J. Kent's Blog - Articles for Employers and Job Seekers

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40% of Your Employees Would Look for Another Job if Forced to Return to the Office Full-Time

Posted by: Karen Booher on October 20th, 2021

Colorado employers are continuing to be challenged when defining return-to-work policies for their 2022 workplaces. Companies large and small are grappling with the question of whether or not they require their employees to return to work, or continue to offer options for hybrid or remote work. To help navigate these important decisions, it helps to…

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Reminder to Small Colorado Employers (15 or Fewer Employees) – Paid Sick Leave Requirements Start Jan. 1, 2022

Posted by: Karen Booher on October 20th, 2021

The Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA), passed by the Colorado State Legislature in June 2020, mandated that Colorado companies with 16 or more employees provide paid sick leave to their employees starting Jan. 1, 2021. Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, the Act extends that mandate to ALL Colorado employers, to include those with 15 or…

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Signs You’ve Found the Right Candidate

Posted by: Karen Booher on September 23rd, 2021

When interviewing candidates, most of us are aware of the obvious red flags – late for the interview, speaks poorly about a past employer, poor eye contact, gives excessively vague answers… Aside from the actual qualifications for the job, hiring managers should make sure they pay attention to the green flags – indications that the…

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Don’t Overlook the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)

Posted by: Karen Booher on September 21st, 2021

In our daily interactions with many small-to-mid size Denver employers, it is common to hear that many companies aren’t fully aware of various programs that can benefit their companies. Therefore, we like to use our blog as a knowledge-sharing platform to help other Colorado companies. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is one such program…

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Remote Worker Bias – What Is It and How Can You Prevent It?

Posted by: Karen Booher on August 18th, 2021

There are both up-and-down sides of remote working. On the positive side, offering remote work options has enabled certain employees (i.e., working mothers) to be able to continue working during the pandemic when they may have had to quit or scale back to a part-time job due to increased personal responsibilities such as assisting with…

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Employers Planning Larger Pay Raises for 2022

Posted by: Karen Booher on August 17th, 2021

As U.S. employers recover from the economic fallout from the pandemic and face mounting challenges to attract and retain employees, they are planning to give employees larger raises next year. According to a recent survey of 1,220 companies by Willis Towers Watson, U.S. companies project average salary increases of 3.0% for executives, management and professional…

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A Deeper Dive Into Colorado’s Pay Transparency Laws (with 10 FAQ’s)

Posted by: Karen Booher on August 17th, 2021

In a December 2020 blog, we highlighted the general provisions of some of Colorado’s newest laws that have important implications for Colorado employers. One such law which went into effect on January 1, 2021, is the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEWA). There are various pieces to this Act, but one component I’d like…

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10 Top Leadership Skills – How Do You Rate?

Posted by: Karen Booher on July 15th, 2021

Leadership is a universal skill that is more connected to people than it is to the role itself. And, as qualifications may come and go, the ability to lead well is consistently required for success in just about any career. From doctors to engineers to mechanics to office workers, leadership skills matter in just about…

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Post-Pandemic Workforce Challenges for Employers

Posted by: Karen Booher on July 15th, 2021

As if keeping your business afloat through the heart of the pandemic wasn’t difficult enough, employers now find themselves faced with other challenges relating to their workforce. As we all have encountered, finding good talent is not an easy task in this current market. To further add salt to our wounds, companies now are faced…

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Colorado Employers Can No Longer Maintain “Use-It-Or-Lose-It” Vacation Policies

Posted by: Karen Booher on July 13th, 2021

On June 14, 2021, the Colorado Supreme Court issued an impactful decision on vacation pay, ruling that an employer must pay an employee’s earned but unused vacation pay upon separation from employment. With this, any prior agreement or company policy that forfeits an employee’s rights to this vacation pay is void. The decision had been…

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