November 5, 2018
Published by 
Stephanie Ramsey on November 5, 2018
Stephanie Ramsey on November 5, 2018Every day in the news there appears to be at least one story about a violent public attack where people are either threatened, harmed or killed in the United States. Many of these occur in a workplace environment. This means there are likely to be employees who are somehow involved with this type of event. They may be the victims, the heroes, and in some unfortunate situations, they may be the perpetrators of the attack. How do we find ourselves at this point in American society? The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently released a report, discussing the development of workplace violence. In the report they discuss the day in August, 1986 when Patrick H. Sherrill walked into the Edmond, OK post office, where he was employed part-time, and shot 14 people to death before killing himself. The media coverage […]
September 14, 2018
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on September 14, 2018
Stephanie Ramsey on September 14, 2018The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 Mason Funeral Service is a 500-call funeral business located in the Central Northwest region of the United States. The business is family owned and managed by Donald and Cindy Mason. Don and Cindy have 10 full-time employees and a large roster of part-time employees they call upon as needed. Most have been with the business for multiple years, and they have a very strong and positive team-oriented atmosphere that all the employees appear to enjoy. One of their best full-time funeral directors, Jim, recently notified Don and Cindy that he had cancer and needed to undergo surgery and chemo treatment. The surgery and following treatments would keep him out of work for several weeks. Jim inquired about a medical leave and compensation. The business has various employee documents, including an employee handbook, […]
August 15, 2018
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on August 15, 2018
Stephanie Ramsey on August 15, 2018Employment laws are always changing, and can vary from state to state and even from one locality to another. There are a number of “hot topics” the people who run funeral homes, cemeteries and crematories need to be aware of. In the United States, employment laws seem to change as frequently as most people change their socks. This is because laws and regulations that relate to employees are enacted not only at the federal level but also at the state, county and city levels. News reports about proposed or implemented employment laws can help funeral home, cemetery and crematory owners and managers anticipate the impact their businesses may face, but such news tends to focus on major changes such as increases in the minimum wage or very controversial laws. But many employment laws don’t make the headlines and are only […]
August 15, 2018
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on August 15, 2018
Stephanie Ramsey on August 15, 2018Sexual harassment in the workplace continues to be a trending topic in the United States. While many would like to believe that harassment is not taking place in the funeral industry, in fact, this industry has not escaped these incidents. Various lawsuits have been filed against family-owned and international funeral businesses. Many funeral businesses understand the need to have anti- harassment policies as well as formal procedures in place for employees to report any harassment. Most anticipate they are never likely to receive such a report. However, the reality is that any funeral business may receive a complaint from an employee about experiencing sexual harassment while working. Frequently, such complaints catch owners and managers completely off guard, and they stumble when they attempt to deal with the situation. This may put them at greater risk for a costly lawsuit. So how […]
June 12, 2018
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on June 12, 2018
Stephanie Ramsey on June 12, 2018The newest employee policy being embraced by states, cities and counties is mandatory paid sick leave. In fact, on Friday, February 16th, 2018 Austin became the first city in Texas to require employers pay employees sick leave. The policy goes into effect on October 1, 2018. In less than 8 months, thousands of Austin employers will need to comply with this law. Can this happen in your area? Yes! Employers may want to start considering their current sick leave policies. More importantly, it would be beneficial to get some idea of the impact such a policy can have on your business as well as understanding what a possible mandatory paid sick leave policy enacted at federal, state or local level may require. Currently there are nine states that have mandatory sick leave requirements of employers. These states are Arizona, California, […]
June 1, 2018
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on June 1, 2018
Stephanie Ramsey on June 1, 2018SCENARIO: Jordan Watson, owner of Watson Family Funeral Services, recently found himself dealing with an employee situation he simply didn’t know how to address. His firm had been serving his East Coast community for multiple generations and had a stellar reputation. Indeed, he often thought of his staff as his extended family rather than employees. The business served just under 300 families per year, and the team frequently received accolades from the families it served. About six months ago, the longtime office manager, Shelia, retired. The assistant office manager, Karen, was promoted to her role and a new assistant office manager, Barbara, was hired. Barbara was new to the funeral industry but had a few years of experience working in a busy doctor’s office. All indications were that she would be a good fit for the position. After she […]
April 25, 2018
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on April 25, 2018
