SmallBiz Brainiac

SmallBiz Brainiac episodes:

• 08.22.2017

  150: Thank You and Goodbye

  It’s time to turn my attention toward executing the business plan I’ve been working on for the past 12 months. Hey everybody, welcome to the FINAL episode of SmallBiz Brainiac! Yes… I’m ending this podcast. That’s hard for me to...

  
• 08.17.2017

  149: Managers or HR, Who Should Handle Hiring and Firing?

  Empower your Managers to make their own hiring and firing decisions.  Who in your organization should be responsible for recruiting, interviewing and hiring candidates? Who should be responsible for carrying out the unenviable task of letting employees go, regardless of...

  
• 08.15.2017

  148: Should I Buy EPLI?

  It doesn’t matter if you are guilty or not, an employment discrimination claim is going to cost you. EPLI stands for Employment Practices Liability Insurance. The free report available on our website, smallbizbrainiac.com, called “8 Steps to Lowering Your Employer Liability”,...

  
• 08.10.2017

  147: Understanding Total Compensation

  Total compensation statements show employees how much you’re actually investing in them. Today I want to talk to you about your employees total compensation. No, total compensation is not simply the employees annual salary. It is more than that. It...

  
• 08.08.2017

  146: Minimum Wage Madness in Minneapolis

  The city of Minneapolis has bought into the voodoo economic theory that they can regulate the labor market and bend it to their will. Even if you don’t have employees in Minneapolis, you need to stay on top of all...

  
• 08.03.2017

  145: Challenges With Remote Employees

  A Big challenge with remote employees is communication. Some managers fall victim to the “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome. Having remote employees away from your main or corporate office is nothing new. With today’s technology however, it has...

  
• 08.01.2017

  144: How HR Should Prepare For A Recession – Part 4

  Nine million people lost their jobs in the Great Recession, and over 150,000 businesses shutdown.  Create a plan for dealing with it before it happens again. I’ve spent 3 episodes teaching you what a recession is and what economic indicators you...

  
• 07.27.2017

  143: Be Serious About HR

  If you don’t take HR seriously, no one else in your company will either. I know you are serious about your business. You’re serious about the work that you do to service your clients. Are you carrying this seriousness over...

  
• 07.25.2017

  142: How HR Should Prepare For A Recession – Part 3

  Yahoo Finance reported in 2016 that 93% of the entire stock market move since 2008 was caused by Federal Reserve policy. In parts 1 and 2 we learned that a recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the...

  
• 07.20.2017

  141: Form I-9 Revisions

  Even though Form I-9 revisions seem insignificant, failure to comply can result in fines. Today we’re going to focus on some changes that have recently been made to the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 by the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services....

  
• 07.18.2017

  140: How HR Should Prepare For A Recession – Part 2

  The Federal Reserve has injected over $4.5 trillion into the economy to speed up the recovery from the Great Recession of 2008. In Part 1 we learned a recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting...

  
• 07.13.2017

  139: Employee Name Changes

  Updating employee name changes with the Social Security Administration is priority number one. Today we’re going to go over what is involved for your HR and payroll team when an employee decides to change their name. Why on earth would someone change...

  
• 07.11.2017

  138: How HR Should Prepare For A Recession – Part 1

  A recession is defined as a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months. Were you in the workforce back in 2008? Chances are you were. Do you remember the impact the “Great Recession” had...

  
• 07.06.2017

  137: Recreational Marijuana Legalization

  How do I maintain a safe work environment now that recreational marijuana is legal in my state? Legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes is trending upward with more and more states opting to legalize the drug even though marijuana is...

  
• 07.05.2017

  136: Apprenticeship vs Internship

  “Furthermore, many colleges and universities fail to help students graduate with the skills necessary to secure high paying jobs in today’s workforce.”  Are you confused about the differences between an apprenticeship and an internship? An apprenticeship is an on-the-job training...

  
• 06.29.2017

  135: Social Media Screening for Employment

  The number of employers using social media to screen candidates is at an all-time high. Today I wanted to go over a type of pre-employment screening that is becoming increasingly more popular as time goes on. Pre-employment screenings, or background...

  
• 06.27.2017

  134: OSHA Claim Reporting Retaliation & Post Accident Drug Testing Rules – Part 2

  OSHA says a post accident drug testing policy which deters and discourages employees from reporting a claim is illegal. In part 1, I introduced you to the 3 new provisions in OSHA’s recordkeeping rule that took effect on January 1, 2017. On this...

