Small Business Spoonfuls: Recent Episodes
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Small Business Spoonfuls is your weekly dose of news, topic discussion, and Q & A for small business owners!
In this episode, we are talking about using the exchange on X between Mark Cuban several other Xers and the EEOC!
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Also, leave a voice comment or write me at support@helpdeskforHR.com and I will be sure your comment or question is addressed in an upcoming episode!
Send in your questions using this link and I will answer them on an upcoming show! https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/small-business-spoonfuls/message
Until next time, Be Audit-Secure ™!
Lisa Smith, SPHR, SCP
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In this episode, we are talking about using AI (ChatGPT) in your HR department.
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Also, leave a voice comment or write me at support@helpdeskforHR.com and I will be sure your comment or question is addressed in an upcoming episode!
Send in your questions using this link and I will answer them on an upcoming show! https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/small-business-spoonfuls/message
Until next time, Be Audit-Secure ™!
Lisa Smith, SPHR, SCP
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In this episode, we are talking about Generational Discrimination and I am referring to this article. https://wccwatch.org/hiring-managers-prefer-older-workers-over-generation-z/
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Access the transcript here: https://helpdeskforhr.com/wp-admin/upload.php?item=144648
Be Audit-Secure™!
Lisa Smith SPHR, SCP
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Question:
What Should Our Company Do When An Employee Files a Complaint But Wishes To Remain Anonymous?
Answer:
When an employee sends an anonymous complaint, it can be tricky for a company to handle. Let’s take a hypothetical situation: Emma, an HR manager at a medium-sized tech company, receives an anonymous email alleging that a supervisor, Tom, is creating a hostile work environment. The message doesn’t give specifics.
Here are some best practices for Emma.
- Take Every Complaint Seriously: Even though the complaint is anonymous, it’s important to treat it with the same seriousness as any other complaint. Ignoring it could lead to bigger problems down the road.
- Investigate Carefully: Emma should start by looking into the complaint, even if it’s vague. She can review Tom’s behavior and interactions with his team without revealing the complaint’s existence. She can also check if there have been similar complaints in the past.
- Respect Privacy: While investigating, it’s crucial to keep things confidential. Emma shouldn’t tell Tom or others about the anonymous complaint unless absolutely necessary.
- Create a Safe Environment: Emma should ensure that employees feel safe to voice their concerns. She can remind everyone about the company’s policies on harassment and discrimination and the importance of a respectful workplace.
- Encourage Open Communication: It’s good to encourage employees to come forward with their concerns, even if they choose to stay anonymous. Emma can remind them of the different ways they can report issues, like through a suggestion box or a confidential hotline.
Understandably, some employees might be hesitant to put their name on a complaint. Emma can work on building a culture where employees feel comfortable coming forward. Here’s how:
- Promote a Culture of Trust: If employees trust their HR team and feel that their concerns will be taken seriously, they may be more likely to share their names. Emma can work on building this trust through regular communication and by being approachable.
- Explain the Process: Sometimes employees are anonymous because they’re not sure what will happen after they make a complaint. Emma can explain the process to all employees, so they know what to expect and feel more comfortable.
- Offer Multiple Reporting Options: Providing different ways to report issues can help. For example, a direct talk with HR, a confidential email, or a meeting with a trusted manager can be options.
- Assure Confidentiality and Non-Retaliation: Employees often fear retaliation. Emma should reassure them that their identity will be protected and that the company has a strict non-retaliation policy.
Handling anonymous complaints can be challenging, but with a careful approach and a focus on creating a trusting and open work environment, Emma can address these issues effectively and maintain a positive workplace culture.
Send in your questions using this link and I will answer them on an upcoming show! https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/small-business-spoonfuls/message
Until next time, Be Audit-Secure ™!
Lisa Smith, SPHR, SCP
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Today we discuss guidelines for allowing/not allowing service animals into your business. We talk about the questions you can and cannot ask the customer about the animals as well as the difference between service animals and emotional support animals!
Further Reading:
https://helpdeskforhr.com/2023/01/25/ada-am-i-allowed-to-ask-a-customer-if-a-dog-is-a-service-dog/
https://petkeen.com/can-a-snake-be-a-service-animal/
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TRANSCRIPT
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This week we discuss a court case that took place where a club was misclassifying their dancers as independent contractors and you better believe they were ordered to pay up! Then we talk about some of the signs of employee vs. independent contractors. Lisa also talks about the 16-week HR study group she's been conducting and how that is going.
To learn more about our services visit HelpDeskforHR.com
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TRANSCRIPT HERE
Further Reading on this story:https://helpdesksuites.com/2015/06/29/naughty-girls-need-minimum-wage-overtime/
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Today we discuss a new Field Assistance Bulletin published February 9, 2023from the DOL that has guidance about remote workers paid/unpaid breaks along with nursing mothers. Links to everything we talked about below:
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TRANSCRIPT HERE
Links:https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pump-at-work Field Assistance Bulletin:
https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/fab/2023-1.pdf
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Question:
We had some employees leave our Christmas party and go elsewhere continuing to drink. They ended up at a strip club with one of our female employees getting up and dancing, including taking clothes off. Is there anything that needs to be done or said to these employees?
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TRANSCRIPT HERE
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Question: I have a female employee who is Wiccan and keeps a Wiccan notebook at her workstation. While she was absent some of her co-workers looked at it and have become uncomfortable with the employee's Wiccan notebook because they say it contains spells and other "witchy" writings. What should I do?!!
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TRANSCRIPT HERE
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Question: Since Covid, we have closed down our offices and work remotely now. We are in the process of hiring for another position - which will also be remote. Can we tell someone they can't have their children at home while working? The job will be answering calls and emails throughout the day. This will be a new experience for us and the other employees do not have kids at home.
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TRANSCRIPT HERE
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The Alec Baldwin manslaughter case has sparked much conversation in a variety of settings around the world. Keeping in mind that the filming of the movie Rust was done on a “job site” the question we are posing today is “What can HR learn from the facts of this case?”. Join us for an honest and candid discussion about the errors and responsibilities that can get HR, managers, supervisors, and individual employees in legal hot water when policies and procedures are taken a little too lightly.
Read the TRANSCRIPT Here
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President Biden has signed a new Executive Order that may spell the end for many non-compete agreements across the U.S. Join us as we discuss this very controversial topic.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/07/09/fact-sheet-executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy/
https://www.npr.org/2021/07/09/1014366577/biden-moves-to-restrict-non-compete-agreements-saying-theyre-bad-for-workers
Enjoy!
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Today we will discuss early signs in management and other leadership roles that will send you an early alert to the looming issues ahead.
Link: https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/3-signs-your-boss-manager-or-coworker-is-a-toxic-leader-and-you-should-quit https://hbr.org/2021/06/the-hazards-of-a-nice-company-culture?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202021-06-28%20HR%20Dive%20%5Bissue:35108%5D&utm_term=HR%20Dive
Enjoy!
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Today we will discuss the negative effects of cultivating and "nice" culture at work. How can something so good be so bad? Join us and find out!
