Compliance for HR, HR Management, HR Strategy

HR Compliance – It’s Time for a Check Up

If your fiscal year is calendar based, your organization is likely starting off this year planning your financial audit. Financial audits provide an independent verification of a company’s financial statements, ensuring they accurately reflect the company’s financial position. The audit process often highlights areas where internal controls can be strengthened, leading to better risk management …

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Compliance for HR, Employee Relations, HR Management, HR Outsourcing, HR Strategy

Outsource HR or Hire a Full HR Team? How about Yes to both?

There are several reasons a company might choose to outsource its HR function. Most often, clients come to HR Affiliates either when they’ve reached an employee headcount that they believe warrants more diligence, or they have a pain or struggle that they need help with right away. Regardless of the reason for the initial call, …

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Compliance for HR, Training

The Importance of I-9 Accuracy, or How One Form Can Tear Down an Empire

We recently sent out an HR update regarding the new I-9 form that came into effect on 11/01/23. Several of our HR friends reached out to thank us for the update – it’s one of those things that is easy to overlook because, quite frankly, no one likes doing them. I-9 forms, while bound by …

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Compliance for HR, HR Management

HOW SPIRITED SHOULD YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY BE?

IS IT OK TO ALLOW EMPLOYEES TO DRINK ALCOHOL AT WORK? Your company probably isn’t much like Sterling Cooper, the advertising agency from Mad Men. However, in 2023, you should have something Sterling Cooper didn’t: a clear policy about drinking alcohol at work. Sure, the days of the three-martini lunch are largely gone, but if you …

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Compliance for HR, HR Management, Training

Compliance and Training – Both are part of the Great Employee Experience

At the start of the year, most organizations, and certainly HR departments, start looking at the calendar for the full year. What must be done, and by when? Who’s going to do it and how much is it going to cost? Maintaining HR compliance and budgeting/scheduling for employee training takes up a big part of …

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Compliance for HR, Employee Relations, HR Management

Summer Temperatures (and OSHA Inspections) are Heating Up

Summer is here and in full swing and temperatures are hitting highs across the US. It is important to revisit the risks of working in the heat with your employees, whether it is something they do every day or just on occasion. And it’s not just the outside temperatures that are turning up the heat …

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Compliance for HR, Employee Relations, HR Management

Amber Heard vs Johnny Depp — just office gossip or does it matter to HR?

Nearly everyone by now is at last peripherally aware of the high-profile legal action that took place for actor Johnny Depp, whether you followed the trial, saw snippets of videos on TikTok, or just caught glimpses of a few memes. It centered around a heavy topic, but the trial itself generated more than a few …

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Breaking News, Compliance for HR, HR Updates

Supreme Court Rules – Blocked Biden Vaccine Mandate; Healthcare Workers Must Be Vaccinated

On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the vaccine mandate introduced by President Joe Biden that would have required employers with more than 100 employees to require all employees be vaccinated or wear masks and be tested weekly. The mandate, promulgated by the federal workplace safety agency, OSHA, would have impacted more …

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Compliance for HR, HR Updates

OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards & Vaccine Mandate Update

On Friday, December 17th, 2021, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Kentucky, lifted the injunction blocking OSHA’s COVID-19 vaccination Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) in the case of BST Holdings, LLC et al v. OSHA, et al, No. 21-4080 (6th Cir. Dec. 17, 2021).   The ETS mandate would require all private businesses with …

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Compliance for HR, HR Updates

OSHA Suspends Implementation and Enforcement of COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Mandate

On Nov. 16, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) suspended its implementation and enforcement activities of the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard it published on Nov. 5, 2021. The agency posted a brief statement on its webpage stating:  “While OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities …

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