Money Doesn’t Talk

“Now that I can’t ask about previous wages to make sure we’re in the same ballpark, how do I know if a candidate will be happy with what I can offer?”

Your HR Survival Tip

Since the new law went into effect on 1/1/2018, you can no longer ask what a candidate earned previously. This means you don’t ask what their base wage was, you don’t ask how much they earned in bonuses or commissions, and you don’t even hint they might want to tell you. In fact, don’t even ask what they’d like to make.

You not only can’t ask, you really don’t even want the candidate to volunteer that information because it becomes legally risky for you. In the end, you shouldn’t care what they want or what they’ve made because each position is worth a certain amount of money to you and that’s the number that’s important.

So, how do you dance around this vital part of interviewing? You tell them your range and merely ask if it is acceptable. It’s that simple… and that difficult. Providing your range means you need one. Don’t rely on the free online sites for developing your range. They are rarely  [click to read more …]

10-20-30 Minute Rest Breaks

“I thought rest breaks were 10 minutes but my employees are saying they should get 15 minutes. Who is right?”

Your HR Survival Tip

You are right; the paid rest breaks are 10 minutes. However, there have been legal decisions made that require you to review your rest break policy.

The California Supreme Court has made it clear that employers cannot control what an employee does on their rest breaks or where they go. The employer must relinquish all control over the employee during the rest break. This means absolutely no work whatsoever is allowed during the rest break and nothing is said about how they choose to use their break time.

Old policies stated employees needed to stay on-site during their rest breaks because, really, where can you go that will ensure you’ll be back to work in 10 minutes? This Court decision is not focused on where they go, it’s all about you not telling the employee what they can do during that time.

What you can, and should, control is the length of the rest break. Make it clear to employees they should be ready and in place to begin working again in 10 minutes. We  [click to read more …]