Link: https://hbr.org/2021/06/the-hazards-of-a-nice-company-culture?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202021-06-28%20HR%20Dive%20%5Bissue:35108%5D&utm_term=HR%20Dive
Enjoy!
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Join us today as we talk about an interesting topic that has become more popular over the last year with all the remote working.. Work from Home Dress Codes!
Link: https://couponfollow.com/research/work-wardrobe-covid-compared
Enjoy!
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Join Lisa as she discusses the updated guidance from the EEOC regarding vaccinations!
Link: https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-issues-updated-covid-19-technical-assistance
Enjoy!
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In today's Episode, Mason and Lisa discuss the frequent member question. Can employers ask if people have been vaccinated? Isn't that a HIPAA violation? How about ADA?
Link: https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/faqs?fbclid=IwAR3YatBjROMOucz1yt_Kc0VgWbBcoCbYWkT2ae-IocAkvx8oUqtEbiAqQMI
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html?fbclid=IwAR3DRr8Y_2wEzDYBfaD3aP-qUAzjBk4QzGAWgYOuGu_svKv67PjYGvbG-Rw
https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws?fbclid=IwAR1mzXqNwnDIvzd0C6HRZeo3sR-zIRyNjQmsv1w-ZS4sRcWEuAwVgw4n604
Enjoy!
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Join Lisa and Mason as they discuss the CDC's guidance on how people who are fully vaccinated aren't obliged to wear a mask indoors anymore... How does that affect the workplace? What's OSHA's Standpoint? Listen in to find out!
Link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html?fbclid=IwAR1-JIjIP538W_g32Hj-pXDr6fzzEcxxry9kr0QHMpaw7BNfaBJJWFT_Z5Q
Enjoy!
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Today Aaron and Lisa are discussing President Biden's Family and Medical Leave Proposal!
Link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/28/fact-sheet-the-american-families-plan/ Enjoy!
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Link to OSHA FAQ:
https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/faqs?fbclid=IwAR18Kalrk4oiez8B44kdkx2zl-GyrktTTtAQCEiUj109Tw68wTr_lJz0PIw#vaccine
Intro: Welcome to Small Business Spoonfuls Podcast, a laid back discussion of the serious HR topics and trends of today. Sponsored by helpdeskforhr.com.
Aaron: Hello everyone. And welcome to our show. My name's Aaron, and today we'll be answering questions, throughout the show. Leave us a comment, we'll answer you as we go along. If we run out of time, we'll answer in the comments after the show ends and the same goes if you leave a question after the live stream ends, also if you don't have time to watch us live, we'll have the replay on Facebook and also the audio recording through our Small Business Spoonful Podcast on Apple and Spotify. So again, if you're not familiar with me, my name's Aaron Bowen, I'm the social media and site manager over at Help Desk for HR. We've also got Mason, who's our head developer and producer for Help Desk for HR. He's in the background. You can't see him right now. And then of course, we've got the lovely Lisa Smith who is our SPHR, SCP, EEO Certified Investigator and CEO of Help Desk for HR. She's got all the titles. How are you doing today, Lisa?
Lisa: I'm doing good today. Thanks Aaron. This is going to be a really great conversation today. I'm looking forward to it.
Aaron: Absolutely. So, if you guys didn't read the headline for the live show, what we're going to be talking about is OSHA on 4/20 issued and additional guidance addressing whether employers need to record adverse vaccine reactions on their 300 logs. I'm going to let Lisa get into the nitty gritty of this. Cause I am not super up on all of my OSHA regulations. It's been a while since I studied all that. So, Lisa take it away.
Lisa: So yeah, like, like you said, Aaron, on April 20th, this was issued. And if you go to osha.gov, you'll find that there are some FAQ's that they've also updated regarding the 300 logs and the 300 a form that employers post. But basically, what the FAQs are updating to cover is the issue of when an employer mandates the COVID vaccine and then heaven forbid we have a workplace injury that results. So, what they're telling us is that they are going to consider, any negative or adverse reactions to be work-related injuries of sorts. So, let's say for instance, someone had the Johnson and Johnson vaccine and then they, they got a blood clot, which a few people did not a lot, but a few. Well then that would consider a work-related injury or condition related to work. So, the new guidance basically says, employers who require employees to vaccinate must record any adverse vaccine reactions. They learn the employee experienced. If the reaction meets one of the standard criteria that triggers an obligation to record under. And I want you to make a note of this. This would be the obligation record would fall under 29 CFR 1904.7 and there is an explanation for that as well in the new guidance.
Aaron: So, a question on this. Is this falling more under, like paid sick leave or actual workers' comp at this point then?
Lisa: So, here's the deal, paid sick leave is going to be state to state. And so that could very well be used the paid leave that we call the paid COVID leave that we had last year, that was under the FFCRA. That was the emergency paid sick leave. And the emergency FMLA that's no longer mandatory, but a lot of employers are providing that paid time off on a voluntary basis through the end of September under the American Rescue Plan Act. Now, what that act says is that if they are voluntarily extending this paid, leave that if an employee wants time off to go get the vaccine, or if they then have a reaction and they need a few days off to heal from the reaction, these are reasons that they can take this emergency paid sick leave. And then of course the employer would take their reimbursement for that paid time off in the form of tax credits from the IRS.
Aaron: That's awesome. So, I mean, it's definitely, like you said, kind of gonna depend on a little bit state to state, which is, it's always fun when federal agencies mandate a federal law and then it trickles into a state-by-state case fun for everybody in our groups. I know that for sure. I say that sarcastically, of course. The other question I had is that the 300 logs, can you kind of go over that with me a little bit Cause I kind of know what they are, but I'm curious a little more in-depth than, and for our people who might not know as well.
Lisa: So, the OSHA 300 form, it has like, I don't know, three pages to it, I think. And so on the 300 itself, basically the person who's reporting the supervisor or, the safety manager whoever's doing the recording of the workplace injury at kind of describes the case by listing the location of the occurrence, the date of the injury or the illness and the specific area of the body that was affected the OSHA 300 form asks for the outcome, including days away from work job transfer or other information of that nature. But every year the employer must actually post the 300A, which kind of has a similar, piece of information on it. But it has a little more detail on it. And those have to be posted. I believe the posting dates on those are between February 1st and April 30th. And so, it's just a short period of time every year that those logs have to be posted. And so, you can go, and you can download the 300 series at osha.gov as well. And you'll be able to see, they have extremely specific information on them and I'm sorry, I didn't have that pulled up for our live today. But yeah, go download them there and you'll be able to see all of the walk through on that.
Aaron: Okay. I think this whole thing is interesting to me because like, in my mind, I would think HIPAA would factor in somewhere along the lines, as far as, getting medical information from your employees, to a certain extent, cause I would think, just on a day-to-day basis, if an employee went and got a flu shot, obviously they don't need to necessarily announce it to their employer, that they're going to go get a flu shot. And if they, which people do have adverse reactions to that sometimes as well, wouldn't necessarily tell the employer that they need paid time off to handle that. So, the whole COVID thing and the COVID vaccine is kind of throwing, a little bit of a curve ball into that. I don't know if I'm hundred percent correct on that kind of synopsis, but do you have anything to kind of point what I'm saying in that direction?
