Refining our business

Over the past several months, our safety consulting business has really skyrocketed.  Thank you so much to our new customers.  As we continue to evolve our company, we have decided to focus primarily on safety and have developed a new program.  We are excited to introduce our i4safety program.  We have developed a new blog, www.i4safety.wordpress.com which will focus primarily on safety. 

We have taken our safety posts from here and posted them on our new site, so please dont be alarmed if you see the same materials.

 

Thank you!

How To Hire Employees: More Challenging Than You May Think

A recent article titled “A Good Worker Is Hard to Find” in the WSJ sheds light on a challenging situation facing many of our customers:  hiring a qualified person. 

Many small businesses are exploring hiring new employees as the double dip recession concerns begin to fade.  They have specific needs to fill that they typically don’t have in-house nor do they have the access to training for a current employee.  With an unemployment rate hovering around 9%, shouldn’t it be easy to find employees?  This is a common misconception. 

Some small businesses are increasing their starting pay in an effort to find qualified employees.  Even this is not working as they continue to be unable to find the right fit for their organization. 

Many of our customers come to us because of our expertise in developing hiring, screening, and retention programs that are unique to their culture and industry.  We partner with them to find a talent pool to hire from by exploring several avenues outside of your typical hiring paths.  In many cases, because of the training program we help develop with our customers, they are able to hire the person they want and train them to perform the function the way they want it done.

Our next posts will cover what potential employers are looking for in a new company (hint:  pay is #6 globally), and identifying key personnel to train and develop.  Please do not hesitate to email us at info@ewspros.com.

AB 2774: 1BY – The ‘15 day letter’ and what to do.

 A section of AB 2774 requires Cal OSHA to send a letter to the company 15 days prior to issuing a serious violation.  This has been a topic of much debate since the bill’s introduction.  Our goal in this blog is to provide additional information, but the ultimate decision depends on the violation/citation and legal advice (if necessary).

The intent of the letter is to provide the company with the opportunity to tell their side of the story and provide any additional information you company may want to share prior to the issuance of the citation.   While the intent is positive, the legalese affects the dynamics of the situation. 

By simplifying the legal terms, there is no consequence during your appeal if your company does not respond to the letter.  If, however, your company does respond to the letter, you are locked in to your story, and any additional information provided during the appeals process will be viewed by the judge as ‘negative inference’, or the validity of the new information is to be questioned.  In other words, if your company responds to the letter but finds additional information during further investigation, the new information will be questioned and possibly dismissed by the judge. 

The question ultimately comes down to a choice between trying to avoid the serious citation (with minimal probability for success) and locking in your story, or appeal the citation and request a reduction in the severity and penalty amount during the process with all, relevant information.  The consensus answer among or legal partners is to forgo the response to the 15 day letter and work on the reduction during the appeals process.  

A word of caution: if you decide to respond to the letter, be very careful in what is written.  While this may seem obvious, in discussions with Cal OSHA inspectors, they have shared their surprise at the high number of companies actually admit the violations when they believe they are defending against them.  One shared that ‘Its almost as they concede the violation, but try and explain they why behind the violation’. 

This bill is still new and much is to be learned.  If you have any questions or are currently faced with the decision of whether or not to fill out the letter, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us at safety@ewspros.com with additional questions.

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