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Prosperident Pulse Archive — September 2012 to March 2013

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This archive collects five issues of the Prosperident Pulse newsletter from September 2012 through March 2013. Use the table of contents below to jump to any issue.

Issues in this archive

September 2012

 
 
Dental Embezzlement News
Issue #5 -- September 2012
Hear us speak...
 
Here are some of the places Prosperident will be speaking soon.  We'd love to see you at one of our events.  To book an excellent speaker for your study club or dental meeting, call us at 888-398-2327 or send an email to fraudnews@prosperident.com.
 
September 12 Springdale, AK --Dr. Boyd Whitlock
Study Club
October 4 Westside Women's Study Group, Houston TX
October 11 Binghamton, NY -- Sixth District Dental Society
October 16 San Francisco, CA -- Academy of Dental Management Consultants
November 25 New York, NY -- Greater New York Dental Meeting (DT Study Club)
November 25-29 Toronto, Kitchener, London and Windsor ON -- Patterson Dental
January 15, 2013
 Wheaton Dental Society, Wheaton MI
March 7-9 Vancouver, BC -- Pacific Dental Conference
April 12 Parker, CO -- Denver Profitable Dentists Study Club
April 17-20
Las Vegas, NV -- Dentaltown Townie Meeting
A Note From Our CEO:
With Labor Day behind us and the kids back to school/university/prison or whatever, it is now time for us to turn our minds back to business matters.

Unfortunately, one of those pesky business matters affecting many dentists is embezzlement.  Published statistics suggest that three in five dentists will be victimized by an embezzler in their careers.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about how best to manage this problem.  Many well-intentioned advisors suggest that if the dentist simply checks more (or different) things each month, they will be able to detect embezzlement.

I recently made this response to a consultant who was advocating a checklist of things for a dentist to do or check monthly (I stopped counting at 80 items on the list):

"Respectfully, I think you are going at this in the wrong way.
 
I don't have a specific objection to anything on this (very lengthy) list.  However, I do object strongly to the underlying philosophy, which is to suggest that the way to control embezzlement in a dental office is to turn the dentist into an untrained, under-equipped, part-time auditor.
 
Most dentists I know, when given a list of this length, will simply throw up their hands and ignore the list.  I haven't tried to calculate the time that performing all tasks on this list would takebut I bet that it is 25 hours or more monthly.  Since the number of hours in a week  is constant, this time would come either from clinical or family time, and both have considerable value.
 
The other problem with the "dentist as auditor" concept is that it ignores the adaptability of embezzlers.  Most successful embezzlers in dental offices are long-term employees.  Their seniority means that they know their doctor well, including what he or she looks at on a monthly basis (and more importantly, what is not scrutinized).  It is then simply a matter of finding a way to steal that is outside the dentist's scrutiny.  If you start looking at more, or different, items the thief simply switches methodologies and carries on stealing.  Ultimately, there are fraud methodologies that NO system of controls and checks can stop.
 
Monitoring for fraud is actually far easier than most dentists and consultants think.  Regardless of the specific embezzlement methodologies being employed, the behavior of thieves is remarkably predictable.  Embezzlers want to control communication in their offices, do not want to take vacation, resist upgrades or changes to practice management software, etc.  If dentists can learn to identify behaviors consistent with embezzlement, they can quickly realize when it is happening.  A benefit of the behavior-based detection approach is that it requires way less time than trying to self-audit, which means that it is far more likely that a dentist will do what is necessary."
 

We have developed a scored behavior analysis checklist that I am happy to supply to any dentist or consultant who emails us at fraudnews@prosperident.com.  The good news is that it usually takes less than 10 minutes to complete Cool.
 
Thanks for reading,
 

David Harris
Chief Executive Officer
IN THIS  NEWSLETTER
What to do if you think you might be a victim
 
Many dentists describe the moment when they realize that a trusted employee is stealing from them as the worst moment in their professional career.
 
