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; […]
September 11, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on September 11, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on September 11, 2017Last year many funeral business employers were frantically attempting to address the potential change to their payroll based on implementation of the Fair Labor Standards Act Overtime Rule which was anticipated to go into effect on December 1, 2016. The enactment of this rule was stalled by a Texas District Court judge issuing a nationwide injunction in November. Then President Trump paused, via a presidential memorandum, all proposed federal regulations that had not yet taken effect. Does that mean that the FLSA Overtime Rule is dead? What about other new or proposed employment regulations that might impact funeral business owners? For employers, the environment under which they try to operate a business is often caught up in the ever-changing waves of new employment laws or regulations at both the state and federal levels. At mid-way through 2017, let us take […]
August 16, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on August 16, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on August 16, 2017As a business owner or manager, there are times when you’re faced with employee performance issues. These employees are usually not your worst employee or brightest star. They did not commit fraud or anything that would lead you to move to immediate termination. They just don’t seem to be the most comfortable fit. Owners and managers eventually reach a point where they feel they must make a difficult decision. Should they let an employee go and find a replacement or should they keep them on and hope to help them improve their less than stellar performance? Well-known quotes and proverbs may start racing through your mind such as “roll the dice and hope for the best” or “the devil you know is better than the one you don’t know” when faced with this type of situation. The bottom line is […]
July 14, 2017
Published by Stephanie Ramsey on July 14, 2017
Stephanie Ramsey on July 14, 2017 Scenario: ABC Funeral Home, owned by Jim and Jane Smith, is a funeral home considered to be the market leader in a Midwestern town with a population of approximately 300,000. Part of its approach to maintaining market share is its high quality of family services fostered primarily through its experienced and qualified staff. ABC Funeral Home pays its employees well and offers competitive benefits. They live in a state that recognizes at-will employment. Finding quality employees is challenging for everyone in the area. Recently, one of ABC Funeral Home’s senior funeral directors gave notice indicating that he would be joining another firm in the area. His resignation indicated that he would stay with the firm another 30 days. Jim accepted his resignation, but he was concerned about his senior employee stealing confidential and proprietary information, so he told the […]