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Do you really need a PEO? Here’s how to tell
A PEO is an insurance broker, a guardrail, and a payroll provider. But it’s not a brain. Some people need a PEO. Some need a person.
Most don’t know which they are.
Claire Baker
6 min read


Do I need an HR certification?
Certifications like SHRM and HRCI that over-rely on recall without nuance only magnify this false sense of authority. Like passing the exam makes you Solomon or something.
Claire Baker
2 min read


How do I combine sick and vacation time and still comply with state sick time laws?
I spoke to someone last week who was confused about how to administer her company’s sick leave policy. This HR person (or should I say “truancy officer”?) was essentially blocking people from using their time and then deleting it before they could. That’s not how that works.
Claire Baker
2 min read


Why doesn't payroll automatically update your "worked in" location when you change your address?
Did you know: Payroll doesn’t update tax settings automatically when someone moves. If you live somewhere where it’s common to commute across state lines, having different settings for where someone lives and works seems natural.
Claire Baker
3 min read


Is unlimited PTO really "unlimited"?
Somewhere between two weeks and thirty years, it has to become something else.
Claire Baker
2 min read


FLSA is more than salary
Most teams treat FLSA salary exemptions as a payroll hack. But you need to do more than pay someone a flat rate for them to be exempt from overtime.
Claire Baker
2 min read


Your payroll isn't broken
As someone who’s familiar with the tools and regulations/processes they manage, it’s painfully obvious that most of these complaints are user error. Not because the user is incompetent. Because people underestimate the difficulty of driving an HRIS.
Claire Baker
2 min read


FMLA is outdated in a remote world
And yet, if 50 of your employees can’t meet at Applebees after work, someone taking leave might not have legal job protection. Even if the work is covered. Even if the team has capacity. Even if the impact is minimal.
Claire Baker
2 min read


FMLA isn't a paycheck
People often confuse their job being 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 (by FMLA, etc.) with getting 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱. It's a common mistake. I'm sorry. I really am. I know you're going through a lot. I hate delivering this message when it's already too late.
Claire Baker
2 min read


🕵️♀️ The case of the vanishing employee data
This wasn’t payroll. It was a cold case. Policies contradicted payroll data. Contracts were locked behind sharing permissions from people who’d left the company. Folder names were gibberish. People paid hourly were getting flat rates with no timecards to confirm overtime. A million Scribe docs with no annotations. Hours of 20-minute videos with no transcripts.
Claire Baker
2 min read


When "But we're a startup" isn't cute
Founders love to say, “But we’re a startup.” Like sloppiness is a badge of honor. It's less cute when it comes up in diligence. Here are three dumb mistakes that could have tanked a deal, and the simple fixes that saved them.
Claire Baker
2 min read


401(k) Compliance isn't always automatic
We knew the compliance risks when we picked the non-Safe Harbor 401k option. We thought we were keeping an eye on it.
Claire Baker
2 min read


"This is fine" ... except it wasn't
As an HR department of one, she’d created an environment where people loved to work. I was called in because they were having trouble with a few vendors. And as usual, the problem wasn’t the vendors, but how the company was using the tools.
Claire Baker
2 min read


When confidentiality goes wrong
Termination isn't just a button in your HRIS. It's a tightly regulated event. It's the kind of process where everyone is watching. That’s why HR and managers feel so much pressure to keep it confidential. But too much confidentiality means the people responsible for execution don’t have enough time to get it right.
Claire Baker
2 min read


Hacking a health plan: Finding flexibility in a QLE
I don't know who needs to hear this, but Qualifying Life Events (QLEs) aren't written in stone.
Claire Baker
3 min read


Contractor misclassification: When doing the right thing goes wrong
The company had built an "inclusive" culture that didn’t distinguish between employees and contractors. The systems were set up to put a fig leaf over the fact that there were two classes of team members.
Claire Baker
2 min read
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