If you are in that position, however badly you feel, there are important steps to take, and many "land mines" to avoid. Here are three important points:
 
  1. The single most important consideration is not to alert the suspect to your concerns.  Until you can get professional assistance, acting normally is critical.
  2. Back up your computer system and keep the backup off-site and under your control.  Do not involve staff in this process.  If you don't know how to do this, contact the support department for your practice management software vendor for assistance.
  3. Don't make any changes to your dental software, banking, payroll or anything else until you can get professional assistance.
A more complete list of dos and don'ts is available by emailing us at fraudnews@prosperident.com.
 
If you think you might be a victim, you can call us at 888-398-2327, or send email to our fraud hotline (checked daily by our on-duty investigator at fraud@prosperident.com).  We will normally respond within 24 hours.
 
 
 
 
Visit our Website
Investigator Profile -- Dr. Pat Little 
Pat Little, DDS FAGD is a Senior Fraud Investigator with Prosperident.  Pat was a practicing dentist for 14 years before neck problems forced him to hang up his handpiece.  He returned to college where he studied accounting and is currently preparing to sit for his professional accounting exams. 

In addition to his dental and accounting experience, Pat has been a prolific writer and speaker on the use of technology in dental offices.  Pat has spoken at virtually every major U.S. dental meeting and has authored dozens of articles.

Pat's combination of clinical knowledge, dental office technology and accounting, combined with his passion for helping dentists, has made fraud investigation a natural career progression for him.

Pat specializes in the investigation of complex embezzlement matters where multiple embezzlement methodologies are used.
 
 
 
Prosperident -- The Dental Embezzlement Experts

October 2012

 
 
Dental Embezzlement News
Issue #6 -- October 2012
See us in person ...
 
Here are some of the places Prosperident will be speaking soon.  We'd love to see you at one of our events.  To book a fantastic speaker for your study club or dental meeting, call us at 888-398-2327 or send an email to fraudnews@prosperident.com.
 
October 11, 2012
 Binghamton, NY -- Sixth District Dental Society
October 16 San Francisco, CA -- Academy of Dental Management Consultants
November 25 New York, NY -- Greater New York Dental Meeting (DT Study Club)
November 25-29 Toronto, Kitchener, London and Windsor ON -- Patterson Dental
January 15, 2013
 Wheaton IL,
Wheaton Dental Society
February 12 Mercury Data Exchange Webinar
March 7-9 Vancouver, BC -- Pacific Dental Conference
April 12 Parker, CO -- Denver Profitable Dentists Study Club
April 17-20
Las Vegas, NV -- Dentaltown Townie Meeting
A Note From Our CEO:
I gave an interview last week for DentistryIQ, PennWell's terrific online site.  (This interview should be available on the site later this month.)

When I was answering the questions that the editor put to me, I had a one of those epiphanic moments. I realized that one of the reasons that dentists have been spectacularly unsuccessful in controlling the embezzlement epidemic afflicting their profession (three in five dentists will be victims in their careers, clearly an alarming statistic) is that, for the most part, the consultants who advise dentists have been misdirecting them.

A search of the words "dental embezzlement" on the internet yields dozens of articles, including many written by some of the most recognizable names in the dental consulting world.

The majority of these articles have a common theme -- they advocate a set of policies and controls that a dentist needs to implement in order to "prevent" fraud.  The number of controls recommended by the authors varies from six or seven to well over fifty.  Each of these controls is designed to block a specific method of embezzling.

There are two problems with this approach; it is unlikely to be implemented, and even if it is, it is unlikely to succeed.

Dentists rightly consider their time to have considerable value; using that time as an untrained, ill-equipped auditor is not something most dentists will embrace.

I lost count some time ago of how many embezzlement matters I have been consulted on; suffice it to say that I have encountered many dental embezzlers, and I am probably in as good a position as anyone to understand how they think.  These thieves are driven by powerful internal forces, and we should not expect either the possibility of being caught or a few flimsy control systems to deter them.  We should also not expect them to follow policies set by the dentist when, by definition, they do not follow societal rules.

