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In this SBDC workshop, we will cover the cloud based application options that a small business owner might use on a daily basis and explain the pros and cons of each. These include word processing, spreadsheets, email and more. Topics discussed in this workshop include: web presence, office apps, organizational apps, internet resources and much more.  Fee: $25

Register online:  http://utsa.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=19911

SBDC Contracting Resource Center presents:

• Employee Lifecycle on July 31st from 9a – 12p for $30
• Job Descriptions and Performance Appraisals on July 31st from 1:30p – 4:30p for $30
• Social Media Policies, by Chris Scherer, on Aug 21st from 12p – 2p for FREE

Classes located at 215 S. San Saba  Suite 100, San Antonio, TX  78207
Call to RSVP 210.458.2458

Presented by The Hispanic Contractors Association

Saturday, July 28th, from 8am – 3pm.

8300 Pat Booker Road, Live Oak, TX 78233

To RSVP call 210.444.1100

Presented by The Hispanic Contractors Association de San Antonio

Date: Every Friday for 5 weeks – Aug 10th until Sept 7th
Time: 8:00 am – 2:00pm
Location:  800 Quintana Rd., San Antonio, Texas 78211

Lunch provided. A $50 deposit is required to hold your spot.(2 per company)
The deposit will be returned upon completion of the entire training. To RSVP call 210.444.1100 or email admin@hcadesa.org

HCA Members ONLY: Space is limited.

Have you ever heard of Managers, normally very nice people, who do crazy things towards their employees? I have! And, it’s not pretty. How about?

• “Now those are what I call come-f**k-me shoes”
• “Let’s go to her house and fire her… she’s not really sick”
• “I just threw the hammer at him as a joke”
• “Just use your woman’s intuition to do a better job”

Seriously?! What would possess a person, any person, to behave like this?

Sounds nuts but it happens every day. These are often the mavericks of the world who dream big and don’t let anything get in their way… and are often small business owners.

It’s these same business owners who also end up paying for unemployment, discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims.  They may get away with it for a while, but sooner or later, their luck runs out.

If you know a maverick, tell him/her to chill.  It’s not worth losing their business over or ruining their reputation.  It’s just a matter of time until they get caught.

If that doesn’t work, have them call me.  I’ll give them some other real life examples… along with the dollar figures paid in settlements.

Federal Agencies have become more aggressive in pursuing claims of wrong-doing by employers.  The Department of Labor (DOL), in particular, has ramped up it’s Audit and Claims Investigations substantially within the last couple of years.

This can be troublesome for small businesses in several ways.  Businesses can easily spend 40-60 hours responding to a claim investigation, even when there is no violation found and even when there is no jurisdiction established.  Establishing agency jurisdiction is becoming secondary to whether or not a violation occurred.

This shift in focus raises the stakes on business because agencies now share information.  Now the information collected by one agency can be shared and used to create claims with multiple agencies.  For example, a state audit could easily turn into IRS and DOL investigations, if employees are being paid as contractors.

Although information can be shared between agencies, each agency will still conduct their own investigations and pursue their own recourse for penalties, fees, back-pay, taxes etc.  For example, a small business could be looking at paying penalties to the state, the IRS and the DOL for the same violation.

Small employers can take a few simple actions avoid getting stuck in an agency crunch.

• Adopt and follow smart policies and practices.  Do not over commit yourself by creating unnecessary policies that you cannot reasonable follow fairly and consistently.
• When responding to an audit or investigation, keep your answers simple.  Do not volunteer a wealth of information that you think might be helpful or  relevant.  The agency knows what is relevant and will ask for it, if needed.
• Review your Employee Handbook and Company Policies, at least once a year.  Policies that work to your advantage this year, could easily work against you next year.
• Partner with a trusted HR Consultant or Employment Law Attorney.  It is extremely challenging to stay on top of all the legal minutia… and still effectively manage your day-to-day business.  Let the experts scan the legal environment for you and guide you through steps to avoid agency scrutiny in the first place.

1)   What you don’t know, CAN hurt you!

2)   Employment Law puts you to sleep!

3)   Your business may actually OWN you!

4)   Paperwork Fairies do NOT actually exist!

5)   Work-Life Balance is Important to you!

6)   Not enough time to do it ALL yourself!

7)   You don’t want to pay Unemployment!

8)   Downloaded forms do NOT protect you!

9)   Your employees are driving you nuts!

10)  Super Heroes leap over tall buildings… not heaping piles of paperwork!

Fantastic seminar at the SBDC San Saba office. Chris Scherer, of the Law Office of Chris A Scherer, knocked it out of the park once again!  My key take-aways from the seminar might help your small business as well.

#1 Be careful when researching applicants online. What you find out, could be used against you!

#2 Develop a Social Media Policy for your business. This will integrate your existing policies (i.e. anti-discrimination) into regulating employee conduct online.  Always include “no reasonable expectation of privacy” into your policy.

#3 The NLRB is very active in pursuing Social Media complaints by employees. May sure your employment decisions do not violate the “protected concerted activity” rights of your employees.

#4 Make sure your employment decisions do not violate the Stored Communications Act of 1984.  This act is not commonly known but is still being used to determine if employee privacy rights are violated on Social Media.

For more assistance, contact the Law Office of Chris A Scherer at 210.558.1004 or www.cschererlaw.com.  Like My HR, Chris specializes in help small employers in San Antonio.

Disclaimer:  The views expressed on My HR Blog are mine and do not necessarily reflect the the views of SBDC or the Law Office of Chris A Scherer.

Interns can be a great resource for small business.  It’s a great way to get projects done on a budget.  Interns are often college educated, tech savy individuals looking for experience.  The cost savings is huge.  In fact, some interns will work for college credit!

Texas has a new website just for matching up businesses with interns.  Check it out at www.texasinternship.jobs.  Get help finishing those nagging projects and scratch it off your to-do list!

The IRS dominates the regulations on determining employment vs. contractor status.  http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article.  There are several factors to take into consideration like independence, tools, schedules etc.

But, there are other important decisions that can impact your business as well.  Starting off with one or two contractors can be a great idea, if they meet IRS regs.  Once you get to 5+ contractors, it can get unwieldy.

Contractors can be mavericks and coordinating independent contractors can be a real pain, especially when your client services begin to suffer.  Contractor turnover and reliability issues can negatively impact all aspects of your business, not to mention your need for prescription anti-depressants!

When you get to 5+ contractors, consider converting them into employees.  Those contractors, who are solid, reliable and customer-friendly, will most likely want to be an employee for benefits and a regular paycheck.

So look at the big picture when deciding to hire or contract.  If you are not sure how to decipher IRS regs, call me!