The Bowles Group

I have always enjoyed the written forum of sharing my take on the challenges that face both employees and employers. Work only consumes around 80% of our time so why not talk about it.

Any business practice that ties employees to performance has to be good for both the organization and employee. And any effective performance evaluation requires substantial input from the employee, including open-ended questions.

In this current economy, the necessities of slashing jobs, eliminating overtime, and reducing work hours can lead to unintentional wage and hour violations.

Employers often confuse the term ‘layoff’ with actually ‘firing’ someone. These are supported with very different legal positions.

Recruiting/replacement is a hassle. It takes money, patience, and most importantly, time.

Personal appearance and weight discrimination legislation are now migrating into Title VII status (discrimination based on race, gender, religion, age etc.) which will open up a whole new world of complications for employers.

The HIRE Act signed in March of 2010 creates a tax credit equal to the employer's portion of the FICA tax on wages paid to a new hire who was unemployed 60 days prior to their hire date or worked less than 40 hours during that time.

The pace at which change is occurring for small business is astounding. It's not the daily focus on current operations, impromptu meetings, or the struggle to do more with less. It's the speed at which government is changing the way you do business.

Giving you control over "what you can control" is the focus of this commentary. We are bombarded daily on the theme “these economic times” paralleling some of the toughest periods in the history of business.