For these reasons, the approach advocated by these well-intentioned consultants is doomed to ineffectiveness. 

Another consequence of the "controls stop fraud" thinking is that many embezzlement victims unnecessarily blame themselves for their plight.  I've heard many dentists say things like "if only I had checked my day-end sheets daily, this wouldn't have happened".

What is being missed is the adaptive nature of thieves; if these dentists had been checking daysheets, the thieves would have simply used some other method for stealing that would have avoided the dentist's scrutiny.

For me, the irony is that monitoring for fraud is actually far easier than most dentists and consultants think.  Regardless of the specific embezzlement methodologies being employed, the behavior of thieves is remarkably predictable. 

Embezzlers want to control communication in their offices, do not want to take vacation, resist upgrades or changes to practice management software, etc.  If dentists and their advisors can learn to identify behaviors indicating embezzlement, they can quickly realize when it is happening. 

We have developed a scored behavior analysis checklist that I am happy to share with any dentist or consultant who emails us at fraudnews@prosperident.com.  Investing 10 minutes in completing this questionnaire could save you a bundle.

Thanks for reading,
 

David Harris
Chief Executive Officer
IN THIS  NEWSLETTER
What NOT to do if you think you might be a victim
 
Many dentists describe the moment when they realize that a trusted employee is stealing from them as the worst moment in their professional career.
 
If you are in that position, you can make your position much worse if you do the wrong things:
 
  1. Don't confront the suspect.  Aside from alerting him or her of your suspicions, you aren't yet ready for a productive confrontation.
  2. Don't act suspiciously, start asking for extra reports, spend lots of time on the phone in your private office with the door closed etc.  ALERTING THE SUSPECT PREMATURELY CAN HAVE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES!
  3. Don't call the police ... yet.  There will be an appropriate time to do this later.
  4. Don't try to do this yourself -- investigation is a job for experts.
A more complete list of dos and don'ts is available by emailing us at fraudnews@prosperident.com.
 
If you think you might be a victim, you can call us at 888-398-2327, or send email to our fraud hotline (checked daily by our on-duty investigator at fraud@prosperident.com).  We will normally respond within 24 hours.
 
 
 
Visit our Website
 
 
 
Prosperident -- The Dental Embezzlement Experts

January 2013

 
 
Dental Embezzlement News
Issue #7 -- January 2013
See us in person ...
 
Here are some of the places Prosperident will be speaking soon.  We'd love to see you at one of our events.  To book a fantastic speaker for your study club or dental meeting, call us at 888-398-2327 or send an email to fraudnews@prosperident.com.

 
January 15 Wheaton IL,
Wheaton Dental Society
February 12 Mercury Data Exchange Webinar
March 8 and 9 Vancouver, BC -- Pacific Dental Conference
April 4 and 9 American Association of Orthodontists Webinar
April 12 Parker, CO -- Denver Profitable Dentists Study Club
April 17-20
Las Vegas, NV -- DentalTown Townie Meeting
March 27-29 2014 Atlanta, GA --Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting
A Note From Our CEO:
When we started this newsletter about a year ago, our plan was to send it monthly.  That's still the plan.  However, our investigative work takes priority and that means that sometimes we will be a little (or in this case a lot) tardy with our newsletter.
 
In the last two months of 2012, we started a record number of investigations, and this forced our entire team to put other work aside.

Since it is clear to me that the workload isn't diminishing any time soon, we started hiring again, and I am pleased to say that we were successful in hiring three outstanding investigators to complement our existing team.  I'll be introducing you to them in upcoming newsletters.

As you know, a major news story of 2012 was the "Frankenstorm" that devastated parts of the Eastern Seaboard.  Two of our staff were caught in the storm -- fortunately neither was harmed.  If you were affected, I hope that you were as fortunate.
 
The destructive power of Hurricane Sandy did reinforce one point for me -- as much as we humans like to think that we control our environment, there are some forces so strong that they defy our control.
 
