Stephanie Ramsey

There has been much chatter about the recent memorandum issued by Peter Rob, general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board. This memo highlights the NLRB’s decision to roll back previous rulings that had made nine common human resources policies illegal to protect the right of employees to participate in “protected concerted activities.” After reviewing these specific policies, the NLRB determined that unless these policies were being applied in a manner intended to interfere with an employee’s right to engage in protected, concerted activities, then they were legal for employers to apply to their work environment. So, what does this mean for funeral service businesses? Death-care professionals need to look at their existing employee handbooks and/or HR policies to determine if they should be revised to address the change in the NLRB’s position on these policies. Let’s take a look […]

Every 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 […]

Employment 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 […]

Sexual 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 […]