Archives

Survey Finds These Super Employees More Powerful, and Happier, than HR

More powerful than a CFO or HR director, these superhuman, multitasking employees do it all, according to a new Staples survey, and they make things happen in the workplace. And they are happy! They are the “admins.” In honor of Administrative Professionals Day, Staples surveyed both administrative and nonadministrative workers about the role of these […]

Mais Non! New Work Rule Means French Dis-connection

While Americans are obsessed with checking their electronic devices virtually 24/7, viewing e-mails after hours, before they go to bed, and even on vacations, the French government has said “mais, non” to this practice with a new workplace rule that precludes employees reading work-related e-mails after work hours.

Do Zombies Carpool to Work? Not in Arizona

Do zombies carpool? Ride bikes? Take the bus to work?  A commuter who thinks so is the subject of a new infomercial that assures him that the zombies that populate his imagination do none of these—at least not in Arizona.

Young workers’ innovative ‘whizness’ messes with ADEA limits for business

by John Phillips Recently, a piece I heard on NPR’s Morning Edition, “Does Business Innovation Depend on a CEO’s Age?”, while driving to work caused me to swerve from one lane to another. Fortunately, my swerve didn’t result in an accident, but it did ignite a cacophony of horns.  The NPR report dealt with new […]

High court upholds Michigan’s ban on affirmative action in higher education

Michigan voters’ right to prohibit preferential race-based admissions programs in the state’s university system was upheld today by the U.S. Supreme Court in Schuette v. The Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigration Rights and Fight for Equality by Any Means Necessary (BAMN), 572 U.S. ___ (2014). In the 6-2 opinion written by Justice […]

Is it an ‘Undue Hardship’ to Allow Tattoos in the Workplace?

In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered legal issues related to tattoos in the workplace; today, more on hardship and tattoos, plus an introduction to the all-things-HR-in-one-place website, HR.BLR.com. Again, our advice comes from BLR Legal Editor, Jasmin Rojas, JD.   The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that an undue hardship, in the context of an accommodation […]

UAW plans to take fight over VW vote to Congress

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has dropped its appeal of a union vote at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but instead of giving up, the union says it will turn its attention toward Congress. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had scheduled an April 21 hearing in Chattanooga on the appeal of a […]

Hitting the trifecta: 3 things you need in your team members

by Dan Oswald In a recent conversation with an organizational psychologist, I was asked, “What are the top three things you look for in the members of your management team?” That’s a big and important question. Yet I was able to answer it quickly and easily: “Trustworthiness, compatibility, and talent.” The next sentence I uttered […]

What to Include in Orientation Training

In a BLR webinar titled Interviewing, Hiring, and Onboarding: Best Practices for Landing Cream-of-the-Crop Employees (and Weeding Out the Duds), Sharon P. Margello, Esq., partner in the nationwide law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., described some of the information to convey to new hires regarding work schedules, including: Starting and ending times […]