I hesitate to compare a storm that caused loss of life and affected millions of people with the operation of your dental office.  However, I see one small parallel.  Embezzlers are pushed by some incredibly strong emotional forces; some are desperate and feel basic necessities are jeopardized; others are driven by ego and feel that society hasn't properly rewarded their talents. 
 
In either case, their motivations are sufficiently powerful to circumvent any system of controls you implement.  I will never state that controls are useless; they aren't and every business depends on them to function.  However, they are not powerful enough to stop a determined thief, in the same way that roofs and walls couldn't stop Hurricane Sandy.
  
If you have heard me speak or have read you have heard me say that the simplest, easiest and cheapest way to control embezzlement in your office is to regularly scrutinize employee behavior.
 
We have recently made some major enhancements to our tremendously popular Embezzlement Risk Assessment Questionnaire.  If you don't have it, or if the version you have is more than three months old, I'd encourage you to ask for a copy, by emailing us at fraudnews@prosperident.com.  I've said it before -- investing 10 minutes in completing this questionnaire could save you a bundle.
 
 
Thanks for reading,
 

David Harris
Chief Executive Officer
IN THIS  NEWSLETTER
What NOT to do if you think you might be a victim
 
Many dentists describe the moment when they realize that a trusted employee is stealing from them as one of the worst moments in their professional career.
 
If you have that feeling, you can make your position much worse if you do the wrong things:
 
  1. Don't confront the suspect.  Aside from alerting him or her of your suspicions, you aren't yet ready for a productive confrontation.
  2. Don't act suspiciously, start asking for extra reports, spend lots of time on the phone in your private office with the door closed etc.  ALERTING THE SUSPECT PREMATURELY CAN HAVE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES!
  3. Don't call the police ... yet.  There will be an appropriate time to do this later.
  4. Don't try to do this yourself -- investigation is a job for experts.
A more complete list of dos and don'ts is available by emailing us at fraudnews@prosperident.com.
 
If you think you might be a victim, you can call us at 888-398-2327 , or send email to our fraud hotline (checked daily by our on-duty investigator at fraud@prosperident.com).  We will normally respond within 24 hours.
 
  
Visit our Website
Investigator Profile -- Donna Fess
 
Donna Fess is one of our most experienced investigators.  Her niche is the investigation of embezzlement for dentists using Dentrix and Easy Dental software.
 
Donna is a certified trainer for both softwares and is definitely our internal resource person for both.
 
Donna is a member of both Speaking and Consulting Network and the Academy of Dental Management Consultants.
Donna makes her home in beautiful Santa Rosa, CA.
 
Donna can be reached by clicking here.
 
 
 
Prosperident -- The Dental Embezzlement Experts

February 2013

 
 
 
Dental Embezzlement News
Issue #8 -- February 2013
Upcoming webinar...
 
The great folks at MDE (Mercury Data Exchange) are hosting a webinar featuring Prosperident CEO David Harris titled "Why Does Embezzlement Strike Three in Five Dentists?" on February 12 at 8:00 pm Eastern Time.
 
You can sign up for free by clicking here
 
Read about us...
We have some new articles and interviews available online.  Check out a couple:
 
 
MDE Modern Office
What NOT to do if you think you might be a victim
 
Many dentists describe the moment when they realize that a trusted employee is stealing from them as one of the worst moments in their professional career.
 
If you have that feeling, you can make your position much worse if you do the wrong things:
 
  1. Don't confront the suspect.  Aside from alerting him or her of your suspicions, you aren't yet ready for a productive confrontation.
  2. Don't act suspiciously, start asking for extra reports, spend lots of time on the phone in your private office with the door closed etc.  ALERTING THE SUSPECT PREMATURELY CAN HAVE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES!
  3. Don't call the police ... yet.  There will be an appropriate time to do this later.
  4. Don't try to do this yourself -- investigation is a job for experts.
We have an "Immediate Action Checklist", which is a more complete list of dos and don'ts is available by emailing us at fraudnews@prosperident.com.
 