Lisa: That's a good question since COVID, it has been designated a state of emergency in a worldwide pandemic it's different than flu. And then employers are seeking to mandate, these vaccines, which is I guess classified a little differently than an average flu shot, even though some employers do mandate those as well. Sometimes people have a little arm soreness afterward or feel a little icky and so that there's never been like a real law that said you have to give people, or you should give people paid time off and those types of things and like that's a workplace injury. And all of that that we've seen with the COVID vaccines, that there have been significant recovery periods for people. I mean, some people get the vaccination, not a problem, feel a little sore, go back to work, no big deal all the way up to like the terrible thing about the blood clot, but somewhere in the middle there, we see a lot of people who need three or four days off because they literally can't move this arm or like one person the other day told me that they got it in their left arm and that entire left side of their body just was in serious pain for about five days.
Lisa: We had someone else who said he got it. And he was flat on his back with nausea and vomiting and couldn't drive and couldn't work, for like a week and a half. And so like, that's not everybody, but there are enough occurrences that have been recognized by the federal government that now they're saying, while they don't want to discourage people from getting the vaccine at the same time, they understand that this is real. And so, people are going to possibly need time off work. And if an employer is mandating, you have to get this or get fired, then your kind of responsible for what happens next is basically what they're saying. So that's why they're calling this a work-related injury and heaven forbid like somebody would die after taking the vaccine. I mean, hopefully that's not going to happen, but if somebody did, then that would be a workplace fatality.
Lisa: If it was mandated by the employer. Now, some employers will just simply recommend we'd love it if you got vaccinated. Let us know if you do. And we'll know what you can and can't do inside the workplace or whatever, like they'll just say that. And so, if it's just recommended or encouraged, there's no responsibility there according to OSHA. But when a company says, do it or pack your bags, then that's where there is going to be a little bit of, blow back here if someone has an injury from it.
Aaron: Okay. That's interesting. And I'd actually had a follow question based on that, because I know, like you said, if it's not mandatory that the employee gets the vaccine and they do, it's not mandatory for the employer to log it on a 300 log and it's discretionary, what would be the pros and cons? Like, the pros on logging it versus the cons on logging it based on that discretion. If that question makes sense. I hope that makes sense.
Lisa: So, you only would log it if your company mandated it. And so, if that is the case and you are required to then log an adverse reaction, it just kind of goes against your whole workplace safety situation. Now I'm not going to say it affects it. Like as if somebody fell off of a ladder, that kind of thing could very clearly mean that you were not following protocol with how you trained and monitored your employees to use a ladder safely. So that's going to be a slightly different view. Like, you'll see workplaces that say, we have so many days without an injury, our safety record is this and so forth. And so, it's a little different with the vaccine because it's not like you purposely didn't keep them safe or, you put them in a position to fail, but by mandating that they must get it or hit the road in a way, like you're putting them in a world that's unknown because not everybody reacts the same. So, they may have no reaction. They may have a minor soreness and then they may be down for two weeks. So, you're putting them in a position to have to make the decision to possibly get injured, if that makes sense. And so, it's slightly different than their typical workplace injury, but at the same time, OSHA is saying, Hey, you did this because if you hadn't mandated it, your employee may not have got it. And now they wouldn't be in this situation.
Aaron: Okay. That makes perfect sense. Actually. I really appreciate that explanation. I don't really have any other questions, based on what we've talked about. Do you have any other comments to bring up or any other points? From the law here.
Lisa: No. I just encourage everyone to run out there and, go to osha.gov and look at the release and take a look at it. If you're a Help Desk member, then, we're going to be posting the information on our site, so you can find it. And we send out emails, that they have a little alert in it and stuff like that, but you can definitely come and look at our blog and see our breaking news there. So that'll go up today. And I mean, it's really not huge news. It's definitely just something to take note of and to make sure you follow through and as an employer, it may impact the decision that you make on whether or not you want to mandate the vaccine. So that will be one more consideration for you.
Aaron: Yeah. I think that's a really good point. Cause I know from what I've seen of HR workers and general management is that paperwork is not everybody's favorite thing to do. So, if you are going to mandate vaccines, you are going to have a heck of a lot more paperwork.
Lisa: And liability.
Aaron: Yes, and liability. That is extremely true but hopefully it does come down to a safer workspace environment, especially if you have, quite a few employees. So. Awesome. Well thank you for your insight, Lisa, always a pleasure. Thank you everybody who joined us live today. Again, if you want to leave a comment, after we're done being live, we will answer it as quickly as we can and as accurately as possible, we know the laws are always changing, but, thank you again to our viewers and until we see you next time, Stay Audit Secure!
End: If you would like to learn more about our team and the services, we provide head over to helpdeskforhr.com. Our 8,000 plus members enjoy the essential training tools and support. They need to keep up with ongoing legal changes, as well as maintaining solid HR and employment law compliance. Also, don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcasts or Spotify. If you like, what you hear, we'd love to hear from you either by leaving us a review where you can email us at support@helpdeskforhr.com.
Links to Courses we offer:
Sexual Harassment and Abusive Conduct Prevention Training – Management
In the cases of Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998), and Burlington Industries v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998), the U.S. Supreme Court made several statements and recommendations. To protect employees and company liability, managers and employees must be trained in harassment prevention, report and investigate incidents, and take corrective steps if warranted.
Harassment is not limited to that of a sexual nature. Bullying and intimidation, disparaging remarks, actions, and gestures are only a few examples of what constitutes a hostile work environment. Harassment may also be based on an individual’s appearance, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, religious or political affiliation, and other personal views.
Purchase Manager Training here: https://andere-corp.thrivecart.com/sexual-harassment-training-managers/
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Sexual Harassment and Abusive Conduct Prevention Training – Staff
The prevention of workplace harassment is important for businesses of every size. Anti-harassment policies provide workers with piece of mind, and enable them to perform duties without fear or anxiety. When considering the value or training vs. the cost, consider that a comfortable workplace free of harassment promotes happy and productive employees which positively affects a company’s bottom-line.
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You can also email us for a quote on larger group training for staff and managers: support@helpdeskforhr.com
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DIY in-house Gossip Training Kit
https://secure-cart.anderecorp.com/do-it-yourself-training/
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Diversity Training Kit:
https://secure-cart.anderecorp.com/diversity-training.../
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Season 4 Episode 2 Small Business Spoonfuls
Pandemic Mental Health and Staying at Home Penalties for Moms and Dads
INTRO:Welcome to Small Business Spoonfuls Podcast, a laid-back discussion of the serious HR topics and trends of today. Sponsored by help desk for hr.com.