  
• 06.22.2017

  133: New York City’s Fair Work Week

  Penalties for violating the Fair Work Week law range from $500 to $2,500 per occurrence depending on severity. Back in 2016, Seattle passed their Secure Scheduling Law. This law actually takes effect on July 1, 2017. You can hear more...

  
• 06.20.2017

  132: OSHA Claim Reporting Retaliation & Post Accident Drug Testing Rules – Part 1

  OSHA calls this new power an “important new tool” to ensure employers maintain accurate records. Effective January 1, 2017, OSHA’s new Recordkeeping rule took effect. There are two main parts to the new rule. I told you about the Recording...

  
• 06.15.2017

  131: Certified Payroll – The Davis Bacon Act

  Davis Bacon Act – Just another stupid federal law with major unintended consequences like pricing out smaller contractors and taxpayers overpaying for services.  Today I wanted to discuss certified payroll and how it differs from your normal everyday payroll practices....

  
• 06.13.2017

  130: Adios Obama Era Joint-Employer Definition!

  There are over 10 million employees working in positions that involve two or more companies, so the re-defining the term joint-employer is a major deal. I’m super excited to bring you today’s episode because we had a win. How Laws Are...

  
• 06.08.2017

  129: ICE’s IMAGE Certification Program

  The certification focuses on employers that have the ability to effect change in their industry or region. Undocumented Immigrants: Undocumented immigrants gaining employment in the United States has been a headache for the U.S. government for decades. In 1986 the...

  
• 06.06.2017

  128: Puerto Rico Labor Laws – Part 3

  Puerto Rico’s year end “Christmas” bonus and paid breaks for nursing mothers. In episode 124 and 126 we we covered several of Puerto Rico’s labor laws including the employment contract, the probationary period, just cause terminations, mandatory severance pay, minimum wage,...

  
• 06.01.2017

  127: More Paid Sick Leave Laws

  Mandatory paid sick leave comes at the expense of paid vacation time or other wages. Last week I discussed the Washington D.C. Paid Leave Law with you. Today I wanted to continue on with the mandatory paid leave topic as...

  
• 05.30.2017

  126: Puerto Rico Labor Laws – Part 2

  Under Puerto Rico labor laws it’s illegal for you to terminate a grandfathered employee so you can benefit from the lower vacation accrual rates and higher qualification standards. In episode 124, part 1, we learned about the employment contract, the probationary...

  
• 05.25.2017

  125: DC Paid Leave Law

  Employers will fund the paid leave program through a payroll tax on all Washington D.C. wages. We’ve talked about mandatory paid leave laws in a couple of past episodes as this seems to be a hot issue around the country...

  
• 05.23.2017

  124: Puerto Rico Labor Laws – Part 1

  Under Puerto Rico’s labor laws you may only terminate an employee for just cause, unless you terminate them during the statutory probation period. Although Puerto Rico is a U.S. Territory, and travel to and from the island does not require...

  
• 05.18.2017

  123: Three Personality Types Every Business Needs to Succeed

  Possessing only one or two of these personality types will leave you with an incomplete business. Today’s episode is inspired by the book The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. If you have not read this book yet I highly recommend it. Regardless...

  
• 05.16.2017

  122: Employee Severance Agreements

  You have to provide “consideration” in exchange for your employee’s waiver of their rights to sue. I was talking to a friend this weekend and she told me about a recent employee termination experience. Her employee didn’t show up for work...

  
• 05.11.2017

  121: Five Steps To Be A Better Leader

  In order to be a great leader you have to make some tough decisions. Hey everyone, welcome to episode 121, 5 Steps To Becoming a Better Leader. I’m your host, Robert Attridge and this is the podcast that delivers employer intelligence...

  
• 05.09.2017

  120: Common W-4 and I-9 Mistakes Employers Make

  Avoid these costly mistakes when completing forms W-4 and I-9. After you hire a new employee you have to get them setup in you HR and payroll system (or systems), before their first paycheck. This onboarding process requires the collection...

  
• 05.04.2017

  119: Who Handles Your Payroll?

  When hire your first employee you officially become a tax collector. Do you know who handles your payroll? Of course you know the name of the person or company that handles it, but how well do you really know them?...

  
• 05.02.2017

  118: Get Ready For Mandatory E-Verify

  If enacted, the bill would require all U.S. employers to participate in E-Verify within one year of enactment of this Act. Did you know that prior to 1986, employers were not required to verify an individuals employment eligibility status? The Immigration Reform...

