You’ve reached a point where you’re ready to tear your hair out. You’re pulled in 17 different directions and, try as you might, you haven’t found a way to manufacture the 28-hour day. Much as it’s daunting, you’re staring down an inescapable fact: In order to grow your business, you . . . need . […]
{ 6 comments }
Like this is news? But it seems that some employees just don’t get it (no pun intended). A recent 2nd Circuit case, Patane v. Clark and Fordham University, held that even viewing porn in one’s office (a somewhat private place) is a no-no. In Patane, Professor Clark watched hard-core S/M tapes on the VCR in his […]
{ 5 comments }
If you haven’t figured it out by now, you’ll learn that there’s no way a busy small business owner can accomplish everything you need to in a given day. So you have two choices: leave things unfinished, or expand your capacity by developing a team. But creating a team–one that works effectively–is both art and […]
{ 0 comments }
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” said my colleague, Joe Harris, Esq. of White Harris PLLC. “That’s what small businesses need to understand about interns.” Joe reaches for the check (“Ironic,” I think, “… seems I am getting a free lunch!”) as we chat about the trends and challenges we’re seeing for small […]
{ 0 comments }
Because “one size does not fit all.” And because “you get what you pay for.” In “a whopper of a sexual harrassment claim” (thanks to blog author Jon Hyman for the turn of phrase I couldn’t resist), the case of EEOC v. V & J Foods, Inc., a Burger King franchise had an employee manual that […]
{ 7 comments }
Well, employees are people, too. And they may have some of your company equipment at home (laptop, cell phone, etc.).If they damage the equipment, do they have to pay for it? Can you dock their paycheck? The answer, generally, is no. Many states prohibit companies from making deductions from an employee’s paycheck, other than those required […]
{ 0 comments }
Those who are NCIS fans may recognize the line from the episode “Driven,” where an AI-operated car supposedly kills one of its inventors. The criminal shenanigans are only tangential to why I mention the issue. The episode opens with the NCIS team sitting through sexual harassment awareness training. Like a lovingly dysfunctional family, the team […]
{ 2 comments }
Talking to an underperforming employee ranks right up there with telling a boyfriend he’s not pulling his weight in a relationship. Blecch. Not something you really look forward to. But if you don’t nip the situation in the bud early, it will fester until it reaches ugly proportions. You need to handle the situation directly, […]
{ 0 comments }
As if there weren’t enough issues to put into our employee manuals, the internet and Web 2.0 have made them proliferate.Each time there’s a new technology, lawyers have to evaluate: “Is it covered under our current policies?” And, not being the one to say “sure!”–and be wrong –voila! A new policy is born. The latest […]
{ 0 comments }
In tough economic times, it’s tempting to look at payroll and ask, “Who can we cut?” It’s like looking in the mirror, realizing that you’re overweight and immediately choosing liposuction as a fat-reduction measure. There are alternatives to drastically cutting your work force–especially as these are the very people you will need to rebound when […]
{ 2 comments }
Taking on a business partner is not a decision to be made lightly. It’s much like getting married. With the tools provided to you in The Entrepreneur’s Prenup you will always have the partnership guidance you need, regardless of where you are in your partnership process.