Stephanie Ramsey on April 25, 201810 ideas to help you improve your workplace environment and motivate employees to stay long term. TODAY, ONE OF THE BIGGEST challenges the funeral industry faces is finding and retaining qualified staff. Each year, it seems as if fewer students are graduating from accredited mortuary school programs, and most of those who do graduate do not have any practical experience in the industry and find themselves surprised by the reality of the workplace. Quite often, the stress of the work combined with the unusual work hours lead to new hires jumping ship to find another career path. Locating staff appropriate for a funeral service business can be a complicated and expensive process. However, retaining employees is another hurdle as funeral businesses find themselves competing for the same candidates. Rather than focusing solely on how to find new employees, perhaps funeral […]
March 20, 2018
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on March 20, 2018
Stephanie Ramsey on March 20, 2018Scenario: Remember David Jackson from case study #8? Jackson owns a three-location funeral business in the central United States employing more than 20 people. The primary location serves more than 400 families per year, the second location serves about 60 families and the third location, a brand-new business, served 30 families last year. If you recall, this past summer David brought on a part-time employee (Jessica) to assist with administrative tasks. Her main assignment was to file the large amount of backlogged paperwork that existed at his primary location. Unfortunately, Jessica felt free to read everyone’s personnel file as she filed other paperwork. Even worse, she then shared salary information with certain employees about their co-workers in similar positions. Jessica was unaware of confidentiality issues with personnel files, and case study #8 explained how David addressed Jessica’s actions. However, part […]
February 9, 2018
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on February 9, 2018
Stephanie Ramsey on February 9, 2018Is your funeral business at risk of an EEOC investigation for sexual harassment/sex-based harassment? When I ask funeral business owners and managers this question, most immediately indicate that they do not have a problem with sexual harassment in their businesses. When I inquire about their confidence on this issue they proclaim, “our business has a professional atmosphere and we have great employees”. Unfortunately, a professional work environment does not mean that everything is perfect. Even “great” employees are accused of harassment. More importantly they are found guilty of such harassment. If your employees have not been given training to specifically understand what constitutes sexual harassment your business might be at risk of facing a complaint. This is especially true given the current public climate that is supporting those who come forward with stories of harassment. Funeral business owners need to […]
December 19, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on December 19, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on December 19, 2017Scenario: David Jackson owns a three-location funeral business in the central United States. He employs more than 20 people. This past summer, David brought on a part-time employee to assist with administrative tasks. The priority was to file the large amount of paperwork that everyone at the primary location had neglected. This part-time employee (Jessica) had worked for the funeral home part time during high school and her summer breaks from college. Jessica was very personable and didn’t seem to mind all the hours she spent filing. At the end of summer, David was confronted by one of his female funeral directors wanting to know why she wasn’t paid as much as another male funeral director. During their conversation, David was made aware of how this employee knew her male counterpart’s salary. Apparently one of the reasons Jessica didn’t mind […]
November 15, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on November 15, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on November 15, 2017The last year and a half presented a series of ups and downs for funeral service owners and managers dealing with employee compensation costs. The on-again, off-again saga of the revised Department of Labor (DOL) overtime rules which were supposed to be implemented on December 1st, 2016 has confused and frustrated business owners in every industry. However, the funeral industry is particularly impacted by any proposed change to the overtime rules or the reclassification of the exempt categories due to the nature of services provided. Frequently, first-calls occur outside the normal business hours of 8 AM – 5 PM, as do visitation hours. Let’s not forget the families who want to hold chapel or memorial services on weekends to accommodate more family participation. The Trump administration proposed rewriting the overtime rules in court on June 30, 2017. The U.S Department […]
September 22, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on September 22, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on September 22, 2017HR Reality Check: Yep, the Stories are True! HR Case Study #7 Scenario: Clyde Smith owns and operates the Smith Family Funeral Home in a suburban southwestern town. He is well known in the community and provides several part-time positions to a number of local college students. As far as Clyde is concerned, the work environment at his facility is professional and friendly. This all changed when two of his part-time employees entered his office late one Friday afternoon clearly arguing. He also noted that the mouth of the 19-year-old, Billy, was very red. Sara, his 22-year-old co-worker, was very clearly agitated. Immediately upon entering his office, they both started talking at once to explain their position. As they began talking over each other, Clyde had trouble understanding the details of what had happened. However, one fact was crystal clear; […]