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Ask Rita in HR: Do we really have to do performance evaluations?
Dear Rita: I just started as the first HR Manager for an environmental nonprofit that has grown to 65 employees, although at least 35 of them are summer staff. I was somewhat shocked to discover that there are no performance evaluations in the files! W …
What Are My Nonprofit’s Obligations Under the Affordable Healthcare Act?
Dear Rita: I am the executive director of a nonprofit with 15 employees. We have never been able to afford to provide health insurance benefits for our staff. I’m confused about our obligations under the Affordable Healthcare Act. I heard that em …
Hiring Job Candidates with Criminal Convictions: Unlock the Possibilities
Like many employers, you may follow a default position of not hiring job seekers who have a past criminal conviction, but such a one-size-fits-all policy can not only get you in trouble with the law, it could also eliminate some excellent candida …
Twelve Ways to Get a New Executive Director Off on the Right Foot
When a new executive is hired, the board usually breathes a huge sigh of relief. They have likely been working extra hard for weeks or months interviewing candidates or taking on additional tasks, such as managing a fundraising event or overseein …
Is Coming to Work Required to Keep My Job?
Dear Rita in HR: I have an employee with a disability who is requesting intermittent leave as an accommodation. She says she can’t tell ahead of time when she’s going to be able to come to work. It seems to me that just coming to work is an “essential …
High Pay for Nonprofit Execs? Analysis of 100,000 Salaries
Everybody has an opinion about whether nonprofit executives are paid too little or too much, but almost nobody has any real data outside their own experiences. At last! Economist Linda Lampkin (left) analyzed 100,000 nonprofit CEO salaries and ha …
Board Support Position: Sample Job Description
Our thanks to Meg Evans, who shared her job description as Coordinator of Board Relations at the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Foundation in Portland, Oregon. This version is edited from the original. JOB DESCRIPTION COORDINATOR OF BOAR …
Firing Someone for Slamming Their Nonprofit Employer on Social Media: Legal Update
Dear Rita: I liked your article a couple of years ago about whether employees could be fired for what they posted on their Facebook page. Since then I keep reading about how a federal law, called the NLRA, is being used to regulate what action an …
Are Social Workers Exempt or Nonexempt? Help!
Dear Rita in HR: Should social workers be classified as exempt or nonexempt? In the process of updating our job descriptions I have looked at many from other agencies and am confused in particular about one issue: in some cases social workers are class …
When Kids Volunteer: Liability Basics
Whether kids sell cookies or help clean up a park, they are welcome volunteers. Just be sure you know the basics of how to protect them and your organization when it comes to liabilities (at the end of this article is a link to a sample waiver): …
