Month: September 2013

Friendly crowd or adolescent bullies: Assessing cliques in the workplace

Think the cool kids’ lunch table is confined to high school cafeterias and that grownups in the workplace don’t resort to such cliquish behavior? Think again. A survey from CareerBuilder shows that close to half of the workers polled (43 percent) reported the presence of cliques in their workplaces. What’s more concerning is that a […]

Curb FMLA Abuse through Training Supervisors and Coworkers

FMLA abuse is a frustration for many employers. How can an employer continue to provide employees their protected leave while reducing the chances that it will be used improperly? One way that employers can reduce FMLA abuse is training. By properly training both supervisors and coworkers about how FMLA works, the employer increases the number […]

Untrained Supervisor = Legal Land Mine

Yesterday’s Advisor offered 6 common mistakes supervisors make; today, 10 tips for training supervisors, taken from BLR’s 10-Minute HR Trainer. The untrained supervisor is a ticking time bomb because there are a lot of things that seem natural or appropriate that are going to result in expensive lawsuits. Training is the only hope. Here are […]

Q&A on Creating and Administrating a PTO Policy

Do you use a paid time off (PTO) policy in lieu of separate vacation, sick leave, and other leave of absence policies? Doing so can have a lot of benefits, such as increased employee satisfaction and ease in administration. That said, it also comes with challenges. For example, must all accrued PTO be paid out […]

What is the NLRB’s stance on social media monitoring?

Social media monitoring is becoming increasingly common by employers as social media use by employees grows. However, employers should be careful not to be so restrictive that they tread on an employee’s right to concerted activity as protected by the NLRA. Employers should carefully craft social media policies such that they don't diminish this right.

New Employee Malady to Worry About 24/7!

As an HR pro, you may stay awake at night worrying about the latest potential pandemic or the newest reports of allergies to your office décor. But CBSNewYork has reported on a new malady that also manifests itself in the wee hours. Yes, according to the report, employees have ditched their teddy bears and are […]

IDES Says ‘Go Forth and Translate’

If you are an HR professional in Illinois, here is a heads up. While you are comfortable dealing with employees who are Illini, you may soon be confronted by employees who are ETs! Some of your employees may not have self-identified themselves as Klingons! And you may be translating your training sessions and handbooks into […]

Could Google Glass Give Job Applicants a Leg Up?

Google Glass is one of newest gadgets to have the tech-scene buzzing. The wearable technology, also referred to as Glass, consists of a small, Wi-Fi-enabled module that is attached to an otherwise ordinary pair of eyeglasses, explained BLR® Legal Editor Holly Jones recently in an article on HR.BLR.com®.

Check Over This Employee Handbook Checklist

Yesterday, attorney Marc Jacuzzi laid out pitfalls in employee handbook writing, and the challenges handbooks and at-will statements may face. Jacuzzi is a shareholder at Simpson, Garrity, Innes & Jacuzzi, P.C., in South San Francisco. Today, Jacuzzi offers his detailed handbook checklist―compare it against your handbook to see how you stack up.