Equal Pay Act - Find Out How This Law Protects You

Equal Pay Act - Find Out How This Law Protects YouEqual Pay Act - Find Out How This Law Protects YouThe Equal Pay Act (EPA) became law in 1963 as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). It mandates employers pay workers substantially equal pay for performing the same job regardless of their gender. The EPA does not only cover salary. It also includes overtime pay, bonuses, and benefits like stock options, profit sharing, life insurance, health insurance, and vacation and holiday pay. An employer is not allowed to provide different hotel accommodations or reimbursement for travel expenses for their male and female employees. Additional U.S. laws that protect workers from employment discrimination, including compensation discrimination, are Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans With Disabilities Act. Some states may have laws that prohibit pay discrimination. What Is Substantially Equal Work? To better understand the Equal Pay Act, it is helpful to know the definition of substantially equal work. Substantially equal does not mean that two jobs are identical. They must involve a significant number of the same tasks and require comparable skill level in terms of ability, education, experience, and training. When Is Unequal Pay Okay? When the following factors exist, work cannot be considered substantially equal. Therefore the mandate that employers must give equal pay to two workers regardless of gender does not apply in these cases. There can be a pay differential for higher educational attainment even if two workers perform similar job duties. For example, if one worker has a graduate degree, for example, and the other has a bachelors degree, the one with the higher level of education could earn a higher salary.An employer could also give a higher salary to a worker based on their job location. The work would not be considered substantially equal unless the same manager oversees their w ork or they can easily transfer between sites. Employees working in two different cities could receive different salaries. Jobs without similar levels of accountability and responsibility do not have to pay the same. For example, a worker who supervises other employees can get a higher salary than one who does not, even if both individuals have the same job title.If one worker must travel between job sites while another can work in the home office every day, their jobs differ substantially. The one who must go to different locations can earn more.Employers can have a seniority system in place that rewards workers for longevity with the organization. Merit systems reward workers for exceptional job performance and are allowed.Employers can also provide an incentive to workers for the quality or quantity of their output without violating the Equal Pay Act.Employees who work during less desirable shifts may also have higher earnings. What to Do If Your anfhrer Violates the Equal Pay Act While it seems only fair that people performing similar work for the same organization should have the same earnings, many employers try to do the complete opposite. If you feel your boss has violated the Equal Pay Act, you can either bring a lawsuit against the company in court or file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the government agency that oversees the Equal Pay Act. Whether filing a charge with the EEOC or taking the company to court, you must do so within two years of the time the compensation discrimination took place. In 2018, the EEOC received 1,066 complaints about employers violating the EPA. Of these, there were 257 merit resolutions. That means they had outcomes that were favorable to the charging parties. The EEOC may have found there wasnt reasonable cause to pursue the other claims, but that does not mean the charging parties did take their charges to court where they may have won favorable judgments. Source Equal Employment O pportunities Commission.

How Employers Use Structured Job Interviews

How Employers Use Structured Job InterviewsHow Employers Use Structured Job InterviewsA structured job interview is a standardized way of comparing job candidates. The employer creates interview questions focused on the skills and abilities the company is seeking. Each interviewee is asked the exact same questions, in the exact same order. The employer also creates a standardized scale for evaluating candidates. Every interviewee is ranked on the same scale. Benefits for Employers Employers use this interview format when they want to assess candidates impartially. Because questions are pre-determined, and there is a ranking system, there is little chance for unfair or subjective assessment. This helps interviewers avoid any legal issues related to unfair hiring practices. A structured job interview also allows the employer to focus on the specific skills and abilities required for the position. With questions focused on specific skills, this interview style is often considered a more effective way of testing a candidates potential wertmiger zuwachs on the job. This interview format also allows employers to assess hard-to-meakoranvers skills, like interpersonal skills and oral communication. Benefits for Candidates Candidates can also feel confident that they are being judged on their skills, rather than any subjective factors. Because the questions are the same for every candidate and asked in the same order, every candidate knows he or she has an equal opportunity to provide the same information. Types of Questions Asked Questions vary, of course, depending on the job, and all questions relate to the positions requirements. Typically, however, structured job interview questions are open-ended. Often they are behavioral interview questions, which ask about how a candidate has handled a work-related situation in the past. These interviews can also include situational interview questions where the candidate is asked how he or she would handle a hypoth etical work situation. Examples of Questions While questions vary based on the skills required for the specific job, here are some common questions for a structured job interview Tell me about yourself.What makes you an ideal candidate for this job?Why are you interested in this job?What are your strengths? Weaknesses?Would you be willing to travel for extended periods of time for this job?Tell me about an incident during the past year in which you were particularly proud of your performance and share it with us.Tell me about a time when you made a mistake at work. How did you handle the situation? What welches the result?Describe a situation in which you had to deal with a conflict among team members. What actions did you take? What was the result? An angry client comes to your desk and complains that she has not received the reimbursement she was told was in the mail. How will you help her?You have an important project with an upcoming deadline, but then you are given a second project to be completed immediately. How would you handle this situation? How Interviewers Rate Candidates The way an interviewer rates candidates in a structured interview can vary. However, there is always a common rating scale for all candidates. Typically, the interviewer rates the candidates skill level in a few key competencies. These competencies might include key hard or soft skills necessary for the job. How to Prepare Make sure you know how your skills and qualifications fit the particular job. Also, look back at the job listing, and underline the job requirements. Then, make a list of your skills and abilities that match those requirements. Make sure you are prepared to explain how you have demonstrated those skills and abilities in the workplace. Also, review some common interview questions, as well as common interview questions for the particular job.

