How to Hire a Minor

by Laura Pokrzywa If you are an employer planning to hire a teenager, you need to be careful to comply with federal and state child labor laws. These laws set forth specific guidelines for the hiring process, the working conditions, and the hours an underage employee may work. It is more than just putting up […]

Who are Generations X, Y, and Z and Why Should Employers Care?

by Nancy Owen, PHR Most dictionaries define a generation as “a group of people born and living around the same time as each other”. Not surprisingly, people of the same generation often have similar characteristics and values. Interestingly enough, one generation can be very different from another. Of the six generations currently living, three are […]

Are Annual Performance Reviews Becoming a Thing of the Past?

by Nancy Owen, PHR Somewhere around the middle of 2015, many large companies decided they would stop conducting annual performance reviews. These companies included Adobe, Google, Deloitte, Accenture, GE, and Red Hat; just to name a few. This change in the mindset of large employers had many other companies following suit and doing away with […]

Reference Checks: A Key Component of Your Hiring Process

by Nancy Owen, PHR  There is no doubt that the interview is the most valuable piece in a hiring process, but reference checks can be a close second for many reasons. Isn’t the main goal of an interview process to confirm the person’s skills, knowledge and abilities? And what about internal reference checks? Do you […]

PPE: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

PPE: One Size Doesn’t Fit All Personal protective equipment (PPE) can be an effective way to prevent injuries to your employees, but only if it’s the right PPE for the job and the right PPE for the worker. Not sure if you’re getting the PPE strategy right at your organization? Here are three problems to […]

Storage Hacks to Save Your Back

Storage Hacks to Save Your Back “While managers look for better ways and new tools for material handling, we usually rely on the tried-and-true,” says Engineering Services Manager Sandy Smith. “Protecting workers’ backs as they manage materials in storage and in work areas involves focusing on the basics.” For example, designing your storage and material […]

A Guide for Mold Prevention

A Guide for Mold Prevention Your building is one of your biggest assets, but it can easily be the last thing on your mind when you think of loss control. Preventing mold growth in your buildings takes just one action: eliminating moisture. Easier said than done, of course, says Industrial Hygenist Steven Shaffer. But controlling […]

Silica citations hit 116 in 6 months

Silica citations hit 116 in 6 months Brief: As of April 17, OSHA and state safety agencies have issued 116 violation citations under OSHA’s new silica safety rule, Bloomberg BNA reported. The regulation went into effect Sept. 23, but OSHA began full enforcement Oct. 23. The most frequently mentioned violation involved contractors allegedly failing to […]

Drivers Gone Missing

Where are they?  Many of our clients we work with can’t seem to find or retain qualified drivers.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor it is estimated that the industry is short 50,000 drivers and the American Transportation Research Institute stated 56% of truck drivers are over the age of 45 with a gap […]

Opioids: How Are They Affecting Your Workplace?

Opioids: How Are They Affecting Your Workplace? We hear a lot about the opioid epidemic in our country, that is, the use and abuse of pain medications including oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine and fentanyl. These medications were nearly unheard of just a few years ago, but now they appear in the news almost daily. Unfortunately, when […]