If you think you might be a victim, you can call us at 888-398-2327 , or send email to our fraud hotline (checked daily by our on-duty investigator at fraud@prosperident.com).  We will normally respond within 24 hours.
 
 
Visit our Website
Investigator Profile --Art McCracken
 
We are delighted to welcome Art McCracken to our team of awesome investigators.  Art is someone we have known for several years in his capacity as a dental consultant, and we could not believe our good fortune when he agreed to work with us. 
 
Art's background includes a degree in corporate financial management, a banking background, and an excellent knowledge of practice management software, all of which we have already put to good use in investigations.
 
Art (and several others of our team) is a member of the Speaking and Consulting Network, the premier organization for dental speakers, writers and consultants.
 
Art makes his home in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and is a good firend and colleague of this month's guest columnist, Bob Spiel.  Art can be reached by clicking here.
 
  
A Note From Our CEO:
 
 
 
As many of you know, I have made it a personal mission to increase awareness amongst dentists and those who advise dentists about the danger that embezzlement poses to the profession.
 
By some measures I have been successful; we have an impressive list of upcoming speaking engagements, and we get monthly requests for interviews and articles from prestigious dental publications.
 
However, the word isn't getting spread quickly enough.  Three in five dentists will be embezzlement victims in their careers.
 
Embezzlement causes some dentists to delay their retirements and pushes others into bankruptcy.  Our own estimate is that it "extracts" a billion dollars annually from dentists in North America. 
 
But the cost isn't just financial.  Embezzlement also wrecks marriages, ruins working relationships and in some cases causes dentists to leave their profession completely.  We have also seen situations where it was the route cause for arson, emotional breakdown and in at least one case, murder.
 
So please forgive my seeming impatience with raising awareness.  And please stay tuned for next month's newsletter, because I am hoping to make a major announcement about the fight against embezzlement.

In this theme or arming you with knowledge, I mentioned last month that we have recently made some major enhancements to our tremendously popular Embezzlement Risk Assessment Questionnaire.  I'll renew my offer to provide you with a free copy if you email us at fraudnews@prosperident.com. 
 
I've said it before -- investing 10 minutes in completing this questionnaire could save you a bundle.
 
 
Thanks for reading,
 

David Harris
Chief Executive Officer
IN THIS  NEWSLETTER
 
Guest Column
In the course of our work, we have the privilege of working with some truly outstanding consultants.  We welcome the chance to use this column to introduce you to some of them.
 
This issue's guest column is by Bob Spiel.  Bob is writing about leadership, a topic in which he is supremely versed -- Bob is a leader both with his clients and within the dental consulting profession.
 
The Three R’s of Leadership 
As a kid growing up I frequently heard both parents and teachers talk about the importance of the three R’s: reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmatic.  It seems nothing was drilled in more during school than those three -- and with good reason.    Parents and teachers knew those “R’s” were key to my future, and that mastering them early would be critical to success throughout life.  Like you, I buckled down and learned them – and looking back now realize that life would be drastically different without these skills.

Years later a good friend taught me there is another set of “R’s” just as fundamental to success, but these R’s are not taught in school.    They are the 3 R’s of leadership:  Relationships, Requirements and Resources.  And just like the R’s we learned as kids, the R’s of leadership make all the difference.  Let’s briefly look at each: 
Relationships:  Fostering strong, trusting relationships is the beginning of effective leadership and is one of the most important activities a leader will ever engage in.   

The strength of a relationship is measured by the amount of trust held between two people: the stronger the trust, the stronger the relationship; the weaker the trust, the weaker the relationship.     Review the relationships you have with each team member and ask this one salient question, “Where is the level of trust between us, and what can I do to impact that?”  Then act on those impressions. 

Requirements:  Clarifying expectations is vital to the success of a team and is the second most important activity a leader engages in.   Clear expectations are like providing a road map to a traveler in a foreign land:  they define where you are going and what it is going to take to get there.     Define in writing what each team member’s roles and goals are in a practice – and then define how both of you will know numerically when the team member is succeeding.  Once the roles and goals are in writing, discuss those roles, goals and measurements with each team member – and then follow up and hold each member accountable for their performance. 