COBRA Regulations for Human Resources and Employee

COBRA Regulations for Human Resources and EmployeeCOBRA Regulations for Human Resources and EmployeeCongress passed the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) in 1986. It adds amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Internal Revenue Code, and the Public Health Service Act to provide continuation of group health coverage. COBRA set forth regulations that give employees who lose their health benefits because of unemployment, the right to choose to continue group health benefits provided by their group health plan. These extended health care benefits are also extended to the families of those who lost their jobs. These health care benefits may be extended for limited periods of time under certain circumstances, according to the COBRA regulations. The COBRA regulations state that circumstances such asvoluntary or involuntary or job loss reduction in the number of hours an employee works, transition and life events such as death, divorce, and unemplo yment may make individuals eligible for continuing their healthcare benefits after termination. Qualified individuals may be required by the employer to pay the entire health insurance premium for health care coverage up to 102 percent of the cost to the plan. COBRA Regulations COBRA regulations state that the health insurance plan used by an employer, with 20 or more employees in the prior year, must provide for continuing coverage through the COBRA option.? Employers must notify health plan administrators within 30 days after an employee becomes eligible. Plan participants and beneficiaries generally are sent a COBRA election notice within 14 days of the plans notification. If it has been more than two weeks since your termination and you haventheard anything, please call your HR department. An individual has 60 days to decide whether to elect COBRA continuation health coverage and 45 days after electing coverage to pay the initial premium. Deciding If You Should Use Cobra When you leave a job (whether voluntarily or involuntarily) and dont have a new job that provides health insurance, you may questions if you should you sign up for COBRA. Of course, you need some kind of health insurance, but COBRA may or may not be your best option. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), you can apply for health insurance through the Federal or state health insurance exchanges within 60 days of your health care coverage ending. You also have 60 days to decide about accepting COBRA coverage. Its important to note that 2017 was a turbulent year for the Affordable Care Act. Legislative battles in Congress, fluctuating support from healthcare stakeholders, and threats of repeal have left many payers facing an uncertain future. Even though Congress has not yet succeeded in scrapping the law, the ACAs opponents will likely continue to use all of their available powers to weaken the bill throughout 2018 and beyond. Payers should expect the changes in the ACA to impact prem ium rates and add challenges to the individual health plan market, so you need to keep an eye on this. Meanwhile, you can compare the costs and benefits of each plan. If you are currently undergoing treatments, it may be in your best interest to go with COBRA so you dont have to change doctors or treatment plans. Although, if youre unhappy, now is the time to change. Regardless of which choice you make, youre pretty muchstuck with that until the next open enrollment period, or COBRA comes to an end. Of course, if you have a qualifying life event, like marrying someone with health care coverage who can add you to their plan, you can change at that time. Whatever you decide, its something youll have to deal with until you get a new job with health coverage. Make a careful comparison of the costs. You might balk at the monthly cost of COBRA versus the ACA plan, but check things like deductibles and figure out what is best for you and your family. If youve just been laid off or fired,yo u might be so panicked about your job loss that you cant take the time to think about your health insurance. Dont make that mistake. The last thing you want to happen is to end up without any health coverage at all, which can happen if you dont make up your mind within the 60 day time period. Dont panic if you get the flu or break a leg. COBRA is retroactive back to the last day of company coverage, as long as you sign up and pay your premiums within the allowed 60 day period.

