Brake Safety
DID YOU KNOW… An unannounced brake inspection event in April placed nearly 1,600 commercial vehicles out of service for brake violations. Over 11,500 roadside inspections were conducted across 52 jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada during the April 25, 2018, event conducted by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA). Last year, the one-day inspection event, […]
Construction Contract Clauses: Late Completion Liquidated Damages and Incentives for Early Completion
By: Scott Cahalan and Darren Rowles, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP This article examines liquidated damages clauses, clauses providing incentives for early completion, and the commonly held misconception that a construction contract that includes a liquidated damages clause must also include an incentive for early completion. As explained below, these clauses are independent and, as […]
Increasing OSHA fines: the importance of meeting and maintaining compliance
OSHA fines increased 78% from 2015 to 2016, AND will continue to increase each year based on the rate of inflation. This dramatic increase further elevates the importance to meet and maintain OSHA compliance. This impact your company’s bottom line SIGNIFICANTLY! To help quantify this impact, what amount of new sales does your company need […]
Be Prepared For Hurricane Season
Hurricane season is here. As Hurricane Florence approaches, now is a good time to consider how prepared you are for the season. Use the guide below to learn how to be prepared, stocked up with critical needs items and ready for recovery. As always, if we can help give us a call or send us […]
Selling Safety: A Path to Driving Profit
Management has the most control over safety. Posters do not sell safety. It requires a steady commitment from management, so that is the first place to start. Just ask a worker where they think safety ranks in the company. Encourage open-minded dialogue. Various studies have shown that for every $1 invested in safety, the return […]
Worker’s Compensation: Risk Management for Independent Contractors
Significant exposure arises when an Independent Contractor is uninsured and their injured workers become the responsibility of the hiring employer. This high risk exposure can be mitigated with these practices: The hiring employer can require all ICs to sign a contract that includes insurance requirements. The hiring employer should have a dedicated employee responsible for […]
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 […]