Resources:   Leaders can’t stop at creating trusting and trustworthy relationships – and defining expectations.  The third key leadership activity is to ensure your team has the tools needed for success.    Successful tools make work faster, better, more focused and produce higher and higher quality.  Ask your team in the next team meeting: what tools don’t you have that would make a huge difference in your work?  Then stand back and listen.   
A team cannot run faster than their leader.  Leaders are pace setters and culture creators.   And as leaders place concentrated effort on improving the three R’s of their practice amazing things start to happen.    Nothing replaces leadership in a practice.  Nothing.
 
 
Robert Spiel, MBA, is a professional speaker, writer, consultant and practice mastery coach to dental practices across the United States.  With over 25 years’ experience in transformational leadership and business, his passion is to coach practice leaders and teams to create exponential success.   He can be contacted at bob@spielconsulting.com or at 888-520-6909. 
 
 
 
Prosperident -- The Dental Embezzlement Experts

March 2013

 
 
 
Dental Embezzlement News
Issue #9 -- March 2013
Upcoming Presentations
 
Here are some of the places you can hear us speak soon.
 
Pacific Dental Conference, Vancouver BC March 7 and 8
American Association of Orthodontists webinar April 4 and 9
Denver Profitable Dentists April 12
Dentaltown Townie Meeting, Las Vegas NV April 18
Speaking and Consulting Network, Loveland CO June 8
Savannah Dental Society, Savannah GA Sept 20
 
Read about us...
We have some new articles and interviews available online.  Check out a couple:
 
 
MDE Modern Office
Ten warning signs NOT to ignore:
 
  1. Staff members in financial difficulty
  2. Addictions or other compulsive behaviors 
  3. Staff who are “super-dedicated” especially working unusual hours or who never take vacation / sick days
  4. Unusually territorial about work or workspace
  5. Control freaks / cocooning  -- want to control communication between patients and practice
  6. Conspicuous displays of honesty
  7. Resist practice management software upgrades
  8. Resist increased involvement of consultants /accountants
  9. Attempt to exert control over choice of practice advisors 
  10. (We're not kidding about this one!) Receptionist’s BMW is newer (and bigger) than yours.
 
If you think you might be a victim, you can call us at 888-398-2327 , or send email to our fraud hotline (checked daily by our on-duty investigator at fraud@prosperident.com).  We will normally respond within 24 hours.
 
 
Visit our Website
Investigator Profile --Wendy Askins
 
Wendy Askins is a Senior Fraud Investigator with Prosperident.  Wendy's extensive experience working in and managing specialist dental offices make her extremely well qualified for her Prosperident role.  Wendy manages some of our most challenging investigations in orthodontic and oral surgery practices. 
 
Her investigative and communication skills earn her high praise from clients and peers.
 
Wendy has an MBA from LeTourneau University and an undergraduate degree in psychology.  She makes her home in Conroe, TX.
 
 
 
A Note From Our CEO:
 
 
 
We write and speak a lot about the causes of embezzlement, how commonly it afflicts dentists (three in five dentists will be afflicted in their careers) and how much money it costs (the average thief steals almost $150,000; cleaning up the damage can increase the total cost to the dentist considerably).
 
However, I don't think we always emphasize the emotional cost of embezzlement.  The most obvious consequence is the pain caused by being hurt by someone you have chosen to trust, but it can go well beyond that. 
 
We all know that dentistry is a demanding profession, both physically and emotionally.  When you add the consequences of destroyed trust to the burdens already facing dentists, many get pushed beyond the breaking point.
 
We have also seen embezzlement take a toll on many marriages; it is common for one spouse to (unfairly) believe that the other's negligence somehow caused the embezzlement, and increased financial pressure from embezzlement can strain any relationship.  We have even seen several situations where one spouse was wrongly convinced that their seemingly sudden financial problems were the result of the other having an affair.
 
