Author: Margie Reed

When it comes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), there are many potential missteps that small businesses can make. Unlike some laws, the FLSA doesn’t generally have exemptions for small businesses. If your company earns at least $500,000 a year or has employees who...

Question:   Our previous HR director was lax about policy enforcement, particularly around tardiness and dress code. What’s the best way to start enforcing these policies consistently? Answered:  If possible, we recommend meeting with employees to inform them that, going forward, these policies will be uniformly enforced....

Church salary increases are not keeping up with the rate of inflation. For ministry employees, this means the money they are bringing home, even if it is more than it was last year, isn’t going as far as it used to. As costs of housing, groceries,...

Question:  An employee called out a few days ago by leaving a message with some vague information about being ill and hasn’t followed up since. Can we consider this a voluntary resignation and start the termination process? Answer:  Most likely not. There are many reasons why your...

Question:  We received a suspicious email asking for a change to an employee's direct deposit information. What should we do? Answer:  This is likely a phishing scam: a type of con in which scammers use emails, texts, or phone calls to trick someone into providing company...

With the new year just around the corner, September is a good time to review some of the key tax moves you should make before 2025. Pay your third quarter 2024 estimated tax. Generally, the estimated taxes for the third quarter are due on September 15....

Question:  Can we promote an employee to a newly created position without giving others a chance to apply? Answer: In most states, you don’t need to post an open position for all employees to see, but if your company has a policy or practice of posting internally,...

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one-third of private businesses extend between 10 and 14 days of paid vacation to employees after said employees have reached their one-year mark of employment. Then, after 10 years of employment, the average number of paid...