Study says this is the best color to wear for job interview and date

Study says this is the best color to wear for job interview and dateStudy says this is the best color to wear for job interview and dateColors mean different things and can have a deep impact on not only our moods but the people we come into contact with when we are wearing them. But can a color be as powerful as a great resume? Apparently yes.According to new research, black is the way to go for a job interview. The study surveyed1,500 British people and 43% chose black as the optimal color for an interview. And for men, it is also the chosen color for a first date. For women, red is the color for the first date because it is associated with love. Wink, wink. But if you want to just have fun during a night out, wear silver (12% said this was the way to go.)If you werent aware that colors can have such a profound impact, you arent alone. Over 75% of those surveyed were not aware of the psychological effects of colors. After all,wearing green can say something very different than wear ing yellow in a meeting.Psychologist Dr. Becky Spelman, who was involved with the research in the study, told The Mirror, An awareness of the cultural and psychological factors at play when it comes to color helps us get to know ourselves better and also gives us a way to communicate.Through the clothing and accessories we choose, we can use color to communicate, without words, a range of messages and emotions. For example, if someone dresses in very bright colors, at least on some level they are saying they want to be seen, he added.But if you are just looking to run more miles at the gym or go up a weight set, wear blue. Apparently, it is a very motivational color.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Q4 2017 Hiring Market for Accounting and Finance Positions

Q4 2017 Hiring Market for Accounting and Finance PositionsQ4 2017 Hiring Market for Accounting and Finance PositionsQ4 2017 HIRING MARKETAccounting and Finance Unemployment rates for many creative and marketing jobs are well below the national rate, making it challenging for companies to hire these professionals.UNEMPLOYMENT RATES FOR ACCOUNTING AND FINANCING JOBSFinance analysts 0.8%Finance managers 1.0%Accountants and auditors 1.8%Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks 2.0%Payroll clerks 2.7%National unemployment rate 4.1%MANAGERS HAVE A HARD TIME WITH HIRING49% of small and midsize geschftlicher umgang owners said most hiring managers underestimate the complexity of the hiring process.READY TO HIRE? CALL AT 1.877.635.0037.Sources U.S. Department of Labors Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of more than 1,000 business owners and human resources managers in the United States at companies with 1 to 499 employees

Top Qualities to Put on a Resume Tips!

Top Qualities to Put on a Resume Tips If possible, youre officially a flexible employee You might also bold the names of your prior employers. Odds are youve worked as part of a team on several occasions. Men and women get funky when looking for a new position. Each word on your resume can be a trigger for a question via an interviewer, and youll often be requested to provide examples of the skills which you have referenced. As an example, skills like speaking a foreign language demonstrate you are ready to try new things without being afraid. People away from the Greek systemeven people outside your precise organizationlikely dont have any idea. Make an attempt to figure out the suitable expressions and spellings. A comprehension of the processes and tools is important, but be certain that you also understand when to delegate the job. As a way to convince the hiring manager that you truly have the leadership skills, youve got to mention all the accomplishments which youve done in your prior jobs or organizations. No matter what type of position youre applying, including leadership skills in your resume will cause you to stick out among others. There are a few skills that will be totally necessary for any successful candidate. Communication, obviously, goes both ways. Communication skills are required for each and every job. Social networking is playing a crucial part in employment recruitment and LinkedIn particularly has proven itself to be an integral recruitment tool. For leaders, communication has become the most fundamental skill he or she is able to possess in regards to leading an individual, or a team. Possessing the capacity to communicate in person is critical, but having the capacity to communicate via technology is a developing hot commodity in the current workplace. No matter the work is, adopting a coaching mindset is an integral portion of being a great leader. Our wisdom and experience in service space provides you an unforg ettable internet business profile and cutting expert chance to landing your dream job Think long term about what is helpful for your department and the business. You may have helped your company gather vital info in your part-time job, while its on the lookout for potential new customers or researching an upcoming article. You have to make it crystal clear that youre conversant with your industry Hard skills have a tendency to be more technical, and each business or sort of job will often have its personal necessary set. The Chronicles of Qualities to Put on a Resume Great communication is very important to make sure that information is conveyed to others. With background checks and societal media, it is extremely simple to learn details about an individual. Read through it a couple of occasions and youll probably spot three or four crucial skills mentioned repeatedly throughout the document. For instance, if youve got a strong history with word processing and a work descri ption demands experience with a particular processor which you havent used, you may use your experience to demonstrate the employer that youve got zero issue working with new word processors. So, having the ability to drive is most likely the top rated hard skill you should have to do the job. To begin with, if youre seeing a great deal of hard skills that you just dont have, it can be far better move on to the next position. Since leadership skill is a type of soft skill that cannot be measured and this is the reason the majority of individuals dont consist of such skill since they think this may not be beneficial for them and theyre erroneous. If you wish to showcase your organization skills, obtaining a tightly structured resume certainly helps. Look through the work description and see whether any soft skills are mentioned. Hard skills arent skills that are tough to learn. Soft skills are a little more vague and open to interpretation. Soft skill like leadership skill is among the keywords that may be scanned by tracking system. What Everybody Dislikes About Qualities to Put on a Resume and Why fruchtwein standard resume formats incorporate a skill section at or close to the bottom of the resume. In a resume the choice of a layout is vital. Just remember to double-check whether adding social media to your particular resume is proper for the job A fast search on the web will display lots of cover letters for resumes examples.