AARON:
Awesome. All right,
Well, welcome everybody to our April 16th show here. my name's Aaron Bowen, and we're going to be discussing today, work sabbaticals, some updates to LinkedIn and the growing movement of people taking breaks from work in the pandemic. so like I said, my name is Aaron Bowen. I'm the social media manager here at help desk for HR. And, with me today, we've got Mason Merrill. He is our head developer and producer over at help desk for HR and Lisa Smith, who is our SPHR, S C P E O C Certified investigator and CEO of help desk for HR. She's got a lot of titles. welcome guys. Thanks for joining me today. so let's kick this thing off. So, like I said, we're talking about LinkedIn, adding options for users that include things like stay at home. Mom, stay at home, dad, stay at home parent, basically allowing people the opportunity to explain why they've been out of the workforce for a little while. primarily it's been brought on by the pandemic. we've seen so many people leaving. They're leaving their careers for a break to take care of kids that are out of school to take care of ailing family members to take care of themselves. there's a there's options for like FMLA leave as well as things like that. and it's just, you know, so many people are, are having to factor these things in.
And, I know it's been a big strain on, on people's mental health as well. Like we've talked about when we talked about mental health in our, in our last, excuse me in our last show. and I want to get into, I think it's a great, first of all, that, that LinkedIn specifically is doing this. I know it's, you know, one of the hugest recruiting tools on the internet, and I'm sure there are going to be plenty of other places that will follow suit once LinkedIn implements this. And I also want to talk today too, about, as employers, are we willing to kind of look at this and say, all right, well, they, you know, this, this individual had a break for XYZ reason. Can, can we look past that as employers Are we going to try to hold it over people's heads even maybe a little bit like subconsciously, you know, we, we kinda might form an opinion about this person because, you know, personally, I think that that employers are gonna definitely lose some quality talent if they start kind of having that attitude towards things. So I'm going to kick it over to, to Lisa. I want to see what your thoughts are on this first.
LISA:
Yeah. Thanks Aaron. You know, I'm so glad that you came up with this topic for today because I get, you know, support emails constantly here@helpdeskforhr.com from our members. And we're getting a lot of related questions like today. I had a support question that came in that said, you know, basically just helped me get my mind around the fact that my boss asked me if I needed a mental health day. Like, you know, she really, she was a little bit stumbled by it. She's like, I don't know if this is racist or if he's trying to insinuate, I'm crazy. Or, you know, like there were a lot of things going on in her mind. And, and I think that sometimes as, as, as bosses, as employers and as employees, we sometimes miss the miss the point of maybe what a person, another person needs or what they're trying to say to us.
And, and so I think that's important for us to really try to take a step back and realize how this is going to come across to the other person. And then also when we're receiving this input to think about the spirit that it's really given with, because like you said, Aaron, we're also stressed out these days. Like we may jump to a conclusion and I like the, the situation that you mentioned with, with LinkedIn and how it does bring up the question, are employers going to hold the time off against employees And is that going to be viewed as an automatic flag or indicator that because someone has had some time off, maybe they are dealing with mental health issues and are we going to have a bias that starts to creep into the workplace against those people When really it's the people that probably have been working hard through the band dynamic that may really be having those stretch, that stress and burnout issues. And so it's very complicated.
AARON:
No, absolutely. You're … you're right. It is, it is complicated. And I think, you know, I think one of the big things that complicates it even more so is that, you know, as employers, when we're doing interviews and when we're, when we're looking at prospective employees even pre pandemic, it's still, it can still be so difficult because people embellish on their resumes and things like that. And, and it can be, it can be difficult to sift through people anyways. So, you know, it, it, I, you know, this is the kind of situation where how much more difficult is it going to be now that we're trying to distinguish with somebody just kind of, you know, did somebody decide, Oh, well, you know, the unemployment benefits $600 a week was more than I was making before. So, Oh, you know, I'll, I'll deal with being unemployed for a little bit longer and just take the unemployment benefits or is this somebody who really is hungry and ready to get back to work and I think especially in, in more professional environments, you'll see that a lot more where people really are ready, you know, hungry, ready to get back to work. I know only for myself, you know, I mean, you know, my, my personal example was I was working like 60, 80 hours a week pre pandemic in my last company. And I just got very burnt out on, on the environment that I was in and started working part time with the same company, but being able to work part-time from home, which was great. and I was taking care of the kids. My wife was able to go full-time, she's a nurse. So, you know, there's always a need. And I found myself, you know, coming here instead, you know, and working from home, do it, doing this job. And then the pandemic hit.
And then, you know, my son was out of school and I had both the kids and I was working all day with both the kids and our business changed dramatically when the pandemic hit. And it was like, it was like that the whole reason I left the, the, the other, the other working 80 hours a week job in the first place was just like, trigger it again. So, you know, none of this has been easy for any of us. And, and I know, you know, basically everybody's had their life flipped upside down. So I would expect employers to be a lot more, welcoming to individuals trying to get back into the workforce, just because of those types of situations. there's going to be a lot of one-off type situations like that, but yeah, I think there, I think there's definitely, I think there's hope for people in, in understanding these in these days, Lisa, you had a comment,
LISA:Well, actually this was a comment about everything you were saying just starts to open up all these other ideas in my head. And so I wanted to actually to address Mason and, you know, because, okay, here's an example in, and you may have some other thoughts on this Mason, but here's an example of your wife who is highly educated and pandemic or no pandemic. She has chosen. The two of you have chosen that she's going to be a stay at home. Mom. She's again, highly educated, speaks four languages. Like not, not just that. And I hate to say this, but in the work world, sometimes men and women, and sometimes women more than men, paint the, stay at home, mom as just the mom with no skills that can't do anything, but raise kids and birth babies. And, and, and, and everybody needs to comment right now that you think that's a horrible way to believe, because I think that's a horrible way to believe.
Okay. But Mason, you know, that there are times when being that stay at home, mom, who is very capable and very smart and brilliant, it takes a toll. And in addition to knowing that it takes a little bit of a toll because she's not with adults all day. in addition to that, if she were to go back to work, we know historically that her time doing that very important job of raising those babies degree or no degree languages are no languages. That's going to be held against her. Give us your thoughts on that.
MASON:
Yeah. You know, we, she's Probably more qualified than me to be in the workforce just based on what you talked about with her. And, you know, we made it as a choice. She's going to stay home and I'm going to go to work. And, you know, we have two young, young boys and they've got a lot of energy, but yeah. I mean, it's, it's hard for her to do extracurricular activities outside of just being the stay at home mom, because it is stressful. And it does take a lot on your mental health. And, you know, that's one of those things, especially, especially during the pandemic, you know, with all the added stress of what's going on in the world, things like that, you know, we, well, especially here with us, we kind of promoted a very lenient, workplace in that sense where if I had to run home and help her because of this and that, you know, and you being, our boss have been in great in that aspect, but yeah, it definitely takes a lot on your mental health just anyway, versus having to deal with all this pandemic and all that kind of stuff, and going back to work and readjusting to what she used to do and things like that would definitely not be an easy thing.
LISA:
Yeah, no, and I totally get that, you know, like I just, I know that I want to hear from Aaron again on this, because he's, he's kind of had the reverse to stay at home dad kind of scenario. And I want you to speak to that as well, but like, just from another perspective, for those of you out there who have been military families and known military families, you know, I went from working hard, you know, 40 plus hours a week, killing it in my career to what I call a war wife, you know, desert storm started. And then we were in a new location and, you know, my husband was gone all of the time and I was at home with the kids, raising the kids in a foreign country with no, nobody else that I knew, no family, no spouse, no nothing, and not able to really go out and then work and keep my career going as well.
