Mitigate Risk with an FLSA Audit December 1st has come and gone, and like many others, you may be relieved that businesses did not have to comply with the Department of Labor’s Final Rule on FLSA White Collar Exemptions because of the Injunction issued on November 22nd by a Federal Judge in Texas. However, with this recent injunction, it does not mean your business is in the clear from having to comply with the Final Rule. An appeal has been filed by the Department of Labor (DOL) with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth District, and the court has already decided in favor of an expedited review of the appeal.

Around the holidays, employers can run into a few bumps when planning a company holiday party. What might count as a fun time for some might be considered exclusionary or even offensive for others. How can you plan an office party where everyone feels equally welcome?

We all accept that good leadership requires a balanced, equilateral approach to our team members. Of course, we should never have a favorite employee; HOWEVER as human leaders, every one of us has had that one superstar team member that we rely on greatly and yes, even like a whole lot. It is not hard to prefer “Sally” as the employee who happily volunteers to fill in and rarely demonstrates even the slightest bit of stress. So while we would never have favorites, it is difficult to not favor Sally when her counterpart, Jimmy, is hiding the fact that Facebook is now his home page on the company laptop and that his longer and longer breaks are due to him hunting Pokemon in the back parking lot.

We have all seen those straight out of the movies scenarios on the news when tragedy strikes at work. An active shooter comes in and wreaks havoc on anyone and everyone. The haunting images of people running for their lives or the aftermath usually stick with me for days after. These events generally leave you with the feeling of sadness and also thoughts about what if it happened at your workplace. How likely are you to be exposed to this situation?

One of the hottest topics right now I'm seeing with many of my clients is how to manage multi-generations in the workplace. It is the first time the workplace has seen so many generational "forces" all at once. Today's workforce includes Pre-Boomers (Born 1925-1945), also known as The Silent Generation and Traditionalists, Baby Boomers (Born 1946-1964), Generation X (Born 1965-1976), Generation Y, also known as Millennials (Born 1977-1994), and Generation Z (Born 1995 and later).

Regardless of the nature of the transaction, during a merger or acquisition, all employees find themselves surrounded by change, impacting everything from organizational culture to the snacks in the kitchen. From here it is an exercise in simple logic - with change, comes uncertainly - with uncertainty, comes attrition. Is there no way to interrupt this equation?