  
• 04.27.2017

  117: Employer Wage Theft

  Several states have enacted wage theft prevention laws over the past few years. Wage theft can occur when employees are not paid according to existing wage and hour laws. There are many examples out there of wage theft by employers...

  
• 04.25.2017

  116: NY OT Exemption Rule Change and Other Updates

  New York increased their minimum salary requirement for the administrative employee overtime exemption, effective December 31, 2016. In this episode we’ll learn about a New York State Department of Labor rule change effecting all employers in the Empire state. I...

  
• 04.20.2017

  115: Are you a Talent Hoarder?

  As a talent hoarder, not only are you hurting your employee’s opportunity for growth, you may be harming the businesses’ future potential. Are you a hoarder? I’m not talking about one of those people who collects so much “stuff” that...

  
• 04.18.2017

  114: Occupational Heat Exposure

  In 2014 alone, 2,630 workers suffered from heat illness and 18 died. It’s almost summer and temperatures are on the rise. So, this is the perfect time to start planning to protect your employees from heat related illness and injury....

  
• 04.13.2017

  113: Employee Theft

  Reduce the likelihood of employee theft with improved hiring practices. While driving back from Vegas I was thinking about some possible topics for the show and I recalled a news article that I had tweeted out a week or so...

  
• 04.11.2017

  112: Unemployment Insurance Benefit Qualification Rule Change

  An important unemployment insurance rule change on March 31, 2017. On episode 109, Robert Attridge taught us some basic aspects of the state unemployment insurance system and how you can manage your cost. I’m going to say UI for unemployment insurance, going forward....

  
• 04.06.2017

  111: Reciprocity and Multi-State Taxation

  States generally have reciprocity agreements with neighboring states…but not New York. Many businesses have, or will have at some point in their existence, a situation where one or more of their employees live in one state, but work in another...

  
• 04.04.2017

  110: How To Interview Like A Pro – Part 3

  If I was the candidate and had a few interviews lined up, and one of them sent me a pre interview guide, I would look at that employer a lot more favorably. In part 1, on episode 107, we learned...

  
• 03.30.2017

  109: Unemployment Insurance

  Far too often employers just ignore unemployment insurance claims and don’t provide a response to the agent handling the case. Today I wanted to talk about managing unemployment insurance claims and how this often overlooked aspect of your business can cost...

  
• 03.28.2017

  108: How To Interview Like A Pro – Part 2

  Asking the right interview questions will dramatically improve the effectiveness and you’ll look like a pro! In the last episode we learned about the preparation phase of the interview and on this episode we’ll learn about coming up with the interview...

  
• 03.23.2017

  107: How To Interview Like A Pro – Part 1

  Prepare so you don’t screw up the interview and scare away a great employee. Practice makes perfect, right? So how are you supposed to become an expert interviewer? It’s not like you’re hiring someone every day, or week, or even month...

  
• 03.21.2017

  106: The Equal Pay Train Arrives In Puerto Rico After Brief Stop In Philadelphia

  A new breed of state equal pay laws have been passed, and now Puerto Rico has joined the likes of California, New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts. Labor Transformation & Flexibility Act: The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico passed a major labor...

  
• 03.16.2017

  105: Tip Credit & FICA Tip Credit

  Seven states do not allow for a tip credit. If you are in the restaurant or hospitality industries, or one of the many other service industries out there then you are well aware that a portion of your employees pay...

  
• 03.14.2017

  104: Telemedicine

  Telemedicine services are changing the way healthcare is delivered…. and that’s a good thing! In episode 97, Kris Hansberger mentioned telemedicine as a way to improve your group health plan. She also shared a valuable tip on how to use telemedicine...

  
• 03.13.2017

  103: Out With The New In With The Old

  Back to two shows a week every Tuesday and Thursday – by popular demand! I want to thank everyone who participated in the survey and provided their valuable opinion on the show. We had surprising results. The response was amazing! And the...

  
• 03.07.2017

  102: Mandatory Paid Sick Leave

  Politicians can’t simply pass new laws and create prosperity, higher wages or better benefits. Mandatory sick leave is sweeping the nation. Currently there is no federal law requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave for their employees….unless you work...

  
• 02.27.2017

  101: Win $100 Amazon Gift Card and Dotcom Secrets

  We need your feedback!  We’d like you to take a quick survey. It will only take you a few minutes. Today’s episode is special. It’s just me today. There’s no Robert, and no panel expert. Instead, we want to tell you how...