18 Business Books to Read During Your Lunch Break

18 Business Books to Read During Your Lunch Break Bill Gates reads 50 books a year on average. The typical American reads four. See a connection?The fact is, reading is a fundamental part of your growth as a professional. Not only does it educate you, but it also keeps you mentally sharp and can even be a nice way to reduce stress after a long day.Unfortunately, many of us are too pressed for time to pick up a book or so we think.Your busy schedule may not let up anytimesoon, but its important to carve out space in your life for what matters. Forthose of us who work the 9-5 grind, that often means taking advantage of the gaps in our days. One of those gaps justso happens to be your lunch break.A typical lunch break lasts around an hour, making it an excellent opportunity to fit in some reading. The question is, what should you be reading?If professional success is your goal, you may want to opt for educational material related to self-improvement, bus iness and entrepreneurship, or your industry. These types of books can help you refine what you already know and learn new things about subjects you thought you had mastered.Need a more specific recommendation?Check outFunderaslist ofthe best business books you should read on your lunch break

Use These Steps to Develop Norms for Your Group

Use These Steps to Develop Norms for Your GroupUse These Steps to Develop Norms for Your GroupGroup norms governing how gruppe members interact with each other and the teams mission help teams be mora effective. Rather than let norms naturally develop, consciously determine the kinds of rules, guidelines, and norms for team members to follow. How to Develop Team Norms The group members collectively establish team norms through a process of brainstorming and refining the ideas. Form and charter a team with a project, process improvement, or product development task, or pull together an existing workgroup.Have all members learn about the group and team norms to understand the concept. Start with reading a worksheet on how to create team norms prior to the meeting.Schedule and hold a meeting to establish and adopt group relationship guidelines or group norms. All members of the team or workgroup must be present at the meeting so that all group members own the resultant group norms. With an external facilitator leading, ask all group members to brainstorm a list of guidelines that will help create an effective team. If a facilitator is not available, ask a member of the group to lead the session.Remember that in a true brainstorming session, the more ideas generated the better. Do not comment on or critique the ideas. Simply ask a group member to record them on a flip chart or whiteboard where the whole group can see them.Once the group generates the list of group norms, cross off redundant ideas. You can decide to keep all of the group norms generated, or through discussion, you can determine the group norms you wish to keep and support as a group.There is no recommended number of group norms, and you can add new group norms over time if the group experiences the need for more guidelines.Keep in mind that all group behavior cannot, and should not, be legislated. Focus attention on the most important areas of interaction, such as effective conflict resolution m ethods, open communication, and all members participating, keeping commitments, and taking responsibility.It is also useful to determine how the team will communicate with people who are not members of the group. Respect and integrity are also essential elements in group norms. Each member of the group commits to living the guidelines. They also commit to telling each other if they believe that a group member is violating an agreed-upon group norm. They agree to be upfront with the involved party and not to gossip or complain behind her back.Following the meeting, distribute the group norms to all team members. Post the group norms in the teams meeting room. Make sure that every member has a copy.Periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the group in achieving its business goals as well as its members relationship goals. Additional Tips for Developing Norms Team norms should be in writing and regularly reviewed. All members of a workgroup must be present. if they are not, post pone the session.Record the agreed-upon group norms.Evaluate, at least monthly, whether the group is following the norms.Periodically determine whether the group needs additional guidelines to make their work together even more effective. Are they experiencing problems they need to discuss and agree upon?Keep in mind that every group develops norms over time. Your goal is to make sure that the norms your group has are the ones it needs for success.

