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Nonprofit Personnel Files — A Guide from Ask Rita
Dear Rita: We've never paid too much attention to our personnel files, but we've just entered a contract with the county and we think it's time for us to get our act together on this. I know we need a personnel file for each employee …
Can We Fire Someone Who Comes to Work Drunk?
Dear Rita: Our receptionist reeked of alcohol when she arrived at work today. This is not the first time this has happened, especially on a Monday morning. We have spoken to her several times and, as in the past, her supervisor took her aside and …
Nonprofit Job Sites Reviewed and Rated
Where are the best sites to post jobs? Where are the best sites to look for nonprofit jobs? This article reviews and rates 31 sites for several specific criteria, and includes a Table of Contents and the Tom Battin Awards for Best Nonprofit Job Sites. …
Can I Be Held Personally Liable for Misclassifying an Employee as Exempt?
Dear Rita: I am the administrative manager for a small nonprofit. The executive director (ED) recently hired a new administrative assistant (AA) and wants to classify her as exempt to avoid paying her overtime when she attends evening board meet …
Can We Discriminate in Favor of People with Disabilities?
Dear Rita: Our agency serves clients with mental health needs, and we like to provide employment opportunities to individuals with mental illness. Can we say in the job advertisement for peer counselor that the applicant should have a mental illness? W …
The HR of Nonprofit Romance
Dear Rita: At our organization, two members of the executive team are married to one another. I’ve been tasked with updating our Employee Handbook. Many of the sample handbooks seem to have anti-nepotism or conflict of interest policies which pr …
Six Easy, Nearly-Free Ways to Be More Disabled-Accessible
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations are undeniably intimidating and seem so expensive to implement, but disabilities activist Mary Lester says there are simple ways to make your office and program sites more accessible without busting …
Emma’s Disability is Hurting Performance: Can We Fire Her?
Dear Rita: Emma has worked as a case manager for our nonprofit for over 15 years. Lately, she has outbursts with clients and coworkers and she’s way behind on her paperwork. We designed a Performance Improvement Plan. A couple of weeks later …
How to Hire a Great Accountant for Your Nonprofit
For many executive directors, hiring an accountant is fraught with anxiety. How will we find the right person? How can I tell if someone really knows accounting? Will an accountant fit in with the rest of us? As difficult as it is to hire a good accoun …
A Few Good Men: Being Male in a Female-Majority Sector
We asked Blue Avocado’s male readers to let us know their thoughts on being men in the majority-female nonprofit world. What we learned surprised us — and raised new questions: The facts are that women comprise 70-75% of nonprof …
