Laws which you are now required to follow

No new laws apply.

Topics to think about as you keep growing

40/41:  Pay structure review.  Over time, compensation for particular employees can get out of line with the responsibilities of the positions they hold, in comparison to other individuals in the organization.  Believe it or not, employees will talk about their pay, so be sure that your compensation plan is fair.  Failure to adequately address these variances can lead to unhappy employees, and possibly discrimination lawsuits as well.  Again, you can use information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm, the Vermont Department of Employment and Training http://www.vtlmi.info/occupation.cfm, and the Salary Wizard® at Salary.com http://www.salary.com as rough benchmarks.

42/43:  OSHA inspection.  While OSHA will focus their efforts on specific industries and companies where the rate of employee accidents and employee complaints is high, no company is automatically safe from having an unannounced OSHA inspection.  Any citations issued by the Inspector must be posted by the employer where each violation occured.  For more on this topic, visit:  http://www.ehs.cornell.edu/ochs/OSHA.Inspection.htm

44/45:  Organization-wide incentives.  In addition to base pay and individual-specific performances bonuses (such as commissions and piece-work incentives), "gainsharing" involves paying bonuses based on output, efficiency, sales, profits, and so on.  Gainsharing has been shown to improving teamwork organization-wide.  (Source:  Ivancevich, Human Resources Management.)  For more on this topic, visit:  http://www.gainsharing.com/html/gsqa.html

46/47:  360° Reviews.  While a traditional employment review consists of an employee's supervisor having the sole weight of analyzing performance, a 360° review also incorporates input from peers and subordinates into the process, providing information that may not be readily apparent to just the supervisor.  One key benefit is that it can make supervisors more accountable for how they treat their peers and their own staff.  A good summary of the benefits and drawbacks of 360° reviews can be found at:  http://humanresources.about.com/cs/360feedback/l/aa042501a.htm

48/49:  Employee assistance programs (EAPs).  EAPs are programs that give employees access to professional counseling services, to help them with both professional and personal matters.  Businesses offer EAPs since personal troubles can often spill over into the workplace, affecting attendance, productivity, and morale. Usage of EAPs by employees is confidential -- the only information the employer receives is the number of aggregate visits used.  Although presented with a slight focus on drug and alcohol issues, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has a very good site on EAPs:  http://hr.fws.gov/hr/EAP.htm

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