The holidays are swiftly approaching. Employees are beginning to embrace the magic of the season and employers are preparing for the annual holiday party. While the proper do’s and don’ts surrounding holiday parties may seem obvious to some, Creative Business Solutions would like to take a moment to remind employers about the potential liability surrounding company holiday parties, and provide some appropriate suggestions to help your company avoid any problems from these special holiday celebrations.
First, attendance at holiday parties should be voluntary for both practical and legal reasons. From a practical perspective, some employees may simply not want to attend for a host of reasons. From a legal perspective, making attendance voluntary helps protect employers from potential wage claims or worker’s compensation claims.
In honor of Veteran's Day, I want to thank all who have or who are currently serving in our military. Recently, I had the opportunity for my first visit to Washington, D.C. Of course, high on my list of things to see and experience had to do with the brave men and women in the armed forces who have served our country. The four pictures below represent sites I was able to see and pay my respects: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; Korean War Memorial ("Freedom is Not Free"); World War II Memorial (Harry Truman's quote); and the Vietnam War Memorial (over 58,000 names are listed...it is an overwhelming experience to see.)
If you are an employer, the law is very clear on protection for those who served - or serve - and work for you. For your convenience, I am including the link of the details in this article:
https://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/USERRA_Private.pdf
Thank you again for serving. I am very grateful that the life I live is because of your service.
On March 18, 2015, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued Memorandum GC 15-04, offering guidance for drafting employee handbook rules so they won’t be deemed unlawful by the NLRB.
This Memorandum is relevant to nearly all private employers – especially to unrepresented (non-union) employees who comprise a large majority of the nation’s workforce – because the NLRB is aggressively policing employee handbooks and other employer policies which it believes has a “chilling effect” on employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). In fact, the mere maintenance of a work rule – even in the absence of enforcement – may violate the NLRA.
Robert A. Shively, CAE, CFRE
Executive Director
Kansas Masonic Foundation
"When I joined the Kansas Masonic Foundation as their Executive Director four years ago I knew that as a small organization I needed professional human resources advice from an outside advisor.
Being an organization of only five staff members, it was impossible to provide the level of ongoing consultation needed internally.
I interviewed a number of agencies and immediately realized when I interviewed HR Partners that the talent and expertise they had on staff would be a perfect team for our organization. I especially appreciated the 'legal' help and advice they could provide as well. I am thoroughly satisfied with our partnership and am confident it will last for many years to come!"