5 New Things to Know about Colorado’s Equal Pay Law

Colorado’s new Equal Pay for Equal Work Act will go into effect on January 1, 2021. As a quick reminder, the law prohibits employers from discriminating based on sex and gender identity and requires equal pay for equal work. We outlined the law and how to prepare for it in detail here, but there are some important updates and clarifications … Read More

How Women Are Uniquely Equipped to Lead Teams and Companies

Advancing women into leadership roles within organizations continues to be a hot topic—but not just from the standpoint of pay equity or gender parity, although these remain hugely important issues that require attention. Rather, there’s another angle that deserves focus too: the fact that women bring to the table unique qualities, skills, and experiences that not only help them thrive … Read More

Why Sharing Business Liability with Your HR Outsourcing Partner Is a Good Idea

When you run a business, you have a variety of liabilities. You are financially liable for anything you’ve borrowed and owe, like loans or mortgages. You’re liable for things like paying your employees and collecting sales tax. Your business also has legal liabilities, which includes answering to laws and regulations as well as being responsible for injuries in the workplace. … Read More

Urgent vs. Important Work: How an HR Partner Can Help You Get It All Done

In the workplace, how everyone spends their time is a critical reflection of how well-positioned the business is for growth. As a business owner, you might have to wear a lot of hats, especially if you head up a smaller operation. In any given day, you could divide your time between long-term planning and strategy and a dozen short-term fires … Read More

What You Need to Know About HFWA & PHEW

On July 14, 2020, Governor Jared Polis signed two laws that immediately went into effect: the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) and the Public Health Emergency Whistleblower law (PHEW). These laws affect almost all businesses based in Colorado and should be reviewed carefully by both employers and workers alike.  What Employers Need to Do To help ensure your workers … Read More

How to Outsource HR Without Multi-Vendor Management Mayhem

Outsourcing human resources is a good way to ensure all your important, HR-focused tasks get done while also cutting business costs. When you outsource HR, you don’t have to hire as many HR specialists in-house, which means you don’t have to factor in and be accountable for the cost of their wages. And with your HR partner handling much of … Read More

5 Questions to Help You Decide if Outsourcing HR is Right for You

When you’re a business owner, you get used to wearing a lot of hats. One of those hats might be taking care of all the responsibilities that come with having employees, a.k.a. human resources. Or, it could be hiring (or thinking about hiring) an HR professional who can manage it for you. However you decided to proceed, handling HR in-house … Read More

3 Alternatives to Workforce Layoffs During a Crisis

As the global pandemic continues, leaders of small businesses are having to make some tough decisions in the face of financial hardship, not the least of which is how—or if—to keep your current workforce on the payroll. Do you maintain every employee and try to power through, or do you implement a reduction in force—otherwise known as a layoff? Though … Read More

Leading Through Crisis: Part 5 – Being Authentic & Genuine

The following is based on a series of talks given by Jordan Conley, President of Obsidian HR, to address the widespread health and work crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak. In today’s world, the only thing that is certain is that things continue to change rapidly. People are scared for their families, for their jobs and for the fear of … Read More