GreatWork Blog

Building better workplaces through compliance, culture, connection

We listen to teams, we discuss best practices for supervision, we work through some kind of “resetting” of our business and practices, and we find ways to embrace positive transition techniques.

With many Oregon employers wondering what their workplace obligations are in the wake of the Coronavirus Outbreak, abbreviated COVID-19, we developed some FAQS. Please keep in mind that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), along with local public health authorities, should be where employers turn for specific workplace safety guidance.

In times of need, there are always people who will step up and offer to help. One of the many ways people help others is offering to donate their paid time off to a co-worker who may be struggling with a personal emergency.

Handbooks are so long and tedious and “no one ever reads them.” Well, the truth of the matter is, an Employee Handbook is your first line of defense in many situations.

I have recently been getting questions from organizations that have already established wage ranges, asking how the new exemption rules may affect their exempt level employees. The issue concerns situations when the range minimum doesn’t meet the new threshold, and there is a blend of employees who are classified as exempt and nonexempt included in these ranges.

With the impending Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) changes effective December 1, I regularly get the question “what are other employers doing?” Survey results from a recent study on the Implementation of New FLSA Rules conducted by WorldatWork of 948 U.S. employers nationwide are consistent with the conversations that I have been having locally.

Many times meetings to discuss plans and change are poorly facilitated. Participants sometimes don’t share their concerns, or contradict each other and don’t commit to action.

When I’m presented with an employment situation which could result in some sort of change in an employee’s status with the company, such as a disciplinary action or a performance plan, there are four questions that I always ask in order to assess the risk.

This will come as no shock, but interviewing is no easy task. This is especially true in an employee’s market when attracting great candidates is particularly challenging. Because we are currently in an employee’s market, now is a great time to evaluate your approach to the interviewing process, starting with the questions you’re asking. 

Start the New Year off right with a quick check of your compensation practices to make sure they are competitive, attractive and equitable, and to ensure you are on the right track.

Question: Can I pay for my employee’s individual health insurance plan outside of our normal group coverage?

Issue: Many of your employees have taken out loans from their 401(k) plan accounts in the last few years. You have a rather large downsizing of employment coming up.

Part 3 of the the Employee Engagement series by Jenna Reed. Now that you’ve decided to conduct an Employee Engagement Survey, there are a few things to consider.

Can an employer reassign an employee because her pregnancy might offend someone?

Lately we’ve seen an uptick of inquiries with respect to 401(k) plans, specifically around benefit eligibility requirements when writing policies for employee handbooks.