Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
What employer doesn’t crave a pool of applicants with a strong work ethic, a reputation for being skilled, diverse, motivated, tech-savvy, mobile, and well-educated? Those qualities typically top the list of desired characteristics, but when candidates with those assets are military spouses, employers often pass them up. Department of Defense statistics claim that 85 percent […]
by Lisa Berg What do forgetfulness, menstrual cramps, and social awkwardness have in common? They’re all symptoms of new mental health disorders recognized in the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). The DSM-5 is widely used by healthcare professionals to […]
by Jonathan C. Sterling Q We have an employee over age 65 who has been a manager for over 40 years and has excellent evaluations in his file. Recently we have learned that his department is possibly committing fraud in their documentation of paperwork. He doesn’t abide by company policy, doesn’t meet deadlines, and has […]
By Holly K. Jones In a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, the court upheld a controversial ban on the use of affirmative action in public education, employment, and contracts in the state of Michigan. For details on the decision and whether it affects your business, read on. Background In 2003, two U.S. Supreme Court decisions […]
by Cathleen S. Yonahara An employee was placed on paid leave because of his medical symptoms. When he was subsequently fired, he sued for disability discrimination. The employer prevailed at the trial court level but lost before the appellate court. The crux of the case was whether the employer “regarded” the employee as disabled even […]
In the past year, Zappos received about 31,000 applications, and only hired about 1.5% of the applicants. This prevented the company’s small recruiting team from “working in a purposeful way,” according to Mike Bailen, senior HR manager. Thus, the onus here will really be on the candidate to make him or herself stand out from […]
Bold Experiment or Crazy Idea? Only a few months ago the HR community was abuzz with the news of online retailer Zappos’ new hierarchical system … or actually, its decision to do away with a linear management style and adopt a holocracy. Now, in its quest to pursue a corporate goal of creating a progressive […]
Thousands of 401(k) plans failed their recent IRS nondiscrimination testing and had to return excess contributions to highly compensated employees because of imbalanced retirement plan coverage, according to research by a 401(k) advisory firm. Almost 60,000, or about 12 percent, of plans reviewed were forced to make “corrective distributions” to HCEs in 2012, the latest […]
We got a large number of comments responding to last week’s epinion concerning the brouhaha brewing over SHRM’s decision to start offering its own certifications, in competition with HRCI. [See the original post here.] None of the comments is positive and most of the negativity is directed toward SHRM. Two readers cleverly turned the sample […]
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals in Philadelphia will be paired up with local youth in mentor relationships as part of the city’s award-winning plan to increase the number of youths engaged in STEM. Philadelphia is one of seven winning cities in the US2020 City Competition, a national competition initiated by the White House […]