And I know that after three years of being a war wife, basically during desert storm, that coming back into the workplace, I was very heavily scrutinized, even though I had done volunteer work. And, you know, I'd worked with the red cross and try to coordinate some things, you know, whenever I could, during that time, that was still, there was an element there that held that against me. And that was really tough, not only on my pride and my ego, but on my mental health, you know, that really made me feel kind of depressed, honestly, you know, Aaron, you know, speak to your experience there.
AARON:
Yeah. I mean, I, I really agree. I mean, I was going to say, like, I don't know, I don't know the woes of being a stay at home mom, you know, obviously, but, I would, I would, I would say if you think that's bad, be a stay at home dad because it's even more stigmatized. I, and, and, and the thing is, is I wasn't really a stay at home dad. I was working, you know, my job and also staying home with my kids and raising them. and I, and I wanted to, because I, I never had the opportunity when they were little, like I said, mean, I've been married for eight years now and basically the entire time working at least 50 hours a week, if not more. And, you know, growing up without my dad around a whole lot, it, it really made me just want to be able to be around them more, but you get flack from everybody, you know, you know, you've got your sugar mama, you know, and this and that, and the other thing, and, and people really looked out on you.
And so, and, and that less the pandemic and everything, and plus trying to, you know, help run a business, it can wear down on you for sure. And it did for me, but like I said, though, the big thing that propped me up was just knowing why I was doing it and knowing that I was doing it to be with my kids. And, and, and that was really like, that's the thing I had to focus on. I can't, you know, haters gonna hate as people, as people would say, you know, but, but for me it was, it was really just trying to be there for my kids and, and, and keep that going. So, yeah, that was my experience….. Mason.
MASON:
Yeah. And you know, so what's the overall point here, tying it back to the workplace and the employer, and two things to think about here. you think about when we're bringing people back in, in me and Lisa, I've talked about this on our small business spoonfuls podcast, a lot, the overarching message of things is, be reasonable with people don't just automatically jump to conclusions. You guys talked about that on your last episode or in our last live we did. And just really try to, especially in this time that we're in these unprecedented times, we keep hearing about, you know, we want to be reasonable and be, caring towards our talent that we have that way they're ready to come back in and they're ready to, start working and give us, give us as the employer their best in what they can offer.
Yeah, absolutely. And the thing is, is to, you know, as an employer, like we should be prepared obviously for the fact that anybody that we bring on is going to have an onboarding period. There, there are, there's very few like plug and play positions in the professional workforce nowadays. That was a lot of PS. I hope it didn't pop too much for anyways, but like the, the expectation to like zero to 60 somebody, especially somebody who's rusty and hasn't been in the workforce for awhile is, is, is, is uncouth. You can't do that. So, you know, if you're, if you're ready to bring somebody on and give them, you know, a lower quota, like if it's a sales position or give them a little extra time for training, because they're, they're just, like I said, they're a little bit rusty. They, you, you win people over that way.
I think as if you've been an employer for awhile, you should know you, hopefully I haven't missed the boat on the fact that if willing to invest in people both time and money, if people a shot that you're going to get way more loyalty and way more effort out of somebody whom you just throw to the wolves or that you don't really see as a, as a, as a, as a necessity or, or they don't see that they need to work for you. but if you, if you really work with that person and give them that effort, they will give it back to you. For sure.
LISA:
Yeah. And you know what I like that idea, or I like that those comments, Aaron and, and Mason, both. the other thing I think that we have to consider as employers, as HR professionals, is that sometimes, you know, the work from home gig can be viewed as a glorified, just staying at home type job, you know, and again can feel diminished. But I think that we're seeing with the pandemic, probably one of the only good things a pandemic has done for us is to show us that we can have more flexibility in how we work, where we perform our duties for a large part can be flexible. And that, you know, a lot of people have learned that they can work from eight to 10 in the morning and from three to four in the afternoon, and from eight to midnight, if they want to, as long as they get the job done, a lot of jobs, don't, it doesn't matter.
You know, like a lot of what we do here. It doesn't matter if it's done in the middle of the night or in the middle of the morning, you know, as long as it gets done, it doesn't matter. And so I think we're opening our eyes up to a little more of that. And hopefully, you know, we won't have all the stigmas that we're worried about that in order to not have them. It's important to talk about it. Like we are here, you know, today. So I, that's just, my, my big concern is that men and women, both, but women are largely impacted by the stigma of being the stay at home. Mom that's uneducated and unexperienced, and is wasting her life, you know, and I just don't want that to be something we take out of this pandemic.
AARON:
Yeah. I absolutely agree with that. 110%. I think, I don't think anybody should feel bad about wanting to take care of their family. I mean, that's like, I don't know, family life nowadays, you know, not to go on a rant here or anything like that. Family life nowadays is just on the Fritz. And so, you know, to be able to, to be able to actually take care of each other and, and it sucks to kind of have to have a pandemic to get to that point. but I, you know, but, but a couple of comments on, on, on what you had just said, you know, like for me personally, in, in the, in the previous job that I was in, I was, in, in marketing sales and you're right there, there's a finite amount of hours in the day that I can call people.
And, and I have like, I've had meetings and phone calls at eight o'clock or nine o'clock at night with people in, in Hawaii that are just like wrapping up their day basically, and, and could actually have the time to talk to me, but it takes away from it. It takes away from my kids. So when I came here, my big thing was I can work as many hours as you guys need me to work, but I can do it, like after they're in bed, like after I was able to, you know, hang out with them and play with them and make them lunch or whatever I needed to do to take care of them. And then when they're taking a nap, when they're doing their thing, like when they're playing outside, when they're asleep in bed, whatever, then I can get my work done.
And we're seeing that a lot more. And I actually just posted a few days ago in the group, a, a list of, I think it was the top 12, positions and, and communities that you could get into making like a hundred grand a year working from home. It is out there, it is a hundred percent something that people can, can do nowadays. I think the pandemic proved that we don't have to be in an office it's helpful, but it's not necessary. It's not mandatory. And especially with however many, you know, conference programs we have nowadays, like, restream that reason right now, you don't, you don't necessarily need to, you know, to be in this situation.
MASON:
Yeah. And then there's the devil's advocate side of that too, because like, you know, I, for me, I really enjoy working in an office. It's really hard for me to get a lot done at home, but that's also the roles we've taken as parents with, with the kiddos. And, you know, I have to be hyper-focused for what I'm doing a lot of the time when I'm, you know, developing apps or editing audio or whatever it is that I'm doing for the task of the day. So, you know, there's pros and cons to both sides. It's nice that people are going back to work. I'm sure people are just socially, invested in wanting to get back into, you know, the team building aspect of it, where it can be a little more difficult away from the office. So, you know, it's really in the, in the sense of it all it's teach their own, but like let's as employers try to be reasonable with our employees and, just look out for those mental health aspect, things of just being away from each other for a year and not really seeing anybody. So anyway, I think we nicely covered that topic for sure.
