Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
This past week, the entertainment world lost one of its best and brightest to an apparent suicide. Robin Williams, who brought laughter to so many for so long, took his own life at the age of 63. So much has been written about his talent over the past week that it’s difficult to understand or […]
By Clayton Jones When confronted with information that an employee may be abusing paid sick leave, it is only natural for an employer to want to investigate further. One way in which employers may do this is through the surreptitious surveillance of the employee. However, such surveillance is of limited value unless the employer will […]
The story of how parents juggle work and family is a familiar tale. Parents strive to be attentive to their children’s needs while getting to work on time, focusing on productivity, and staying late at least occasionally. They do all that while working out child care and making school and children’s activities mesh with work […]
by Glianny Fagundo The American workplace is becoming more diverse. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) calculated that 14.8 percent of the U.S. labor force was Hispanic in 2010. That number is expected to jump to 18.6 percent by 2020—which translates to roughly one in five workers. While many see such diversification as a […]
by Kevin McCormick On July 14, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its “Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues.” This is the first comprehensive update the EEOC has provided on the subject since 1983. The guidance supersedes the earlier EEOC publication and incorporates significant developments in the law during the past 30 […]
by Michelle Lee Flores There is clear agreement that substance abuse—whether it’s alcohol, prescription drugs, or illegal drugs—adversely affects employers and their businesses. Some estimate the loss of productivity for U.S. employers has been as much as $200 billion annually! General concerns for safety at work, injuries on the job, theft, loss of employee morale, […]
by Rachel E. Burke The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed the issue of whether a “sex- plus” claim of discrimination, in which a former employee claimed that she was discriminated against specifically for being an African-American female, can be made under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The case […]
Even the most well-intentioned employers cannot anticipate every potential workplace scenario and provide advance training on how to react in each situation. That’s why it is important to be aware of training-related issues that crop up at other workplaces and take proactive steps in response.Two recent complaints in New Jersey provide such a learning opportunity. […]
Fidelity Investments agreed to pay a class of its own employee 401(k) plan participants and beneficiaries $12 million to settle ERISA violation allegations of excessive fees and committing prohibited transactions with their retirement accounts. The settlement, filed July 3 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, ended two lawsuits brought by employees: […]
From The Oswald Letter A colleague shared with me an article published recently in The New York Times Sunday Review. In addition to the fact that the article had been recommended, its title, “The Secret of Effective Motivation,” was certainly enough to get me to read it. Who in management doesn’t want to know the […]