Do not sell yourself short on your resume. You only have 20-30 seconds to catch a recruiters attention before they move on to the next resume. In this video we give you a quick tip about listing your education on your resume. We hope you enjoy.

By: Kandi Mensing

We talked with a local business this morning that is being sued for 'wrongful termination' after they fired a new-hire that was still in their probationary period. The former employee is claiming that they were fired because of their sexual orientation. The ex-employee has a good case because of the absence of good documentation and processes in the Company. We try to help businesses BEFORE this happens, and avoid this for our clients. Sometimes, though, it takes the business being exposed to the harsh reality that is workplace compliance before they realize they need us. The average defense costs for wrongful termination are $85,000 and the jury verdict averages $500,000.

Our marketing firm, Design 5, out of Lebanon, IL is amazing! We highly recommend them. We met at a networking event and began working together immediately. It all started with the need for them to design an open house invitation for an upcoming MCS event. They did such a good job that we also asked for them to work on the MCS brand. We were in desperate need of a consistent brand, creativity, and color. Design 5 learned about our operations and worked hard to create a brand that was appropriate. Our brand is now distinct, consistent, and absolutely beautiful thanks to Design 5.
Click the picture to go to their website.

We are working on a workplace employee survey for a client. It is awesome when employers value their employees' needs.

Employee surveys are best done by a third-party administrator (like us!) because employees will feel the most comfortable and be the most honest in our confidential setting. Employers are given summarized feedback on what their employees are saying, but all information is kept confidential as far as what each employee said. We provide the employers with a summary, reports & statistics, and suggested action plan. When employee morale is bad, or when retention is poor an employee survey can uncover what action needs taken to make improvements. Happy employees are the most productive and loyal. Turnover is expense.

By Kandi Mensing:

Are you on COBRA and it is too expensive? Were you offered COBRA and had to decline coverage because you couldn't afford the premiums? Have you ever lost access to your employer's health plan? It could have been because of a layoff, a termination, or reduction in hours. If you have ever seen the cost of COBRA coverage, you know that it is expensive!! Most individuals and families cannot afford to pay for COBRA.

Just to briefly explain for those that don't what COBRA is, COBRA stands for Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. It is a Federal law that was enacted in 1986 mandating that employer's allow employees (or ex-employees) that were formerly eligible to join the employer's group health plan access to the group's health plan, even though they're no longer 'eligible,' where coverage would have otherwise been cancelled. The legislation allows that the employer charge the (ex)employee full premium cost plus a 2% administrative fee. This can be very costly.

If you lose group coverage, what are your options?

1. Pay the expensive premiums for group healthcare 
2. Go without healthcare coverage, letting your policy lapse
3. Elect coverage on your new employer's health plan
   (If they offer healthcare, and if you're lucky enough to find another position immediately)
4. OR, purchase your own affordable individual health plan

At Mensing Consulting Solutions, we help people get off of COBRA (or avoid having to elect COBRA) by helping them shop for affordable individual health plans. We find them coverage they can afford without the markups of group healthcare. The last time my family was eligible for COBRA, our family plan through the group coverage was $1,100 per month. Add on a 2% administrative charge and we were looking at about $1,122 per month. Instead, we were able to purchase our family plan under an individually written plan (not group) for less than $400 per month! So, as you can see, there is  a sizable difference between what is paid for coverage under an individually written plan versus a group plan. We saved over $700 each month by purchasing our individual plan instead of electing COBRA coverage.

Group health plans are simply more expensive than plans written on an individual level (i.e. not group). Why is COBRA so expensive, you ask? Well, when you purchase COBRA, you're likely paying a 2% surcharge on the employer's group health plan (the only COBRA fee allowed by the government). Group health plans are accessible by the employer's eligible employees. Group health plans are guaranteed issue, meaning that eligible employees cannot be declined for coverage under the group health plan regardless of pre-existing conditions, lapse of healthcare coverage, or any other reason.  Group health plans do not afford employees the ability to customize their coverage. Some employers may offer several plans for employees to choose from, but not all employers.

When you purchase your own individual plan, you can choose the plan design that fits for you and/or your family at the price that you can afford! 