AARON:
Yeah, I agree. Yeah. I know, I know you're talking about like getting back together with people I'm like, I'm kinda nervous having to like, go hang out with like, do I want to get vaccinated Cause that means I have to associate with the outside world. Like, I don't know that's a little stress, but no, that, that, that is a good, that does put a good bow on things. And so I want to thank our viewers and our listeners today. if you want to, we will have the replay posted on Facebook on both of our Facebook groups. And we will also, if it's easier for anybody, have this, set up on our podcast, the Small Business Spoonfuls podcast that you can get a wherever podcasts are available to you basically. I don't think there's any platforms that we don't have it on.
MASON:
It's mainly, I'm sorry to interrupt. It's mainly Apple podcasts and Spotify. Okay. You didn't see many numbers on Stitcher, so those are the two main ones you can get it at. And, yeah, you can subscribe to that and if you like it, leave us a review or whatnot would be great too. And, also, yeah, that's what I am sorry.
AARON:
Okay, perfect. No, thank you. Thank you for jumping in on that. And so, yep. Thank you. And until next time we will see you guys next week. probably I think we're planning on Tuesdays Mason. You had some…
MASON:
Yeah, that was the net. The other thing that I was going to say is, our, I think we're going to try to schedule these out to do them on Wednesdays and Fridays, but some days we might shuffle the days. So look for more content like this. And, it's not our, it's not the deepest toughest subjects, but we definitely like interaction. So if you, if you like what you see, you leave us a comment about what you think about what we said and things like that too. So definitely looking for more interaction in it.
AARON:
Absolutely. Yeah. Questions, comments, concerns. If you need me to cut my hair, I'll think about it. And, we, we will see you guys next Wednesday until then be audit secure take care. Guys…
OUTRO:
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Intro: Welcome to Small Business Spoonful’s Podcast, a laid-back discussion of the serious HR topics and trends of today sponsored by HelpDeskForHR.com.
Mason: Hey everybody, Mason here, before we get into today's show, I wanted to just drop in and say that these shows were recorded on Facebook live. We've done for our Facebook groups that we thought would translate great to this show. So, I just wanted to put that out there in case there's any confusion. Doing the Facebook live is a great way to put out some live content, to interact directly with our listeners or Watchers. And then also we're able to release it here to keep this channel open. So, we are back, and you can usually look out for these episodes to drop twice a week to provide you that much more content. So, I hope everyone enjoys the content coming, and I'm going to go ahead and send it over to Lisa and Aaron for this episode.
Aaron: Thanks for everybody for joining us live today. My name's Aaron, I am the social media manager here at HelpDeskForHR.com. And with me today, I've got Lisa Smith. She is our CEO and she's also our SPHR PHR, SPC, EEOC, ABCDEFG, individual. She holds all the credentials that make our company work. She's been a HR lady for 20 years now. And so, we're going to go over a little topic of the day here about employment law and, you'll also see, Oh actually, well, we just, you can't see Mason, he's behind the scenes over here. He's doing our tech support. But if you hear a little voice pop in there, that's very smooth. That's Mason popping in on tech. So anyways, I will let Lisa take it over. I just wanted to introduce you.
Lisa: Awesome! Thanks Aaron. So today, this is like one of the first videos we're doing like this, and we're going to try to be popping in more and more with these types of interactions. Because one thing that we've seen with COVID is that mental health honestly been greatly affected for everyone, it seems like, and our employees are starting to show some wear and tear. We, as HR folks are showing a lot of wear and tear on certain days when things are harder than normal, but here it helped us for HR. We take unlimited support questions from our members and so they can email us as many times as they want to every day, every month, every year. And we don't put a limit on it and we're starting to see more and more of this question coming in.
Lisa: So, I personally have experienced this. I think Aaron may have a history with this too, but we're going to talk to you about what we're seeing from our members. And that is the question that comes in where an employer will write and say, today, we got an anonymous phone call or email or a post on our reviews page, or maybe it's not anonymous. Usually, it is. But they're saying that XYZ employee, let's just call him Bob or Sally is a drug addict. A child abuser is having an affair with the boss. His wife is doing 10 different things. And at the end of the day, what do we do? And the one thing that really kind of made me want to do this topic is that when the employer writes me with this question, 9 times out of 10, they're so alarmed and so floored.
Lisa: And of course, they're wanting to protect the company, which is our number one job in HR, that the question becomes, should we fire them? Can we drag past them? What do we do? And, having a history with the this, because I have an ex-husband and he actually reached out to my boss at the time that I was using to support my kids after having to leave him because he was a wife and child beater. He reached out to my boss and said, Hey, Lisa is a child abuser, Lisa has cheated on me multiple times. Lisa is joining a cult. And he just like gave all this random, weird, untrue information. And I am very thankful that my boss then reached out to me and said, Lisa, we've had this report. Now I'm not saying we believe any of this.
Lisa: But what I am saying is, I think you should understand what's being said, you should be aware of this. And if there's anything that you want to talk about, I'm here, but you have a great record with our company and you do a great job for us. So, I'm just going to assume that this is some sort of revenge and we're going to move on, unless there's something you want to talk about. And I was so thankful to have that reaction. Instead of what do we do? Do we background check? or Do we fire them? Do we drug test? It worries me.
Aaron: Yeah. I mean, this is kind of thing. It's nuts because like you said, there's this like gut check reaction from employers. You want to protect the company, but you cannot rubber band. You cannot freak out so hard. I had a very similar experience. The last company that I was at before I came here, to work with you all. I was in, marketing services basically. And, yeah, I had somebody call, it was, a female and they said they were my family member, and they told HR, they're like, by the way, this guy lied on his application. He never graduated high school. And I was like, okay. So, the HR called me, and they were like, Hey, by the way, is this true? What happened?
Aaron: And I told them, I'm like, I was homeschooled, I can have my mom sign something because she was the one who homeschooled me and, I can send paperwork in etcetera. And they were like, it's okay, don't worry about it. We just wanted to tell you what happened in case some sort of family drama was going on. And they had already talked to my boss. And my boss is like, even if he didn't, I don't care because he's such a fantastic employee. He does such a good job. And I'm not tooting my own horn this is what they said to me, they were just happy that, I was doing a good job anyways.
Aaron: So, they were like, we don't care if he did or didn't. Cause he's a good employee. We're not going to just get rid of him just because of this. And, I was making the company money, who cares. That's been sales, at the end of the day, that's all they care about. So yeah. It's one of those things, like you said. I mean, if somebody calls in and, they say, yeah, this employee is a drug addict and the employee has been acting super sketchy and hasn't been showing up to work and has been either late or they're missing days. And maybe yes. You know, bring it up as a situation. But if they're a model employee or at least a solid employee, what are you worried about?
Lisa: Yeah. And thanks for sharing that because this is happening, this happens more and more, and this is something that clearly has happened to us. We have a comment here where Sarah says, I've had that happen. My own brother tried to get me fired from an employer. I mean, so like, yeah. And we don't know, and I will tell you employers that are out there listening to this, like really, and truly 9 times out of 10, when this call comes in, whether it's anonymous or not, it's usually going to be anonymous because honestly, they're too big of chickens to give their actual identity. But like my ex-husband, he felt like being my former spouse was a credible position to be in, to be able to be believed because I know my ex-wife and I know what she's capable of.
