February 21, 2021
Published by 
Curtis Rostad on February 21, 2021
Curtis Rostad on February 21, 2021Did the DOL just make it easier to decide? Most employers are at least aware of the issue of independent contractor vs employee. But making the determination has never been clear. The Department of Labor has announced a final rule clarifying the standard for independent contractor versus employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). That may sound encouraging, but it is doubtful that the actual 1,200+ page rule and background information makes the designation any easier. In reality, the Rule only clarified the factors to consider that are still open to interpretation. The effective date of the final rule is March 8, 2021. Why does this designation make a difference? There is a financial incentive to declare a worker an independent contractor. But declaring that designation does not make it so under the law. If a worker is deemed […]
June 11, 2020
Published by Curtis Rostad on June 11, 2020
Curtis Rostad on June 11, 2020The 2020 Funeral and Cemetery Consumer Behavior Study that the Foresight Companies recently completed made it very clear that consumers want price information online. In fact, over half of them said that they would not do business with a funeral home that did not clearly show their pricing on their website. That is a huge statistic–the potential of half of your consumers choosing a competitor simply because you are not being transparent with your pricing. This should not surprise anyone We are all used to shopping online. Can you imagine Amazon without prices and having to call to get a price on an item before you bought it? Of course not. You would not tolerate that and increasingly, consumers are saying they will not tolerate that with funeral service either. There are two common pushbacks from funeral homes when we […]
March 30, 2020
Published by Curtis Rostad on March 30, 2020
Curtis Rostad on March 30, 2020As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have created a document to serve as a template for funeral homes to use to develop an emergency action plan in light of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 (the Coronavirus). But it should also be useful in anticipation of future outbreaks of any infectious disease including the seasonal flu. Certain state or local laws, ordinances, and orders must be taken into consideration of course, so this template, in order to be used in various jurisdictions, must be generic. Therefore, it is meant to simply be a guide for you to develop your own plan. You should have a plan in place that also considers other possible disaster situations such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. It should also contain plans in the event of a fire in your facility, an active shooter situation, […]