What is “at-will employment”? Does that mean I can fire an employee for any reason? Answer from Marisa, SPHR: At-will employment means that the employer or employee can end the employment relationship for almost any reason (with or without cause) at any time (with or without notice). It...
In general, yes. When an employee is on a performance improvement plan (PIP), and their performance has not improved and has, in fact, gotten worse, it is perfectly reasonable to cut the timeframe of the PIP short and move forward with further disciplinary action, including...
Why do people stop trusting in one another? And what happens to a team when trust disappears? To answer these questions, let’s start with a fable. About a year ago, Abigail began her first day on a new job. She was a software engineer, new to...
Terminations involving remote employees function much the same as those in a physical worksite, but there are some things to keep in mind: If the employee works in a different state, you’ll need to follow that state’s laws regarding termination procedures, paperwork, and final paychecks....
We’ve been both super busy and understaffed recently. Is there anything we can do during this time to help our employees avoid extra stress or burnout before we can hire more employees? Yes. Here are a few things you can do to make this time run...
Federal Contractor Minimum Wage and Final Tip Rules Minimum Wage Beginning January 30, 2022, the minimum wage for work performed on or in connection with covered federal contracts will increase to $15.00 per hour. The minimum base wage for covered tipped employees will be $10.50 per hour. A helpful...
As we enter the new year, the risks of COVID-19 may recede, but the trauma, pain, and disruptions of these past two years will still be with us, affecting our lives and our work. We’ve all struggled, sometimes in ways we can’t pinpoint. In her book Bearing the...
Now that we’ve become a “remote first” company with most of our employees working from home, we’ve started hiring remote employees in other parts of the country. We’re covered by FMLA because we have more than 50 employees—even at our headquarters alone. Will our remote...
OSHA published its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring COVID vaccination or testing for employees of employers with 100 or more employees. Employers must start following the ETS requirements by December 5. However, the testing requirements don’t apply until January 4, 2022. The ETS is extensive,...
Managing remote employees can certainly be a challenge. Here are some of the practices we recommend: Set measurable goals around quality of work. Whether employees get their work done to your satisfaction is more important to your bottom line than whether they’re always at their workstation. Make all the resources necessary for employees to...