Paid time off is good for employees and employers

The Arizona desert is the perfect place to be productive and get work done. As I write this I am headed back to Idaho from sunny Phoenix, Ariz., where I spent spring break.

During our five-day family vacation, I have answered e-mails, spoken to insurance underwriters, scheduled interviews and meetings, written new employment policies and updated job descriptions. All this productivity has taken place in between sightseeing, shopping, swimming, MLB pre-season games and time with friends.

Despite the fact that I own and manage my own company, I relate more to today’s average employee. Like most employees, the workplace extends my office, hours typically aren’t Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and if a client calls with a question when I am on vacation I answer it.

Businesses continue to change and conform to societal trends and demands. With markets expanding globally and the public demanding 24/7 operations, staffing and managing businesses has never been more challenging. Employees are tasked with more to do in their day-to-day duties, while attendance at work is crucial for business operations.

So the question then becomes, are there benefits to offering and taking paid time off away from work? The answer for both businesses and employees is simple -– yes.

Currently U.S. employment regulations do not legally mandate that employers offer any paid  time off. According to Forbes.com the United States is the only advanced economy that does not require employers to offer paid time off, lagging behind countries like Canada, Japan,   France, etc. This means it’s up to employers to voluntarily offer paid time off to their employees in the United States.

Most U.S. employers offer paid time off, right? Not quite. According to Forbes.com, it's only one out of four. Companies that pay lower wages, have part-time employees and are small businesses are more likely to not offer paid time off.

Offering paid time off has a number of benefits that can impact and cost a company far less than the paid time off employees may take during the year. Paid time off allows employees to have a work-life balance without the worry of lost or decreased income for the employees.

As employees are required to work longer and harder hours as a part of 24/7 business operations, job-related stress can be a major concern in the workplace. Job-related stress leads to lower productivity, increased absenteeism, lower employee morale, health issues  and high turnover. Paid time off can not only significantly decrease work-related stress, it can also be beneficial to the economy. As employees are allowed to take paid time off from work, they are able to take vacations, go shopping, eat at restaurants, and enjoy other recreational activities, all benefitting the economy.

So how does a business come up with a paid time off policy if they don’t have one in place? The Internet is filled with ideas on policies that can get a company started in the right direction. Business and management consultants have a vast knowledge of how to draft a paid time off policy -- what to include and specific suggestions on key points.

While businesses may worry about an employee missing work, and have to financially pay for the employee being away from the workplace with paid time of, the benefits of offering paid time off far exceed the costs.

New bar opens in downtown Idaho Falls

Deb Reinhart, operator of the Steinhouse Bar, 335 A Street.

At 520 square feet, the Steinhouse Bar at 335 A Street, which opened March 22, might be the coziest drinking establishment in Idaho Falls.

"This is basically a quiet bar, where people can come and sit and talk," said operator Deb Reinhart, who got her liquor license from the state the old-fashioned way, by applying for one and then waiting years.

Beer and wine licenses are easy enough to get, but Idaho bases the number of liquor license a community can have on population. This arrangement has led to some exorbitant prices being paid by people in a hurry.

Now that she has received a new state liquor license, she must "perfect" it over the next six months by staying open 10 hours a day six days a week and selling at least one drink each day.

The property is across the street from Great Harvest Bread Co., where a barbershop had been since the 1950s. The remodel had some archaeological interest, with papers and old clipper heads from the Eisenhower era. Reinhart opted to keep the black-and-white-checkerboard linoleum floor, but said she would not care to repeat the experience of cleaning it on her hands and knees.

Because the use of the building was being changed, she was required to put in a handicapped-accessible bathroom. "This is probably the smallest bar with the biggest bathroom you'll ever see," she said.

The name comes from the collection of beer steins on the shelf. Reinhart said there is no place she would rather be than downtown. Other bar owners have stopped by to wish her well.

"I love downtown," she said. "The people are so friendly."

For more information, call (208) 680-6232.

Engineering firm leases old Ronsen's space on Broadway

Applied Engineering Services has moved to downtown Idaho Falls, setting up in the long-vacant Ronsen's State Hardware building on Broadway.

After more than 20 years at the Idaho Innovation Center on North Yellowstone, Applied Engineering Services, Inc., has moved to downtown Idaho Falls, occupying the storefront on Broadway that was home for years to Ronsen's State Hardware.

Formed in 1992, AES provide engineering services nationwide in areas of specialized studies, design, systems analysis, consulting, project management, and environmental restoration. On its Web site, the company describes itself as "engineers with a practical, no-nonsense approach for your project."

Downtown Development Director Bob Everhart said there wasn't much work involved in bringing AES downtown. "They had pretty much decided that was what they wanted to do," he said. But the lease allows the building owner, Janet Jack, to continue remodeling residential units upstairs.

"There's a growing interest in downtown's residential component," he said.

DOE announces extension of Battelle INL operations contract

The U.S. Department of Energy announced today it will be extending Battelle Energy Alliance’s original 10-year contract to operate Idaho National Laboratory an additional five years.

The contract was awarded to BEA in November 2004, and was notable in that it merged the lab operations that had been managed by BWXT Idaho, and before that Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies, with Argonne National Laboratory-West, which had for decades been run by the University of Chicago. The 10-year INL contract began on Feb. 1, 2005, with the current period of performance scheduled to end this Sept. 30. The extension announced today means BEA will operate INL through Sept. 30, 2019.

In a news release, DOE cited BEA’s "consistently strong annual performance and success" in managing INL, focusing in particular on the creation of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies. BEA partnered with the State of Idaho to establish CAES, which has generated nearly $60 million in competitive research opportunities for Idaho's universities and INL since 2008, the release said.

Now with about 3,500 employees, Battelle's work at INL is in three areas: nuclear energy and technology; energy and the environment; and national and homeland security. Its contract with the DOE allows the federal government to adjust its annual payout based on performance, up to a ceiling of about $18.5 million.

In December, the Associated Press reported BEA had earned 91.4 percent of its available fee during fiscal year 2013, an improvement over 2012, when the company earned about 86 percent. The fiscal year 2012 rating was the company’s lowest in the time it has run the lab.

According to the report, Battelle didn’t get a 100 percent rating for 2013 in part because of deficiencies in worker safety and other operations. On the positive side, DOE reported that INL had several achievements to boast in 2013, including a research discovery advancing scientist's understanding of fuels used in high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors.

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