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Miss Utah and the Equal Pay Act

by Boyd Byers She didn’t win the crown, but Miss Utah, Marissa Powell, made the most news during the Miss USA pageant this summer. Her bungled response to a question about the gender pay gap went viral and was seen by millions on the Internet. But her response also generated serious discussion about equal pay.  […]

Disability developments: the shape of things to come?

by Christopher J. Pyles Employers often face difficult challenges when they’re called on to determine if employees are “disabled,” especially when considering characteristics like height and weight.  It’s up to you Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a person is considered “disabled” if he has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one […]

DOMA is unconstitutional, but many questions left unanswered

Over the summer, the Supreme Court decided in the landmark case of United States vs. Windsor that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional, which now paves the way for same-sex couples to potentially enjoy many federal benefits that they weren't entitled to before. Let's take a closer look at DOMA, what the ruling did, and what questions remain.

New Business Bumper Sticker: I ♥ My Millennials

We’ve written a lot in past Advisors about Millennials and their supposed challenging generational characteristics. However, I have to say I love my Millennial colleagues; they’re hardworking, earnest, productive, dependable, capable, and cooperative. The Enthusiastic Employee Debunks Generational Characteristics   And that’s not just my opinion. In their recently published second edition of The Enthusiastic […]

Post Furlough Tips for Employers: Be Prepared for FLSA Enforcement to Resume

The federal government resumed operations this week. As the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division gets up and running, operations to enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act are likely to resume quickly. Smart employers should brush up on DOL enforcement basics so they’re prepared. DOL is authorized by the FLSA to investigate and […]

Comprehensive Training Builds a Business

The Seymour, Connecticut-based company has four dealer networks that provide services in waterproofing, crawl space repair, foundation structural repair, and basement finishing. “It’s a dealer network, not a franchise. We actually operate on a handshake,” says Larry Janesky, president of Basement Systems (www.basementsystems.com). The company makes money when dealers sell Basement Systems products, so “we’re […]

Parks and relationships

As an avid Parks and Recreation fan, I cannot help but love the chemistry between newlyweds Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt. Long before they were joining their dysfunctional families via a wedding with a punch heard round the world and a unity quilt (complete with a patch dedicated to waffles, of course), these two were […]

New Business Bumper Sticker: I ♥ My Millennials

The Enthusiastic Employee Debunks Generational Characteristics And that’s not just my opinion. In their recently published second edition of The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want (The Enthusiastic Employee), David Sirota and Douglas Klein debunk the popular generational differences theories.   They say that descriptions of the various generations in […]

Getting management right: What’s HR’s role?

Few would argue that managers play a large role in attracting the best employees and keeping them engaged and productive. An effective manager keeps the team strong. The trick is learning how to improve managers and figuring out whether, or even if, the human resources department has any control over manager effectiveness.  Pete Smith, a […]