One resource we have available is our in-house psychologist, Jason Roth.  Jason has dealt with many dentists, and has an excellent understanding of the challenges facing dental families.  He can be extremely helpful at helping post-embezzlement dentists rebuild relationships with family members and staff.  Jason can be reached through our office at 888-398-2327.
 
While it is unfortunate that someone like Jason is needed, he is a great resource to have.  The key to minimizing financial and emotional damage from embezzlement is to spot that it is happening quickly. The best tool available for this is our Embezzlement Risk Assessment Questionnaire.  We will happily share with any dentist who emails us at fraudnews@prosperident.com. 
 
I've said it before -- investing 10 minutes in completing this questionnaire could save you a bundle -- of money and heartache.
 
 
Thanks for reading,
 

David Harris
Chief Executive Officer
IN THIS  NEWSLETTER
 
Guest Column
In the course of our work, we have the privilege of working with some truly outstanding consultants.  We welcome the chance to use this column to introduce you to some of them.
 
This issue's guest column is by Paul Edwards, CEO and Co-Founder of CEDR HR Solutions.  Paul is definitely a "go-to" guy when it comes to human resource questions in dental offices, and he has shown considerable interest in the area of embezzlement.
 
 
Seminar Attendance & Travel Pay:
 The Office Policy that 8 out of 10 Employers Get Wrong 
 
I’m frequently asked “When is travel time or seminar attendance compensable?” For continuing education credits, seminars, or company trips, remember two rules:
1. The “Butt in the Chair” rule – employers must pay for ALL hours employees are attending mandatory trainings or meetings, regardless of the day of the week and their normal work hours.
2. The “Planes, Trains & Automobiles” rule – employers must pay for ALL hours employees are traveling to and from a seminar or meeting if it crosses across their normal work hours.
Why do we bring these rules up? Because in the last year, CEDR Solutions’ HR experts have evaluated more than 250 employee handbooks for practices across the United States. Of those, nearly 92% failed to get their seminar & travel pay policy correct.
 
Here is a common example:
“If a seminar falls on a normal workday you will be paid your regular pay for that day. If a seminar falls on a Saturday or Sunday, you will not be paid for this non-work day, but all expenses will be covered such as lunch and parking. You will not be required to attend a non-paid seminar.”
Does the above sound familiar? If so, bad news: this policy is illegal. Employers must pay for all hours employees attend training or seminars for work, regardless of the day of the week. Plus, if this time puts the employee over forty hours in a week, overtime must be paid.
 
A good rule of thumb is that in order for time spent at a seminar to NOT be compensable, ALL of the following must be TRUE. 
  1. Attendance must be outside of normal work hours.
    Note: this does not say normal work “days.”
  2. Attendance is voluntary.
    Note: The word “voluntary” will not stand up if an employee can show the employer led them to believe that the training was critical or related to their job.
  3. Event is not directly related to the job or does not benefit the employee.
  4. The employee performs NO productive work during this period.
The exception to these rules: if the employee is participating in continuing education in order to maintain his/her state licensure and would not be able to continue to work without it, you do not have to pay.
 
What about travel pay? If an employee’s travel time to or from a mandatory training or meeting cuts across their normal work hours, then those hours are ALSO compensable and subject to overtime. This is true regardless of the day of the week.
For example, if your normal business hours are 8 am to 5 pm, and the employee travels to an event leaving at 3 pm and arriving at 6 pm, the employee is entitled to two (2) hours of travel pay. This is true EVEN IF the travel is on Saturday, and EVEN IF your business is only open Monday through Friday.
 
 
CEDR HR Solutions (www.cedrsolutions.com) provides individually customized employee handbooks and HR solutions to dental offices of all sizes across the United States. Paul Edwards has over 20 years’ experience as a manager and owner, and specializes in helping dental offices solve employee issues. Paul is a featured writer for The Profitable Dentist magazine, a regular contributor to Dentaltown and AADOM, and speaks at employment education seminars, conferences, and CE courses across the country. He can be reached at paul@cedrsolutions.com or (866) 414-6056.
 
 
 
 
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