In her confirmation hearings, perhaps no part of Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial work received more attention than her opinion in Ricci v. DeStefano. This case illustrates the problems employers face in trying to make employment decisions without running afoul of Title VII - the law prohibiting employment discrimination.

A fundamental truth that applies to improving employee job performance is that the degree of success improving any outcome, including the functioning of an HVAC system and employee job performance, is determined by whether all relevant interventions are used to achieve the desired improvement.

It may sound like the plot from a science fiction movie - through genetic testing, someone finds out she may develop a serious disease, her company finds out and fires her, and she can’t get health insurance because of this future health risk. Congress, though, took steps to ensure this scenario does not become reality.

The memory of consumers is short. Your customers and prospects will not remember an advertising message that they see or hear just once or twice. The message has to be repeated. For advertising to be successful, your message has to have sufficient frequency and continuity.

The changes to COBRA provide an employee with a subsidy from the government that covers 65 percent of the cost of COBRA health insurance coverage. The subsidy is a nice idea. But as always, the government decided to create a bunch of new administrative red tape for employers to deal with.

Before developing your advertising, you need to think about and develop a strategy. What is it that you want to accomplish? Just as you develop an overall marketing plan, you need to develop an advertising plan of attack. Once you formulate a winning strategy, you can employ it for years to produce effective advertising.

Trivia question: What was the first law that President Obama signed into law after being elected? Answer: President Obama’s first act upon taking office was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Although it hasn’t received much fanfare, the ramifications of the Act are only now starting to be understood.

Advertising is only one way to get your message out to customers and prospects. Be sure to use all the marketing tools at your disposal. For a low-cost way to promote your HVACR business, take advantage of publicity opportunities.

Why do you need to worry about recent changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)? If you answered, “Because I’m going to start losing lawsuits,” you would be right. In a nutshell, the amendments expand the definition of disability and broaden the number of employees who will be covered by it.

Now more than ever contractors are searching for ways to cut costs. How you go about cutting costs is just as important as where you look for cuts. Begin a systematic examination of your expenses in the office and the field. Then use the list in this article to generate thinking on possible new areas for cost reduction.