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A clear, well-written company employee handbook is crucial to your business. Look closely at your company practices and make sure you have at least the minimum crucial types of policies in place to communicate to your employees and protect your business.

Three Questions to Refine Your Handbook

1. What should we include in the handbook?
2. What should we exclude from the handbook?
3. What general steps should we keep in mind?

Get Help Refining Your Employee Handbook Now

To obtain more information about each of these items, be sure to listen to Bulletproofing Your Company Employee Handbook in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter.

MyHRSupportCenter Provides Alerts, Best Practices, and HR Tools Every Day

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly, not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you haven’t yet signed up and would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

Hiring remote workers has grown more common and can provide significant benefits for many businesses. Understanding how to manage your employees during this workforce trend is crucial in maintaining top talent and keeping your business competitive.

5 Tips on Working with Remote Workers

1. Get the right workers for remote work
2. Communicate clear expectations
3. Review for relevant policies
4. Leveraging technology for performance
5. Meet regularly and frequently

Implement These Tips for Your Remote Workers

To learn details on how to implement these tips in your workplace, be sure to listen to 5 Tips on Working with Remote Workers in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter.

MyHRSupportCenter Provides Alerts, Best Practices, and HR Tools Every Day

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly, not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you haven’t yet signed up and would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), in 2009, more than 93,000 workplace discrimination charges were filed nationwide, the second highest level ever.

Race and Sex Charges Remain Most Common Charges

Race and sex charges were the most commonly filed charges, representing a combined two-thirds of all charges.

National Origin, Religion, Retaliation, and Disability Claims All Increase

For 2009, claims of discrimination based on national origin, religion, retaliation, and disability were all the highest ever recorded. Though age discrimination claims eased slightly, they were still at the second-highest level in EEOC history.

Important Questions on EEO Training

How important is training and what is the impact of internet-based training? What should your employee handbook say about equal employment opportunity (EEO)? What is the impact of Plan/Prevent/Protect?

What Can You Do to Prevent Violation of the Discrimination Laws?

To pick up tips and tools to help minimize and shield your business against claims of workplace discrimination and harassment, be sure to listen to Defending Your Business with EEO Training in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter.

MyHRSupportCenter Provides Alerts, Best Practices, and HR Tools Every Day

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly, not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you haven’t yet signed up and would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

While many employers have implemented English-only workplace policies, employers need to apply their rules appropriately in ways that avoid unfair discrimination claims.

Tennessee has enacted a new state law authorizing employers to impose an English-only workplace policy as long as it’s justified by a legitimate business purpose. The statute says that such a policy is not discriminatory under Tennessee law. Federal courts and the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have found such policies to be unlawfully discriminatory on the federal level. There are some situations in which the EEOC has said that business necessity justifies an English-only policy.

To learn more about these situations, which businesses are impacted, and steps employers should take before implementing an English-only policy, be sure to listen to English Language in the Workplace in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter.

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly, not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you haven’t yet signed up and would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

Many businesses consider having an intern due to budgetary concerns in hiring an employee. However, an intern is not free labor. An internship must be a learning experience for the benefit of the intern and not the employer.

• Are interns entitled to benefits under federal law such as minimum wage, overtime pay, and a workplace free from discrimination?
• How does an employer determine if a legitimate employee relationship exists?
• What resources does the Department of Labor (DOL) provide to help employers make these determinations?

Get answers to these questions by listening to Employees vs. Interns in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter. You’ll also learn the six key criteria the DOL uses to help determine if an intern must be paid.

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly, not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you haven’t yet signed up and would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

In 2010, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased its budget, the size of its enforcement team, and the number of its enforcement actions, which all point to a big warning for businesses to make sure a proper safety and health program is in place to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses.

• Is your company on OSHA’s hit list?
• What is the impact of OSHA’s Site-Specific Targeting (SST) program?
• How has the level of enforcement changed under the Obama administration?

Get answers to these questions by listening to Responding to OSHA Recent Ramp-up in 3 Steps in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter. You’ll also learn three steps you can take right now to prepare for an OSHA inspection.

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly, not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

A job offer letter should try to contain the right combination of professionalism, optimism, information and, of course, relevant disclaimers. Court cases such as Williams v. Computer Resources, Inc., 851 P.2d 967 (Idaho 1993) show the importance of proper wording in a job offer letter. The date of a job offer letter can be very important as well. When writing a job offer letter, be sure to consider these five key elements:

1. At-Will Employment
2. No Annual Pay Rate
3. Job Offer Details Beyond Pay
4. Generalized Language
5. Professional Review

Get further details on each of these elements by listening to 5 Key Elements in a Job Offer Letter in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter. This information will help you the next time you write a job offer letter and guide you in deciding if you should send a job offer letter to all new hires.

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly, not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

Employers must constantly navigate a minefield of state and federal wage and hour laws. Effectively avoiding common employer pitfalls could save your business thousands of dollars every year. How do you determine which workers should be classified as independent contractors and which as employees? What is the difference between exempt and non-exempt? How should employers deal with employees who work without supervisory authorization?

You’ll learn the answers to these questions and much more, including the potential impact of the multi-agency Misclassification Initiative from the 10 Ways to Avoid Wage and Hour Pitfalls in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter. These tips include information on the impact of state laws on wage and hour pitfalls as well as additional valuable information.

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly, not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

Business owners should be proactive in confirming work eligibility before hiring a new employee. Compared to dealing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, internally addressing issues right up front is a lot easier. The Form I-9 is the form used to verify that an employee is eligible to work in the United States. Many employers have questions about the Form I-9. Is it better to prepare the Form I-9 before an employee starts work or after? Which sections should be completed and by whom? Can you request too much documentation? Should the completed I-9 Forms be kept in the personnel files?

You’ll learn the answers to these questions and much more from the Top Ten I-9 Tips in this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter. These tips include information on preparing, reviewing, and storing I-9 Forms as well as additional valuable information.

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.

Do you need to know the most important employment legislation, HR case laws, workplace trends, and major employee issues anticipated for 2010 and how they affect employers? In this month’s HRCast, a recording provided by our team of HR Pros and available exclusively on MyHRSupportCenter, you’ll learn more about these seven hot HR topics:

1. Employment Litigation
2. Social Networking
3. Expanded FMLA and Military Leave
4. Pandemic Illness Preparedness
5. ARRA COBRA Subsidies
6. Health Care Reform
7. Employee Free Choice Act

Visit MyHRSupportCenter regularly not only for our HRCasts, but also to get late-breaking compliance alerts, best practices to implement, and HR tools to use every day. If you’re not yet signed up or would like a free trial of MyHRSupportCenter, contact Vision Payroll today.