We work with many large carriers and are very competitive in the market. When you work with us, we don't just write your plan. We're there for you even through your claims process, for any support or assistance that you might need. We are a family business supporting families and other family owned businesses.

Instant & Affordable
Through our partnership with National Crime Search (NCS), we now offer instant and affordable background searches. Our partnership provides you with secure and instant access to a web-based national crime and sex offender directory. This directory includes over 507 million criminal records covering all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.


 
NCS is committed to providing high quality, low-cost, complete solution tailored to meet your criminal background search needs. The system is fast and easy to use allowing for immediate results. 
Full Service Background Solutions Including:

• Instant National Criminal Searches
• Multi-State Sex & Violent Offenders Search
• County Criminal History
• Motor Vehicle Records
• Employment Credit Reports
• Social Security Verification & Address Tracker
• Healthcare Industry Search Services
• Tenant Screening
• Volunteer Screening

Attendees of our open house on Friday March 8, 2013 all entered their business cards into our drawing "Cards for Cards." The winner was Frank Spreng, Ph.D, J.D., Professor of Economics & Director of the MBA Program at McKendree University. He won two (2) tickets to the St. Louis Cardinals versus Cincinnati Reds game on Monday April 29, 2013 at 7:15p.m., Section 171, Row 7! He also takes home the basket with Cardinals gear! Congratulations Dr. Spreng! A heartfelt 'thank you' to all who attended our open house and made it a wonderful day!

A recent episode of Big Bang Theory (watch the episode here) showcased workplace sexual harassment. It was a clear depiction of what sometimes happens in the workplace (exaggerated of course since it is television). The episode proved how it does not necessarily matter what the person meant to say, or what their intentions were. What matters is the perception of what was said. How did they perceive the comments or actions? Any time a harassment complain is filed, the employer is legally obligated to investigate and reconcile the issue. Some situations severe enough in nature require that they employees no longer work in close proximity, and sometimes results in termination.  There are many factors to consider when handling a sexual harassment complaint. It is far too complicated to entirely summarize in one blog post. Our online compliance portal guides employer’s compliance offering summarized legislation, forms, checklists, guidelines and more to help small businesses ensure their legal compliance in the human resources arena.

In 2011, a Belleville, IL employer settled one of the largest sexual harassment cases in history. An employee of Aaron’s Rent-To-Own in Belleville, IL was awarded $95,000,000 in damages.The settlement was so large mostly because the employer did not handle the complaint correctly.  If you don’t have millions to spare on a lawsuit, ensure you handle all harassment complaints appropriately. If you’re not sure what to do, give us a call. We help guide employer’s compliance. That’s what we do.

By: Kandi Mensing

Small businesses owners are a unique and talented breed of people. Think of farmers; they understand agriculture, financing, operations, management, and mechanics.  They oftentimes do their own accounting, ordering, hiring, and general management of the business, not to mention the day-to-day labor involved in their operations. They are even their own mechanic, fixing the machinery. It is the same in most small business environments; ownership is involved in so many tasks that it is hard to be a master at all of them. The marketing aspect can be tricky for owners of small businesses because if the business is not marketed appropriately, they are not positioning themselves to gain market share and succeed as a profitable, healthy operation. Not being a master in accounting can result in unaccounted for money as well as noncompliance with IRS regulations. The same goes with operations in the personnel arena. If an employer is not in compliance with human resource regulations, the resulting fines can be tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Additionally, not having the knowledge on how to effectively motivate and manage the personnel can cause the customer or client experience to be adversely affected. This could also prove to be detrimental to production quality and efficiency in any environment. Not all small business owners exercise the same strengths and weaknesses.  Every small business owner should take the time to determine their own strengths and weaknesses. They should then focus on maximizing their strengths while at the same time figuring out ways to improve upon their weaknesses.  Perhaps recruiting talent that appropriately compliments their own strengths and weaknesses is the most viable and beneficial option.

Maryland: First State to Bar Employers From Demanding Social Media InfoOn Wednesday, May 2, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed S.B. 433, the nation’s first law barring employers from demanding employees or job applicants to disclose their user name or password for accessing social media accounts. The law is effective October 1, 2012.