On January 20, 2016 the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2016 -1 on the subject of Joint Employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA). If you a) have never heard of the concept of joint employment and/or b) have no idea if or how it impacts your organization rest assured you are not alone.

As an HR Consultant, I have worked in a number of organizations varying in size, industry, structure, mission and culture. While each organization may be unique, every organization I have worked with has one thing in common – the problem employee. The problem employee can show up in a variety of forms and it isn’t always immediately clear that a small underlying problem has a larger impact to your organization. This article will help you understand some of the ways in which a “problem” may exist in your organization. In each of these scenarios the employee I am describing may bring a unique background or skill set that is incredibly valuable to your organization; however, the problems they bring may offset the value you were hoping to receive when you hired the employee.

SCA Compliance FAQ's Much like the word “union”, the term “SCA” can make almost any HR professional shudder from compliance fear. Over the years in my experience in HR consulting, this fear is typically derived from a lack of understanding the regulations contained within the Service Contract Act also known as the Service Contract Labor Standards. Below we will break down the basics of the regulations so you can then begin to formulate a plan on how you will apply this information to your SCA contracts.

Wait a minute… aren’t HR professionals typically writing about how important employee recognition is within an organization? If you are a little thrown off by the title, let me ease your mind, this blog will, in fact, reiterate how employee recognition plays a vital role in employee engagement and retention. The problem with employee recognition is that many organizations are making significant attempts to recognize employee achievements, but they’re not quite hitting the mark to make it meaningful. Just providing a reward is not enough for employees. As organizations review or implement employee recognition programs, we sometimes forget to look at the impact these programs have on an employee’s feeling of success and value within the organization. Below are three common missteps that organizations make when administering an employee recognition program.

Employment law, along with ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations, are two significant aspects of managing a workforce. They are both also convoluted and can cause an organization a lot of headache if not approached appropriately. Not only are Federal regulations complex and constantly evolving, it’s important to consider that various states have laws that are specific to the workforce in that state. If your organization holds contracts with the federal government there are several additional regulations that need to be monitored. As a leader of an organization, it’s important to have the right team on your side.

"In your opinion, what does the HR department do?” Is one of the first questions we ask during stakeholder interviews when conducting HR audits. Business leaders come to Helios HR for a variety of reasons: when they are establishing HR for the first time, believe they may need a change in their HR department, or after they've experienced rapid growth. With HR audits, we look at the effectiveness of the HR department including best practices and compliance.