Growing Human Organs in Space

Growing Human Organs in Space Growing Human Organs in Space As part of its Centennial Challenges program, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), partnering with the nonprofit Methuselah Foundation, is encouraging advancements in bioengineering, specifically in organ and tissue preservation, both to benefit human disease research and NASAs journey to Mars.The Vascular Tissue Challenge, announced in June, includes a $500,000 prize to be divided among the first three teams to create vascularized tissue that is mora than .39 inches (1 centimeter) in thickness and maintains more than 85 percent survival of required cells throughout 30-day trial periods. Teams are also required to prepare a proposal about how they could advance their work through a microgravity experiment. The competition is being administered by Methuselahs New Organ Alliance (NOA), a nonprofit focused on regenerative medicine research and development.The hope is that vascularized tissue created can be used to study deep space environmental effects, such as radiation, and to lead to solutions to minimize damage to healthy cells without exposing humans. Thats in addition to having tissue to help develop organ models for research and other therapeutic applications on Earth.Part of the challenge is based on the hypothesis that growing tissue of major organs will be easier in microgravity in deep space because on Earth, gravity compresses the tissue and vessels, explains Monsi C. Roman, Challenge program manager. If true, This is the dreaming stage about the future, she adds. The idea is that growing and testing engineered tissue could become big business conducted in deep space for private industry.A 3D bioprinter. Image Methuselah FoundationTissue EngineeringOne team, which has submitted an intent to compete form is from Rice University, where Jordan Miller, assistant professor of bioengineering, will lead the team. He has been working on lung tissue engineering for a couple of year s.One reason we are excited about the challenge is because we share a lot of the vision that the challenge has elaborated, Miller says. Just the fact that more people will be working in this area...is going to lead to some major advances.He notes that compared to work with tissue that doesnt havevasculature, such as cartilage and the cornea, the complicated architectures of vascular networks of the lungs, liver, and kidneys are very hard to make. Although all kinds of branched networks are common in nature, scientists and the engineering community lack the tools to efficiently engineer highly branched, complex networks, he says.His team thus far has been focusing on the topology of the lung that can be described as two complex independent branched networks of airways and blood vessels next to each other. They are never connected directly in order to prevent blood from entering the airways and, likewise, air into the bloodstream. You just need to get oxygen across the gap between the m, says Miller. Our central goal is to engineer multiple vessel networks, one for air and one for blood, in a fixed volume and try to get the distance between them small enough that we can get oxygenation of the blood by air in the other network.The plan is to make engineered tissues in the lab out of huge numbers of cells, potentially in the billions of cells per tissue, way beyond the scale of human organs. From an engineering perspective, we can expect this will increase the complexity of the vasculature and improve the wertmiger zuwachs of the tissue, but that remains to be tested, he says.Printing a lattice of would-be blood vessels with an open-source 3D printer. Image Rice University3D Printing TissuesWhile the team is looking at 3D stereolithography to fabricate the tissue and is building its own printers, Miller noted that the scaffolding fabricated would also need to incorporate functioning organ cells because We dont know how to make a plastic or metal that can for the li ver, for example metabolize nutrients and toxins like the liver can.While the challenges may seem daunting, he expects some of the biggest are not even known yet. We are definitely dealing with unknown unknowns in regenerative medicine for some of unterstellung very complicated organs, Miller says.Some of the issues already realized include how much of the structure can be packed into as small a volume as possible. The surface area of the airway is extremely large. We estimate it as big as a football field in your chest, says Miller. Another is that processes and tools need to be re-developed to get accurate readouts of engineered tissue, and then theres the issue of compatibility of blood with various chemicals and materials so that the blood doesnt clot.NASAs challenge is part of a much broader initiative aimed at improving outcomes for individuals waiting for organ transplants. At a White House Organ Summit earlier this year, it was announced that almost $200 million was being in vested by government, private industry and non-profits to facilitate breakthrough research and development. Among others announced was a related prize by the government-funded Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, which manages the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory. This competition offers one challenge entrant the opportunity to conduct research in microgravity conditions. The prize is up to $200,000 in flight integration support costs, along with transportation to the Space Station Lab, support on the station and return of experimental samples to Earth.The challenge program, started in 2005, involves project-specific competitions for monetary prizes to induce non-government funded advancements in technology development. Our charge is to help contribute to our journey to Mars. Its about inviting everybody who has something to contribute, says Roman.Nancy S. Giges is an independent writer. We are definitely dealing with unknown unknowns in regenerative m edicine for some of these very complicated organs.Prof. Jordan Miller, Rice University

