Blog
How to Spot a Bad Hire During the Interview
The interview process is notoriously difficult for employers. There’s a looming fear of hiring the wrong person, and rightfully so. People present their best selves in interviews, so how can you really know what you’ll end up with when that person becomes your employee? Here are some things to keep in mind as you’re looking ...
Overqualified? Don’t Let that Stop You From Applying for a Job!
A tough job market with few opportunities and countless competitors can be discouraging. It’s even more discouraging if you keep hearing that you’re overqualified for the opportunities you find. But just because you have more education or experience than a company is looking for doesn’t mean you should give up. Here are some ways to ...
Trade Secrets and Confidentiality
By Michael Kelsheimer Who, What, Why . . . Who does it apply to: Any employer who has information it would prefer that its competitors not have, which really ought to be everybody. What is a “trade secret”: Any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information used in your company’s business that gives you a competitive advantage over ...
Are “Working Interviews” Legal?
By Michael Kelsheimer One of my dental practice clients called this week to inquire about an idea he heard of recently called a “working interview.” The idea is to have an hygienist come in for a couple of days to find out whether they are good at their job without officially hiring them. What is better, ...
Smoking Discrimination
By Michael Kelsheimer Who does it apply to: All employers who have employees or prospective employees that smoke. What is the issue: According to recent statistics 18.5% of the adult population in Texas smokes. Smoking affects productivity of the smoker and can affect the health of all employees. A lot of publicity has come to ideas regarding ...
Covenants Not to Compete
By Michael Kelsheimer Who, What, Why . . . Who does it apply to: Any employer who fears its employees might go out and start a competing business or work for a competitor and share the employer’s secrets. What is a “covenant not to compete”: Non-competes, also known as non-competition agreements, are a specially designed type of contract creating ...
Is Facebook Affecting Employee Productivity? (Programmer hire’s “Slapper” to Keep Focused)
By Michael Kelsheimer onOctober 19th, 2012 Yesterday the Huffington Post reported an interesting story about how Maneesh Sethi used Craig’s List to employ a “slapper” to keep him from wasting time on Facebook when he should be working. Digging deeper, I found Sethi’s own blog post on his website Hackthesystem.com where he described how he first came ...
Employee Breaks Required?
By Michael Kelsheimer on March 17th, 2011Posted in Employee Benefits, Quick QuestionsI get a call at least once a month from a panicked client who just heard a rumor that they have to give breaks to employees every day. Unfortunately, there is no snopes.com for employment myths, so this almost total fallacy gets perpetuated over and over. In the vast majority of circumstances the ...
You Can’t Ask that in an Interview! Or, Can You?
By Michael Kelsheimer Last week, Katie Morrell offered a piece entitled “The 5 Worst Things You Can Do in an Interview” on AMEX’s Open Forum small business site. Of course, #1 was “getting too personal” in which she explained that it is illegal to ask about race, sex, marital status, etc. This myth has persisted too long. It is not ...
Employee vs. Independent Contractor
By Michael Kelsheimer on January 4th, 2011 Posted in Handbook Articles<:section> Who, What, Why . . . Who does it apply to: Any employer who characterizes someone who works for them as an independent contractor and does not withhold taxes for payments made to that person. Why does it matter: While you may not think ...