Lisa: Like he was just a big dummy anyway, but like sometimes people, will come in anonymous or not. It doesn't matter. This is normally about revenge. And I told one of our employers, I said, so this person, called in and said, your employee is a child abuser. And a drug addict is what this particular one said. And I say that employer who was freaking out. I said, if you really had an employee who was a drug addict and a child abuser, you would number one, probably know because you would notice impairment. The child abuse you might not know, but you would notice hot temporary. You would notice impairment. You would notice sluggish speech or like really, off the wall behavior, depending upon what kind of drug they were on. And if that person was sincere, instead of contacting you anonymously the employer, they would be contacting child protective services. Think about that, contacting an employer. What's the motive there? To get the person fired. If you really care about the health and safety of an individual or a child or whatever the case is, you will contact child protective services, or you will call the police, or you will do something that is going to generate some level of protection. The motive for contacting an employer is to get them fired.
Aaron: Absolutely. And even like with the drug stuff, sometimes you can skate on thin ice, asking somebody to submit to a drug test. Cause like, for me, with my Tourette's, I'm super twitchy and can be very erratic and will say things out of order. Like I did at the beginning of this, and things just get jumbled up in my head. And, like I said, I'm like sitting here twitching around and you can't see my ears twitching because I have my headphones on, but somebody might look at me and be like, man, that dude might've had a little bit, Coke before he came into work today or something like that, you never know what's somebody's going to think? So, I mean, you can kind of, get into some ticky-tacky situations when it comes to questioning an employee about this kind of thing.
Lisa: And I like that you brought that up. Thanks for sharing about your medical history. Because like, as an employer, I'm not allowed to ask you those questions. If you can do the job, it doesn't matter if you Twitch or anything, like none of that matters. And so, let's say I get a call or an email that says, Hey, Aaron's doing drugs. And I go, well, he does Twitch a lot. And now if I hold that against you without like doing a full investigation and I just freak out and decide that you're on drugs, because I've seen you Twitch. Now, I'm violating the ADA for one big thing. I'm discriminating against someone with a disability under the law.
Aaron: You want to do that by the way, I'm fine. Cause I'll retire on the paycheck I get from the court.
Lisa: Yeah. I know I'm going to have to have that money first. So that's a whole other video. I mean really, and truly like, I hope that the folks who are listening to this, today and by the way, thanks for tuning in and listening to this. I want you to add it in the comments, what has your company gone through when it comes to something like this? Maybe it's this exact situation, but write us, tell us your story. Because when we share our stories about this stuff, it helps when it happens to us, it helps us to be like, okay, I don't need to jump and do a knee jerk reaction or, something like that. And if you have a good employee, like you said, Aaron. Good employee who makes you money and who shows up and does the thing and that you're paying them to do then just because you get an anonymous phone call from a big chicken that says X, Y, Z is happening.
Lisa: Does that mean that we should automatically go demonize the worker when it probably is just revenge? And there could even be a foundation of truth there that someone has taken and blown up. Like, maybe we have an employee that did smoke a joint on the weekend. And so that person's going to be like, I'm going to use that and say, they're a drug addict because there was like a small element of something related that they could use. But that doesn't mean that you have an employee, who's a drug addict and PS, if an employee smokes pot on the weekend and it doesn't affect their job performance, it's none of your business, that's an employer. And so, I mean, we have a lot to consider here before we just start like flying off the handle. Thanks for commenting Sarah. Thanks for everyone else tuning in today because I really feel like this is a hot topic and it's something that's going to continue. And especially as people are more stressed and are going through job losses and changes, we're seeing this.
Aaron: Yeah. I mean, if you look at the news right now with the pandemic. Things are starting to kind of loosen up, but now the people are kind of out in public and in the wild there's, I mean, I've seen a shooting every day. Not work-related, but still, I mean, people are pent up and it's coming out in an aggressive manner and a lot of different ways. This is one of those situations, people's mental health as being seriously affected and it's coming out in an aggressive manner and it's a shame. I mean, the divorce rates have never been higher since the pandemic started. And mental health and like addictive issues have never been higher since the pandemic started. And, unfortunately, it's not over yet. So, we as employers really need to be in that mindset, we can't rely on the last, however many years of experience we have managing people solely, we really have to adapt to the idea that things are a lot different than they used to be right now.
Lisa: Yeah. And the other thing to think about, if someone is willing to take step one and reach out with a call or an email or something like that. I don't know that there will be a step two or step three, but it's something employers should be on alert for, because what would the next step be? To come to your place of employment. So, this is where it's important that we have good, solid workplace violence plans and protocols in place. And everyone on the front lines knows what to do. If someone is acting sketchy or weird or angry, or all these triggers. And, get some training. Like we can't do that training here today, but like I advise a lot on this in our Help Desk for HR group and in support, people always write me and say, how do we do this? And we have templates, and we have all sorts of things that we, that we give out to folks because workplace violence is real. And you've got to have those protocols in place, not only to meet the safety of your company and, your workers, but it's the law. OSHA says you gotta keep people safe and whatever that looks like you got to keep people safe. So just one more thing to think about.
Aaron: Yeah. Well, and I mean, it's one of those things too, where, you know, I mean, physical safety, but also, like emotional safety and things like that. We actually, just launched the gossip training, because I mean, if this is something that got out into the office, I mean, obviously, I would hope that, the HR person wouldn't start spreading this around, and start talking to everybody about it. But if whomever called into the office, happened to be related to the person in question that they were accusing. And they happened to be, friends with a couple people in the office because they went to the Christmas party or the holiday party or whatever. And then they started talking and things get around. And like you said, things can get blown way out of proportion really fast. And so, that's another situation where you know, that now all of a sudden, this person is degraded beyond a reason, because just because of some stupid rumor and some office gossip.
Lisa: And you mentioned the gossip thing that we just launched and, that's why it got created is because we had members of our group. Who said, we're dealing with all these issues and some of the top issues were COVID related gossip. And so we're dealing with all this, and that's one reason, one of the members who submitted an outline to us said, I need a piece specifically for our managers and supervisors. So, section one is for everybody. But section two is directed at management at leadership because we have a whole other level of responsibility there when it comes to gossip and confidentiality and things like that. So, yeah, I mean, again, another piece of this puzzle that things have gotten ramped up. And the ramping doesn't seem to be trailing off, but at that way, even when COVID dies down, people are still in this heightened state. So, Sarah says, be careful on validating an employee who works for you because you don't know if the person that's on the other line is looking to find that person to do them harm exactly in that. So that's what we were saying, Sarah, like, they're trying to do them financial harm and workplace harm, so what's, what's the next level up, right? What's the next level up? So, we have to be careful with that, for sure. So, all right. Well, good talk.
