Episodes like today's are where our podcast gets its name. Maybe you just read the title of today's episode and you're thinking "Wait, what? That HR question makes no sense!" If so, welcome to the podcast! That feeling of confused annoyance that you're experiencing right now? Totally normal. Join Paul and CEDR Solution Center Advisor Grace Godlasky as they explain why the employee volunteers at your charitable event might not really be "volunteers", as far as the Department of Labor is concerned. We have lots of other WTHJH episodes you can listen to as well, and once you've listened to a few, concepts like this will just leave you smirking lightly in disbelief, like Jim from The Office.  

If you read the title and thought "Geez, is it Tuesday already? Okay Paul, make it make sense", then it's great to see you back! So yeah, even if your employee doesn't want to be paid for working at your charitable event, there's a whole 3-factor test that needs to be applied under the Fair Labor Standards Act to determine if it's even maybe okay to let them volunteer. This week's episode also has some pretty delicious-sounding food discussion in it though, and Grace is always a fun guest, so there's no time like the present to queue this episode up and buff your HR Nerd credentials.

In today's episode of What The Hell Just Happened?!, Paul Edwards sits down with Solution Center Advisor Kristen Hof to discuss running background checks on job candidates. When should you do them, who should you do them on, and should you give the applicant a heads-up before doing so? Stick around for the whole episode to hear about our general fondness for Aubrey Plaza (really, she's great!), unpaid internships (The Devil Wears Prada isn't a good template for doing them legally!) and listen to Paul's unfiltered thoughts on those Equifax settlement checks that we're all going to retire off of.

Points-based attendance policies… we get it. Sometimes, you want to immediately “punish” employees that are late or call out with no notice. So, you give them half a point or sometimes even a full point, letting them know that once they reach a certain amount, they’ve lost their job. That’ll teach them…! (Can you tell we’re kidding?) Paul Edwards sits down with Senior Solution Center Advisor Michelle Richard to discuss why these types of attendance systems are not a good idea, and how easy it can be to land yourself in hot water if you use one.

The urge for businesses that are customer-facing to have policies in place dictating the appearance of their staff is all too common. More easily than you may think, these policies can run the line of putting your business at risk, as there are several laws in place to protect appearance-related traits/qualities. Laws aside, you run the risk of losing top talent because of these policies, as job performance is not dependent on someone meeting a certain visual standard. Listen to this episode of “What the Hell Just Happened?!” to hear Paul Edwards sit down with CeCe Wilson to discuss the popular convenience store “Sheetz” and how their “perfect smile” policy wound them up in hot water on social media these past couple weeks.

We assume Tesla must have an HR department, but we're starting to suspect that the department just consists of one extremely haggard person constantly scrolling through Elon's Twitter feed and saying "No no no, not again..."

Join Paul Edwards and Solution Center Advisor Kristen Hof as they discuss Elon's latest HR no-no: Telling employees they cannot discuss their wages with each other. If your business has a policy (either written or unwritten) telling employees not to discuss their salary, learn why that's an exceptionally bad idea by listening to this week's episode of What The Hell Just Happened.

In this week’s episode of What The Hell Just Happened?! Paul Edwards sits down with CEDR Solution Center Specialist Jason Post to discuss one of the easiest tasks you can do to save yourself a ton of time throughout the year: setting up all your holidays and paid days off in advance and distributing that information to your team. Are you required to pay your employees for federal holidays? Why is this so important and how can it save you time? What do you do about holidays that happen over the weekends? Listen now to hear the answers to all of these questions and more to help ensure you have a clear and compliant year ahead.

In this week’s episode of What The Hell Just Happened?! Paul Edwards sits down with CEDR Human Resources Manager CeCe Wilson to discuss how Circle K handled pregnant employees coming back from leave and why they found themselves in a lawsuit where the EEOC required them to pay out 8 million dollars. Can you require your new mothers to be “fully healed” upon returning to work? If they’re not, what do you do? Listen to find out how to navigate this situation in a safe and legally compliant way.

In 2019, Dove, a popular beauty brand, and The CROWN Coalition began work on the CROWN Act, which stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. As it stands now, 19 states have enacted this Act, and we predict that the rest of the country will follow suit. Listen now as Paul Edwards and Senior Solution Center expert Hali Tambuzi discuss how employers need to be familiar with what the CROWN act is, and how it will affect your practice, to ensure you remain compliant.

What happens when a famous celebrity terminates an employee for taking time off to care for her sick child? You guessed it, massive lawsuit. Listen as Paul Edwards and Solution Center Specialist Jason Post discuss wrongful termination, and the different types of leave of absences that practice owners and office managers have to handle with their employees. Plus, hear guidance on how to go about them in a legally compliant way

Employee suspensions can be one of the most risky situations to tackle as a manager or owner of a business. Knowing when a suspension is the right thing to do can be a tough decision to make, plus the addition of making sure you are compliant in how you go about it can cause extra stress surrounding the whole situation. Listen as manager of compliance, Nora Gustafson, and Paul Edwards sit down and discuss situations when suspension is needed, and when there are better options to consider.