People First

Oh, I’m so glad you asked that question. It’s a big concern that that employers have right now, because as of July 1st, employers were paying employees a salary, which not paying overtime, which really is exempt, not salary. And now the Department of Labor issued a regulation that says as of July 1st, if...

How often should performance evaluation be conducted? There are different opinions on that, okay? I believe that it should be ongoing. I believe there should be some type of formal review once a year. So that you can just sit down and discuss in general the performance. What the company is doing for the individual...

Dealing with social events as an employer, an employer-sponsored social event, you know, having a holiday party, you, while you want everybody to have a great time and promote, you know, everybody wants to go out and have a few drinks. You really, as the employer, you could be held liable if that employee ends...

Should a small business have a social media policy in their handbook? Absolutely. You need to be careful what you say, what you tell the employees they can and cannot do. But if the employee is representing their employer, absolutely there should be repercussions. If the employee says derogatory things about the employer there should...

Okay, so having a company-wide health goal, promoting wellness, promoting a healthy environment, healthy for the employees, different ways to do that would be to offer gym memberships. There are a lot of gyms will work with employers to give huge discounts so the employer can get that membership for the employee and promote wellness.

What are my thoughts on stipends? I think they’re great. Small businesses really can’t afford to provide health insurance. It’s too expensive. So, I have a lot of clients that are small businesses that offer a health insurance stipend. They pay $500 a month, they pay the employee through payroll, so it’s not on the...

Is it important to know from an employment perspective what the employee’s goals are? If you are an employer who wants to promote the right culture, I would say you want to be familiar with what direction your employees want to take, what their goals are so that you can help them accomplish it. Because...

Are small businesses overusing independent contractor status? Absolutely. Small businesses owners or individuals, not necessarily owners, even folks that are working think that they can be an independent contractor just because they want to be an independent contractor. There are rules that are established by the IRS that determine whether someone’s an independent contractor. It’s...

Knowing what your particular state’s regulations are is important because you could be in violation and it’s not something that’s readily communicated. So having somebody that you can rely on to give you that information to make sure you’re compliant is not a bad idea. Whether it be an attorney, whether it be an HR...

How does People First help people deal with compliance and complexity? Getting to know the individual, getting to know the organization, asking a lot of questions, and then listening. It’s amazing what, someone will call me with a question, think that’s the only question they have. And in hearing them talk about that question, realize...