Slip and Fall Workmans Comp – Tips for Risk Management for Restaurant Business Owners Slip and Fall Workmans comp insurance covers the slips and falls, as well as occasional accidents, but accounts for one the fastest growing labor costs. Premiums for workmans comp have risen 50 percent nationwide in the last three years - the fastest pace in a decade, according to the New York City-based Insurance Information Institute.   Due to food handling and preparation, restaurants have to comply with more regulations and compliance issues than ninety percent of the general business population.   Today workplace health and safety is more crucial than ever before to a small business’s long-term success. Dealing with the unexpected, the Swine Flu scare, along with constant recession-driven layoffs, is driving the cost of workers’ compensation premiums.   Workmans Comp accidents cost money such as direct costs: Medical expenses Compensation expenses There are indirect costs as w ...

Please be advised that the recent Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to require that employers provide employees with the ability to take unpaid breaks for a "reasonable" amount of time for the purpose of expressing milk for nursing infants up to one year old.  In addition, employers are now required to provide a private area for this purpose that is shielded from and free from intrusion by coworkers (bathrooms are not permissible).  Employers with less than 50 employees are excluded from the new requirements if they can demonstrate that compliance would create an undue hardship by causing significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the employer’s size, financial resources, nature or physical structure.  Importantly, employees who are exempt under Section 213 of the FLSA are not entitled to these breaks (this includes employees who qualify for the executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, or computer ...

Our office and all banks will be closed Monday, May 31, 2010 in observance of Memorial Day.  As a result, our processing schedule for this holiday will be as follows:     May 27, 2010         Payrolls reported on this day will be available for delivery on May 28, 2010     May 28, 2010         Payrolls reported on this day will be available for delivery on June 1, 2010 If you use our Direct Deposit service, you may need to change your payroll appointment if any of the following apply:     You normally would report your payroll on:         • May 27, with a May 31, check date         • May 28, with a June 1, check date         • May 31, with a June 2, check date         Reminder:    The earliest day funds can be available to your employees is the ...

Introduction to pay deductions covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes, among other things, federal standards for minimum wages and overtime pay that employers are required to follow. Unless a specific minimum wage and overtime exemption applies, employees must be paid at least the applicable minimum wage for each hour worked and overtime for any hours in excess of 40 hours worked in the workweek. Employees who do not qualify for an exemption are commonly referred to as "nonexempt employees" and those employees who do qualify are referred to as "exempt employees." Risks The issue of improper deductions applies to all employees, both nonexempt and exempt. An improper deduction from either is a violation of the FLSA law and such violations can result in investigations by the United States Department of Labor (DOL) and/or expensive and time-consuming litigation. As an employer considering taking deductions from any employee's wages ...

Pay Deductions Quiz: Uniforms for a minimum wage employee. You hire a minimum wage employee to work as a cashier at your auto parts store. The employee signs an agreement to have $20.00 deducted from her first check to cover the cost of a uniform. You then, as agreed upon, deduct $20.00 from the employee's first check to cover the cost of the uniform. Have you violated any Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requirements? Here, you have violated the FLSA's requirement that a nonexempt employee be paid the minimum wage for each hour worked. It makes no difference that the employee agreed to the deduction. Because the employee is a minimum wage employee, there was nothing that could legally be deducted from the employee's wage to cover the cost of the uniform. Any deduction puts the employee below the minimum wage level. Modern Business Associates frequently deals with payroll issues. As a Professional Employee Organization, our clients rely on us to help them effectively deal with these kind ...

Our St. Petersburg/Tampa, Florida HR company can help you in five key areas. As a business owner in St. Petersburg, FL, you should know that companies that outsource their HR needs to an HR company are now doing it for many more reasons than just cost savings. Companies are now using their HR outsources to increase workforce performance, too. Check that your HR company is acting as a strategic back office by using their experience, HR processes, and software to support these five key areas: Payroll Administration Employee Benefits Support Risk Control and Workers' Compensation Insurance Business Insurance Management Human Resources Consulting A comprehensive assessment of your current business practices can outline the areas that would best serve your company's human resources outsourcing needs. Please feel free to review the summary of HR services we offer at Modern Business Associates to help brainstorm your needs when looking for an HR company in St. Petersburg, ...

Note these legal age issues when planning to layoff employees. The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) provides additional protection to employees covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The OWBPA affects downsizing employers in two ways. First, the OWBPA places strict requirements on an employee's release of an ADEA claim. Requirements include:   It requires such a release to be in writing as part of the information given to the employee during the layoff. Employees must be able to easily understand the release. (the "knowing and voluntary requirement"). The employee must be advised to consult with an attorney after the day of the layoff. Employees must be given a 21-day consideration period to evaluate the release The employee must be given a seven-day revocation period after signature. Second, the OWBPA includes potentially dangerous conditions for group layoffs. If an employer offers severance and an associated release to ...

Pay Deductions Quiz: Hourly employee drops the computer! Can you get them to pay up? Your new hourly front desk staff employee is paid $1.00 per hour in excess of the required minimum wage and works 40 hours in the workweek. The employee drops his laptop and breaks a piece off. Your existing policies require employee responsibility, so you deduct $50.00 from the employee's weekly paycheck. Have you violated any Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requirements? Yes. Under the FLSA, the employer could theoretically deduct up to $40.00 to cover some of the loss because the employee has earned $40.00 in excess of the required minimum wage during the workweek. However, once the employer has deducted any earnings in excess of the minimum wage, no further deduction can be made without violating the FLSA. Modern Business Associates frequently deals with payroll issues. As a Professional Employee Organization, our clients rely on us to help them effectively deal with these kinds of topics includi ...

HR Outsourcing in Florida. HRO Options As a business executive in Florida, outsourcing your HR department may be one of your biggest decisions this year. One aspect to evaluating outsource candidate companies is their location. If your company is in Florida, wouldn’t you like the increased trust factor in knowing your HR outsource is also in Florida and intimate with issues specific to your state? MBA has been a shining star in Florida area over the last ten years. You should know that we’ve received multiple awards drawing praise for the services and support we provide our clients. As your fellow Florida HRO, we have unique aspects to our services to better serve your company: Better understanding of your own employees and how to take action required based on issues specific to Florida. (like, “How should the housing market affect my recruiting efforts and relocation packages?” Or “How do I handle a multilingual job candidate that is still working on their citizenship?”) More perso ...

Layoff Damage Control Focus: Employee Morale Lowered employee morale is an unwanted (and often unavoidable) consequence of a mass layoff. Retained employees can feel various emotions, including:   Loss or guilt over colleagues who were laid off Insecurity about their future with the company Increased stress due to a heavier workload To maintain employee moral and loyalty, you must reaffirm the remaining employees' value to the company, and refocus them on company objectives and goals (using incentives if possible). Immediately after a layoff, you should facilitate a company-or department-wide meeting to discuss the layoffs and provide a forum for employees to ask questions and air concerns. Thereafter, you should hold periodic meetings to maintain this dialogue with employees and follow up on the company's direction and achievement. Being honest and inspiring confidence in the company's future will help preserve employees' allegiance. Modern Business Associate ...