A preliminary injunction against the increase of the white collar exemption, just put a halt to many employers' plans to implement a change that has been coming for months. What's an employer to do? Right now, the best thing may be wait and see. For those of you, who've already implemented pay increases to staff, it would be very challenging to roll things back. The federal rule scheduled to take effect on Dec. 1st had intended to increase the salary threshold from the cu

Massachusetts voters recently passed the law legalizing recreational use of marijuana. Your response could be, “bummer man”, or “cool dude”! What’s a business to do? This doesn’t mean employees have the right to consume on premise or show up to work stoned. Workplace policies that apply to alcohol also apply to cannabis. Marijuana is still illegal at the federal level and there are many jobs where drug testing is federally mandated. Similar to any other substances that can be

Did you know that the cost of a bad hire, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor is at least 30% of the employees first year earnings? Beyond that, there are hidden costs to the organization including negative morale and reduced productivity. In a tightening job market, it’s easy to skip the basics...DO NOT! Instead of “winging it,” base your interview questions on the most important attributes of the position and use open ended behavioral questions (past behavior is the bes

The culture of a business, no matter the size is important to sustaining the business over the long term and creating a great workplace. Many small business owners focus on building their sales, and rightly so, but for long term sustainability, culture is key. Three key components to building a great culture are: 1.) creating and articulating a vision, 2.) establishing and articulating values, and 3.) hiring people who share those values and vision. Don’t let your hard wor