt from overtime can be a costly mistake for small employers. If an employee is incorrectly classified, the employer may be responsible for unpaid overtime and penalties and face reputational damage. Even when employees initially satisfy the requirements for exemption, changes in pay practices or job duties can jeopardize their exempt status. Here are nine red flags employers should watch for.

Federal law and many state and local laws require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified pregnant applicants and employees. To help you understand these laws, here are answers to frequently asked questions about pregnancy accommodations and how employers should respond to requests for them. 

Remote work can make it harder to identify when the workday really starts and ends. However, federal and state timekeeping and pay rules for non-exempt employees still apply. Here are three remote-work situations that commonly pose pay-related risk, along with steps employers can take to address them.

Employers must comply with various laws governing rest breaks and meal periods. To help you understand these obligations, we address some common misconceptions about these rules below, busting the myths and explaining the facts of each.

Retaliation has become the most frequent complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces federal nondiscrimination laws. In fact, about half of all complaints filed with the EEOC over the past few years included a claim of retaliation. What is retaliation and what steps can employers take to help avoid it? We answer these questions below.

When an employee leaves, finding and training a replacement can be costly and time consuming. That’s why retaining employees, especially high-performing ones or those in hard-to-fill positions, is critical. Here are some strategies to consider for retaining employees.