Tips for Employers About Alcohol at Company Events

Tips for Employers About Alcohol at Company EventsTips for Employers About Alcohol at Company EventsDo you provide alcohol beer, wine, or spirits, for employees to drink at work-related darbietungs? If so, youve probably spent time thinking about whether this is a good practice. You want your employees to enjoy their work-related events and parties, but you also want to keep your employees safe. Be Responsible You need to minimize the legal liability of your organization yet leid let legal worries dictate your relationship with your employees. A holiday party is not the only event where an employee may face the question of decidingwhether to drink or not at business events employers plan all sorts of events that serve alcohol. The bottom line is making the decision about what and how much before arriving at the party. Whether your event is a company milestone or birthday, an employees retirement party, or a holiday event, use these tips to plan an alcohol safe event. Emphasize Company Culture Talk about your company culture with employees emphasizing that drinking to excess is unacceptable during company events. Include alcohol usage guidance in your company code of conduct. For instance, it should never be OK for employees and applicants to drink alcohol during a job interview. Drinking at lunch job interviews should also be discouraged. You need to assess the applicants fit with your organization without the influence of alcohol. And, if youre considering drinking with a client or customer, drink only if the client is drinking, and the recommended limit in a client or customer meeting is one glass of wine or a beer. Dont Make Alcohol the Focus of Work Events Offer a variety of interesting, non-alcoholic beverages, to remove the emphasis from alcohol. And never make drinking, or eating, for that matter, the main focus of any event. Always make entertainment, speeches, presentations, company logo items to purchase with points earned, games, dancing and/or activities for employees to participate in, the main focus of any company team building events. Consider serving just beer and wine, and no liquor. Avoid serving drinks such as fruit punch that limit an employees ability to assess how much alcohol they are drinking. Put Restrictions on How Much Is Available Limit the number of drinks the company provides by using drink tickets or another informal method of tracking the amount of alcohol served. If you want to limit alcohol consumption, consider stamping an employees hand in exchange for each drink you will want to limit the number of stamps an employee can receive. Limit the number of hours that the bar is open. Close the bar during dinner and at a reasonable time to signal the drawing to a close and ending of the event. You might also consider holding the event directly after work so employees party from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. for example. Use trained bartenders to serve alcohol never allow employees to serve coworkers or thems elves. Never provide a help-yourself beverage bar that includes alcohol. Make sure your bartenders are clear that they are not to serve alcohol to any person who appears to be inebriated. Bartenders must card these employees just as if they were attempting to order booze in a local tavern. Pay for the event, the food, non-alcoholic drinks, and entertainment, but provide a cash bar for employees. When employees have to purchase their own drinks, they drink less. Hold Alcohol-Free Work Events Nix alcohol except for beer and wine at company events that include children. For example, one company stopped serving liquor at work events that included families when several irresponsible employees started drinking shots in front of other employees children. It was the last straw. Provide a late night snack buffet before employees hit the road to end a company event. It doesnt have to be elaborate tacos, sloppy joes, hot dogs, popcorn, cold cuts, cheese and crackers, coffee, and soft drink s provide a focus for employees other than alcoholic beverages. Prepare for (Some) Overindulgence Recruit your managers and event planning committee members, in advance, to keep their eyes open for employees who may be overindulging. Offer the employee a ride home, call a cab, or make certain that a designated non-drinking driver takes the wheel. Pay for cabs to sit outside your event in case an employee is advised or decides that he or she cannot drive safely. Or schedule the event at a location that offers easy access to public transportation. Be Sure Youre Covered Legally Take a look at your company insurances to determine whether you have the appropriate coverage that allows you to serve alcohol at company events You may also want to consider asking employees to review and sign a document that provides company alcoholic beverage guidelines, and that informs employees they are liable for their behavior at company-sponsored events. Make the document clear that employees ca n expect punishment for over-imbibing or poor interpersonal behavior up to and including employment termination. You can do this as employees RSVP for the work event. Alcohol can be a festive addition to a company event, but at company events, as in your workplace, employee safety is your top concern.