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What Does Our Community Need Us to Do? 9/1/08
As Hurricane Gustav thankfully departs the Gulf Coast and the presidential election marches closer, it’s a good time to reflect on two things: 1) that public policy at all levels continues its drumbeat no matter who is president or mayor, and b) that n …
Learned in 3 Years Since Katrina: Word on the Street
Rosana Cruz, Safe Streets/Strong Communities, New Orleans: There was a glut of money but most of it went to national organizations that are larger, and to a few local organizations that are well-known. It was the prom queen dynam …
Zero Cell Phone Use While Driving Policy
Your employer should enact a "Zero Cell Phone Use While Driving" policy. Such a policy should consider the following elements: 1. Require that employees pull over at the next available safe stop to return a work call. 2. Never initiate a call …
Is Public Access TV Becoming Irrelevant?
When cable TV was still new, many communities required cable companies to provide one or a few channels for local, community-produced programs. But public access TV has gotten a bad rap in many areas, and with the advent of YouTube, some people are que …
A Family and Medical Leave Act Checklist
Use this quick Checklist as a way of making sure you’ve remembered all the key points:1. The employer is responsible for designating an employee’s leave as qualifying under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).2. An employee giving notice of the need fo …
Can an Employee Come and Go Using Family or Medical Leave?
Dear Rita,One of our exempt employees — a children’s therapist — is keeping me up nights by taking unscheduled and intermittent leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). We've been able to plan schedules when other emplo …
Is It Time for an Audit?
Blue Avocado reader Bill Mitchell writes: “As a board member of both a small ($400k/year) and a much larger ($1.8m/year) nonprofit, what are the criteria to determine whether or not to conduct a formal outside audit? I have worked on staffs, sat on boa …
Have a 3-Minute Staff Retreat with Cookies
You need a 3-minute vacation. You feel like eating a cookie. There’s a wrong way and a right way to have a 3-minute cookie vacation. The wrong way: eat it while working. The right way: Go out and buy a box of cookies (if desperate, buy 5 packages out o …
I Hear the Sound of Fingernails Clipping
Last issue we asked Blue Avocado readers how they would react to hearing the activity of a co-worker in the next cubicle clipping his fingernails. Ack! Some readers providedhumorous ideas and others gave practical advice, perhaps because of personalexp …
Gas Rates, Volunteers, and Justice: Reader OpEd
Many people don’t realize that on their personal tax returns volunteers can deduct mileage expenses incurred as part of volunteering. For example, if a volunteer drives 30 miles to volunteer at an art school or drive a patient to chemotherapy, the …
