New Overtime Changes on Hold… For Now Less than two weeks before the Department of Labor's controversial new federal overtime rule was scheduled to take effect, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the Department of Labor from implementing the new rule.

Around the holidays, employers can run into a few bumps when planning a company holiday party. What might count as a fun time for some might be considered exclusionary or even offensive for others. How can you plan an office party where everyone feels equally welcome?

During the first year of marriage, my wife and I decided to make a gratitude jar; well more accurately, my wife decided that we would make a gratitude jar. For those of you like me, that had never heard of this, it is a simple concept. Every time something good happened in our lives, personally or in business, alone, as a couple, or with friends, we were to write a little note and drop it in the jar. You cannot read any of the notes until the end of the year and if desired can open and read as part of your New Year’s celebration. When she first proposed this idea, I looked at the newly purchased decorative, chalk painted jar, looked at the excited expression on her face, and said, “Well, that sounds like a GREAT idea.” All the while in my mind thinking, “you just wanted to buy a fancy jar from Pier 1, and have somehow turned this into a project for me!” As it turned out though, as with most things in life that I begrudgingly try, I learned so much more than I imagined I would from the fancy jar on the dresser.

One of the biggest concerns my clients have when we begin working together is keeping their business out of trouble with the federal government. If this is of concern to you as well, I’m hopeful this article will help provide a bit of clarity for you as you navigate the muddy waters of federal contracting. I’ll be describing a process that I frequently go over with my clients to determine whether their organization is subject to additional regulatory requirements.

“Strategic HR”. It’s a buzzword in the HR industry that has been around for some time and I anticipate it will be around for a while longer. This concept of strategic HR is floated frequently and it’s quite possible that like many other business owners, you find yourself asking “what is strategic HR and how do I know if my business is ready for it?”

We all accept that good leadership requires a balanced, equilateral approach to our team members. Of course, we should never have a favorite employee; HOWEVER as human leaders, every one of us has had that one superstar team member that we rely on greatly and yes, even like a whole lot. It is not hard to prefer “Sally” as the employee who happily volunteers to fill in and rarely demonstrates even the slightest bit of stress. So while we would never have favorites, it is difficult to not favor Sally when her counterpart, Jimmy, is hiding the fact that Facebook is now his home page on the company laptop and that his longer and longer breaks are due to him hunting Pokemon in the back parking lot.