Q: How do I verify hours worked from home for an hourly non-exempt employee? A: The amount of technology available concerning the tracking of time can be a little overwhelming. How you track work from home for hourly non-exempt employees will depend ...

Q: I have a "Doomsday" employee causing stress and frustration; what should I say to them? A: As we have discussed before, fear is easy to come by right now. Everywhere we turn we’re hearing nothing but doom and gloom, so it’s not surprising some emp...

  What does the OSHA ETS mean for your business? On November 5, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring all private employers with 100 or more employees to implement e...

If you’ve tuned into the news lately, chances are you have probably heard of The Great Resignation of 2021, a coined term referring to the recent overwhelming spike in people leaving their jobs. Across the United States, as businesses are coming back...

Employers will have more time to weigh in on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's mandate-or-testing rule for Covid-19 — and even small employers not affected by the rule would be wise to submit their feedback. OSHA said it has extende...

The COVID-19 vaccine is a hot topic in the news right now, both inside and outside of the office. As an employer, there are many factors to consider when deciding if and how to incorporate the vaccine at your business. Before making a decision, we en...

Texas Governor’s Executive OrderOn October 11, 2021,Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order (EO) GA-40 which states that “no entity in Texas can compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccination by any individual, including an employee or consumer, ...

The Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed into effect by President Donald Trump in March of 2020. Generally speaking, the Act requires employers with fewer than 500 employees provide two different options of emergency paid leave, e...

Employers and employees alike have questions regarding the payroll tax deferral recently enacted by President Trump. Below are the answers to the most common questions we've received. How is eligibility for deferral determined? Payroll tax deferral i...

Flu season is upon us once again. While in previous years it has been common to experience coughing, sneezing and sniffles during this season, this year brings added layers of stress and worry with COVID-19 concerns. How do you know if the symptoms y...

As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, employers continue to deal with unprecedented employment challenges. More often we are hearing a concern that many employees are requesting socially distant work accommodations based on their own concerns over under...

Governor Abbott recently lifted the mask mandate in Texas, which went into effect on Wednesday, March 10. Many employers have questions about how this affects their businesses and organizations.Below is a list of frequently asked questions about the ...

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021.  As this is new information, there will be additional guidance from federal agencies in the coming weeks on administering parts of the Act.You may be most fa...

Last month, we sent out communication regarding initial information on the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) after it was signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11.  A couple of key items of the ARP go into effect Thursday, April 1.Families Fir...

Monday, April 27 marks the first day of the Harris County face mask ordinance. Below are some answers to frequently asked questions about the ordinance:   What is the new mandatory face mask mandate? On Wednesday, April 22 Harris County Judge Lina Hi...

As we ease into reopening the office, Achilles Group team members have been brainstorming ways to safely make the transition back into office life. When we learned that one of our clients, Apache Services, Inc., offers COVID-19 Decontamination servic...

The recently created Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA) addresses several concerns expressed by businesses regarding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). While the PPP loans were met with great enthusiasm, the program's rollout lef...

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) recently posted some important updates regarding work search requirements for those collecting unemployment. The June 30th announcement states that it will delay the reinstatement of the work search requirement fo...

The answer to this question is both yes, and no. It’s important to note that there are six reasons you can qualify for Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL), part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA): The employee is subject to a federal...

Engagement is more difficult when you can’t do it face-to-face. We lose a lot of our communication capabilities when we’re not together in person. Ninety-three percent of how we communicate is through our tone and our body language. While working rem...