Aaron: Thank you everybody for joining us, I've seen a couple people pop in after we started. So, thank you all for coming in. And a couple people come and go. I know we got busy workdays come back and watch the video later. It'll be in our Facebook groups. You'll have plenty of time, throughout the day to come back and check us out. Well, I was going to say before we end. I wanted to let everybody know too. If you enjoy the video that we're doing right now in a couple hours, we do have our Boss Call, which is for our members. What’s the subject again Lisa?
Lisa: It's the new Cobra subsidy and the 10 pages of FAQ's that were released last week.
Aaron: Okay. So, it will not be even remotely as fun as this, but I guess we goofed off a little bit. It wasn't a fun subject, but we goofed off a little bit, but it'll be a little bit more serious, but it is some definitely some information that employers need to know. So, we'll have links in the description and everything's that you guys can go check that out if you want to. If you don't catch the live at one o'clock central, we will have replays. So, feel free to check that out too.
Lisa: Sounds great. Thanks for that, Aaron. Cause I was going to breeze right past that. So, I appreciate it.
Aaron: Have to get those plugs in! Those plugs in shameless plugs man all day,
Lisa: But it's also, we get these questions, so we might as well just tell people where we're at. But anyway. So go out there guys, do your best, Be Audit Secure, be safe, be kind, wash your hands and do HR like a Boss!
Aaron: Wash your hands for at least what two minutes do it.
Lisa: Do like a surgeon, two minutes, 40 seconds or something like that!
Aaron: Yeah, there you go. All right guys, take care.
Lisa: Bye!
End: If you would like to learn more about our team and the services, we provide head over to helpdeskforhr.com. Our 8,000 plus members enjoy the essential training tools and support. They need to keep up with ongoing legal changes, as well as maintaining solid HR and employment law compliance. Also, don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcasts or Spotify. If you like what you hear, we'd love to hear from you either by leaving us a review where you can email us support@helpdeskforhr.com.
Hey Compliance Warriors!
This week on the show we are discussing an FAQ from the DOL that answers a few key questions when it comes to eligibility for FFCRA taken due to parents having to stay home to care for their children because of school closings.
Link: https://helpdesksuites.com/2020/08/27/breaking-news-u-s-dol-answers-questions-about-school-reopenings-and-eligibility-for-paid-leave-under-the-families-first-coronavirus-response-act/
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Video Show:
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This week Lisa & Mason have Weston Toth, owner of Aqua Tech pools on the show to discuss what makes a small business work during the pandemic of COVID-19. Learn about the importance of communication and customer safety while operating an essential business. Watch on the new YouTube video section, listen, or read the transcript below.
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Video Show: https://youtu.be/PDuR77edpU4
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
If you’ve seen the news, you know there’s plenty of backlashes when it comes to corporations failing to be COVID compliant. Listen this week as Lisa & Mason go over some of the top cases going on right now, and what could have been done to avoid them. Listen on…
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Hey Compliance Warriors! We’ve seen time and time again, with many disasters in the world. There will be people that try to help, and there will be people who try to profit. Unfortunately, there are plenty of scammers in the world that will try to get your money or your personal information. Today we’ll discuss the types of scams you might see surrounding COVID-19. Read or Listen on…
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Hey Compliance Warriors! This week's podcast is on the topic of working from home. It’s becoming a practical option as the threat of COVID continues through the workplace and beyond. Working from home involves quite a bit of mental discipline, however, and we’ll get into the pros and cons of the subject.
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Hey Compliance Warrior!
Today we're addressing a few user questions regarding holiday pay!
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
So, last week we discussed holiday parties where it concerns alcohol and this week we are continuing that discussion with harassment-free holiday parties!
Link to article: https://rubinthomlinson.com/all-i-want-for-christmas-is-a-harassment-free-office-holiday-party/
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
With the holiday season upon us, we all like to get together to celebrate a great year and holiday parties are a great way to show our employees how much we appreciate them. However, we also want to protect our company. So, here are some tips and things to think about if you as the employer plan on serving alcohol at these events.
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Hey Compliance Warriors,
Today we talk about a recent court case where delivery drivers weren't paid correctly, filed a claim, and won big!
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
We're back and this week we're talking about the new lactation room requirements for California.
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
Bio-metric time clocks have been around for while but with increasing technology and security they've become even more popular. Listen in as we discuss some of the benefits of using this type of timekeeping system!
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
Open enrollment is just around the corner and if you're in a place where you're helping your employees with this, here's a few helpful tips!
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
Today we discuss a user question about an employee who's health insurance premiums are overdue and how to handle this in regard to giving enough notice when canceling their coverage.
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
Today we have a short discussion on navigating employer rights when dealing with someone who's coming to work impaired by the use of medical or legal recreational marijuana.
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
We talk today about why organized succession plans are so good for an organization!
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Today we're talking about how incentive pay can be really good in an organization but also how it can hinder if it is not managed well.
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Today we're giving some tips on best practices when terminating someone to prevent confrontation.
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
We're back! This week on the show we're talking 5 tips on surviving a bad boss. How to maintain a cool head, your confidence, and your position in the work place when dealing with a difficult person.
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Today we discuss an employer liability when outsourcing tasks using a case study!
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
We're talking FMLA again this week. This time discussing 8 tips when dealing with intermittent leave abuse.
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
Todays were talking the Bermuda Triangle of the FMLA! When three laws intersect. Lisa gives some great tips on hopefully how to fly out in tact.
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Today on the podcast we're talking policy changes! We gives some good practice tips when changing policies and also talk about a case study about a poorly handled situation when a policy was changed!
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
On todays episode we talk Workers Comp! We give some tips on how to navigate it and best practices in using it.
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Hey Compliance Warriors!
In this Episode we discuss FMLA requests. How much information is required to qualify? We also discuss a case study!
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In this episode we review 10 things you can be prepared for in some cases that your CEO won't be telling you outright!
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Today we talk termination! We look at some questions you want to ask yourself before you terminate someone to make sure you're not going to be caught up in a court case.
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Today we discuss the process of successful Employee on-boarding. We also give some tips on what you can do to make the process efficient.
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Today we have a short episode as we discuss a court case on discrimination in the workplace.
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Today we discuss some cases on religious accommodation and give suggestions on what to do and also what not to do!
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Today we call back to an earlier episodes and breakdown traits of what makes a great manager!
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Today we discuss another listener question: Does a POA for an Uncle qualify as FMLA? Listen in as we talk about how to handle a situation like this.
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Today we take a listener question on Reasonable accommodation in the workplace and what is "Reasonable" and what is not.
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Today we interview Sarah Bohner the General Manager of a major restaurant chain. She shares her experience of being the leader of at least 30 employees and how she is successful in dealing with what can be a stressful environment.
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Today we breakdown Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. We talk about what it is, How we can prevent, and also steps to take to make sure employees are trained properly.
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Click HERE to download the "Considerations for LEGAL Discussions about Weight and Body Odor" we talk about on the show.
Today we talk some misunderstandings when it comes to leave laws.
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Today we give an update to the DOL listening sessions we attended back in October. We discuss what the matter was and where they're at with it now.
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We take another user question regarding navigating New York state meal breaks on the podcast this week.
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In this weeks episode we take a user question pertaining to a problem between a general contractor and a sub contractors employee.
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