With the Trump administration ramping up immigration enforcement, small businesses must be proactive in ensuring compliance with Form I-9 and E-Verify. This blog breaks down the impact of recent executive orders, best practices for maintaining compliant employment records, and how to prepare for potential ICE audits or workplace raids. We also touch on why H-1B and J-1 visa holders are not the primary focus of these policies. Stay informed, protect your business, and navigate these evolving regulations with confidence. This is not legal advice—consult a professional for specific guidance.

As the Trump administration rolls out new executive orders on immigration, small businesses find themselves at the intersection of compliance and enforcement. Historically, employers have played a critical role in controlling immigration within the U.S. by verifying the legal work status of employees through Form I-9 and E-Verify. With heightened enforcement measures, now is the time for businesse...

A few aspects of WFH you may not have thought about... and how to address them.

As we have shifted our way out of the pandemic, the long-term results are becoming clearly identified. Many of us have known for a while that remote work will be one of the lasting impacts of COVID-19... and our newfound love of the QR code (but this new love shall be left for another blog). This has caused employers to implement remote employee policies for both long-term and short-term arrangements.  Now that we are seeing trends and expanded complexities, it is important for employers to understand and update policies and best practices in order to protect their employees and business from any legal or financial repercussions.

When creating a remote work policy, it’s important to address state and federal laws that may affect your organization. Employers must determine whether they need to comply with state labor laws such as minimum wage and overtime requirements, workers’ compensation laws, or oth...

As small businesses, there is so much to balance as we care for our employees. This past year has undeniably kept Colorado small business owners on their toes and busy with a myriad of legal changes. We see all the hard work these changes have required and are proud of the way our community has stepped up to the plate and prevailed! More changes may not be business owners’ top priority this year, but the Colorado General Assembly has their own action plan that will impact us none the less. In the next year, they will be mandating a state sponsored retirement savings plan, the Colorado Secure Savings Program. This plan is designed to make retirement savings more accessible to the Colorado workforce.

With continually pressing financial demands of the present, creating savings to use years from now is often not at top of mind. The fact is financial planning and retirement savings can make for a more predictable future and are exponentially more effective the sooner they begin. At current...

Update November 10, 2021:

Though Colorado’s Public Health Emergency ended in July 2021, as of November 10, 2021, there is still a Federal Public Health Emergency Declaration in place. The Healthy Families and Workplace Act (HFWA) states that its emergency paid sick leave provision is required not only during a state or local public health emergency, but also a federal public health emergency. This means that small businesses must still honor the up to 80 hours of sick leave allotted to employees who need time for qualifying reasons. The current wording of the Healthy Families and Workplace Act only provides for this leave through the end of 2021, but we are waiting to see if it will be updated to renew in 2022.

Original Blog posted July 2021:

The last 16 months have brought overwhelming challenges to our small business community. I won't beat a dead horse, we've all been on the same wild ride. However, with the recent announcement from Colorado's Governor Polis effectively ending...

We’ve all heard of wellness programs and how big companies promote them, however, these companies may be on to something. Enabling a workplace wellness program provides many benefits: reduced stress, greater productivity, increased morale, and reducing health insurance costs (if one is offered). There is a common practice in most businesses around the country of individuals working until they burn out. It is very important that businesses small and big provide their employees different “outlets” that promote a healthy lifestyle. Small business employees tend to wear multiple hats, so employees may not want to take time off as they are dedicated to what they do and may not want to return to a stack of work.

Wellness programs can provide multiple positive outcomes. By providing activities that help reduce stress, create higher productivity, and improve morale, this is great for not only your employees but also you as an employer. A study done in 2019 stated that “wellness p...

“Nearly 50 percent of embezzlement thefts occurred at companies with fewer than 25 employees, 82% had 150 or fewer employees”

Source: 2016-Hiscox-Embezzlement-Study

“My aunt and her husband owned a dental practice years ago. It was a successful small business and their employees were like family to them. The bookkeeper on staff took care of their accounting and billing and had been the office manager when they bought the business. She knew more about the books than they did and was seemingly so committed to her job, that she never took time off.

My uncle suspected money was going missing but couldn’t prove it. He checked the ledger daily, they had a double-booking system, and a CPA but couldn’t come up with answers. Then patients started questioning why they were receiving invoices when the insurance companies had paid the claim. My Aunt and Uncle then discovered discrepancies between their records and claims that were marked as unpaid.

They had been calling the insurance com...

Photo Credit: moodboard 

If you’re singing “where have all the good candidates gone,” you’re not alone.

Between economic pain and the ongoing pandemic, we’re seeing the same trend across every city and every industry: Hiring is TOUGH!

Applications are feast or famine, candidates aren't returning calls or showing up for interviews and while I don’t have the answers to this problem - nor do I have a magic wand - I CAN tell you that there are excellent hires are out there. But they are also more likely to get snatched up on the job market, so you’ll need to put some hustle in your bustle during the hiring process if you want them on your team.

For years, I was a recruiter for a large mechanical contractor (along with Reanna Werner, founder of HR Branches) and experienced the ebb and flow of the construction industry for both workers and contracts. There was always a lack of skilled manpower so we had to get creative to attract the right talent.

Knowing our employees and being marr...

When to Use an Outside Investigator & Choosing an Outside Investigator

By Gene R. Thornton, Esq.  *

Whenever an employer receives a complaint of sexual harassment or other workplace misconduct, a prompt, thorough, and fair investigation should be conducted.  Following the investigation, appropriate remedial measures should be implemented.  That much is basic employment law and human resource management.  But who should perform the investigation?  Should it be done by the employer’s HR manager, office manager or safety officer, if any?  Should it be done by the accused employee’s supervisor?  Or should an outside investigator be retained and, if so, what qualifications should be sought in the outside investigator.

Simple Investigations—Outside Investigator Probably Not Needed

If the allegations concern performance issues, employee relations, then the employer can probably do without an outside investigator.  It will probably be fairly easy to determine what more likely than not o...