ALCC members often cite hiring great staff as one of their biggest challenges. If you face a staffing shortage, have you considered hiring a US military veteran? There are many resources available to help you connect with vets and find quality employees. These resources serve the entire state of Colorado, so even if you are along the Western Slope or another town outside Fort Collins/Denver/Colorado Springs, there are tools available to you.

Industry job fairs are a key resource for finding people with experience and others looking for a new career. This year, ALCC is taking 5 new tactical steps to attract these job seekers to member organizations and to a great industry.

The two most critical elements to sustaining life as we know it are water and soil. But when it comes to which one gets the spotlight, water always seems to win. It keeps the upper hand if for no other reason than it washes us off when we get dirty. Yet, as the soil nerds are quick to point out, there are more living organisms in a single teaspoon of soil than there are people on earth.

Those who dig the dirt and all it brings to life will be glad to know 2015 has been designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Soil, which has in turn been endorsed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA).

There are several points of interest related to OSHA in the spending package recently passed by Congress.

Many of the changes - whether taking affect or anticipated – could impact the green industry.

Get ready! When the new year starts, there will be many calls to action to get you ready to become a greater-than-ever person in 2015 than you were in 2014. So how did you do this year? Do you need a massive overhaul – or just some fine tuning?

Here are a few thoughts about work-life priorities as shared by one of the industry’s nationally-known thought leaders, Jeffrey Scott. He will also be in Denver to kick off ALCC’s 2015 CEO Exchanges on February 10.

Job Fairs are an effective recruiting tool, because they can attract a lot of people who are most interested in what you do. If the promotion is targeted to the right audience, masses of people won’t show up – but the ones who do come to the event are prime candidates. It’s still quality over quantity.

In 2015 ALCC’s second go-round with a job fair on February 25, 2015, arises from lessons learned at that risk-taking event in 2014.

 Did Dish Network act lawfully when it terminated employment of a quadriplegic who suffered from debilitating muscle spasms and possessed a valid medical marijuana prescription? That’s the case currently before the Colorado Supreme Court (CSC).  The court’s ruling is likely to impact your company – and businesses in all states.

Dish’s termination decision was based on the employee’s positive test for marijuana use even though he was never under the influence of the drug on company premises. Was this wrongful termination under Colorado’s “Lawful Activities” law which prohibits termination for off-the-clock legal behavior? Or was the termination lawful because marijuana use is illegal under federal law?

Professional female soccer players are outraged that the 2015 Women’s World Cup hosted by Canada will be played on artificial turf while men will play on natural grass.

A group of players are, in fact, suing FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association, alleging that requiring women to play on artificial turf constitutes gender discrimination. 

Recently, Fox News did an expose of jobs by remodeling contractors gone terribly bad.  All of the homeowners had hired their contractors via the Home Adviser network. 

The company links companies across the US and Canada that provide home-related services with homeowners who need help.  Seeing national coverage of worst case scenarios had to have been a public relations nightmare for this company whose international headquarters is in Golden, CO.

Soil is science and what you put on top of soil matters.  If you need to get that point across to clients, you can lean on research by soil scientists at Virginia Tech. 

You don’t have to be a scientist to understand what they have learned about mulch and landscape fabric and their practical points are easy to share.