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Germs: An Office Romance!

By the time you’ve left the house for work, you’ve probably already done a fair amount of cleaning. You’ve wiped down the kitchen counter, thrown in a load of laundry, and washed your hands a couple of times. Then you get to work where, unfortunately, the cleaning stops and you spend 8 to 12 hours […]

2012 Survey Highlights–Pay, Policies, HR, Leave, Holidays

Pay Budgets 2.5 to 3 Percent Our survey revealed that most employers offered modest pay increases in 2012 and will do so again in 2013. In 2011 the average “planned” merit increase for 2012 was 2.1%. Actual merit increases for 2012,s however, were higher than anticipated for the first time in at least two years, […]

Hangovers, Sick Days Often Follow Company Holiday Parties

Do you see an uptick of absences the day after your company holiday party? According to a recent survey, many times, alcohol is to blame for the missed day. According to a recent survey from Caron Treatment Centers, 64 percent of Americans have called in sick or know someone who has missed a day of […]

Readers’ Stories: Bad Interviews

Here are two readers’ tales of applicants who failed during interviews. Story 1: Not Dressing (or Acting) the Part “I interviewed a young lady for a front desk position for a modern, well-established IT company.  “The applicant came in smacking her gum wearing a bright orange micromini dress, bangles that clinked loudly, and basketball sneakers. […]

Simple Calculations for Intermittent/Reduced FMLA

It should be easy to calculate FMLA leave time, but the devil is in the details, and FMLA’s details can be exasperating, to say the least. There are two keys to the intermittent/reduced leave calculation, says attorney Drew Alexis Alexis, Of Counsel at the Kinaga Law Firm in Los Angeles, offered his FMLA tips at […]

DOL Reminds Employers Seasonal Jobs Still Subject to FLSA

Just because it’s the holiday season does not mean employers can relax their vigilance on wage and hour issues. The U.S. Department of Labor has its own list of who’s been naughty or nice (by its standards), and employers that run afoul of the agency could find a lump of coal in their stocking. Yesterday, […]

Michigan now a right-to-work state

Long a union stronghold, Michigan has become the latest state to pass right-to-work legislation. The fight, though, likely will rage on. State legislators on December 11 approved legislation that prohibits workplaces from requiring all employees to pay all union dues. The legislation was pushed by the Republican majority in the state legislature. On Tuesday afternoon, […]

You Can Be Held Liable if Your Workers Don’t Practice What You Preach

To briefly review the case: The construction company in question builds and installs water supply and sewer pipes. On July 10, 2009, while the company was performing trenching work to install water service lines at a Boston worksite, an OSHA compliance officer arrived for an inspection. The officer found several safety violations along with conflicting […]

C-Suite—What to Say and What NOT to Say

Csizmar, who is founder and principal of CMC Compensation Group, offered his tips at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR. The Recommendation to Management Finally, you get to make your presentation to senior management, says Csizmar. The trick is to get them nodding their heads first before your recommendations see the light of day Tell […]

Former Verizon Managers Lose Bid to Block Conversion of DB Plan

Large corporations thinking about transferring hefty defined benefit plan payouts to insurance companies for them to manage now have judicial support for that approach. A federal judge in Texas has denied a bid by retired Verizon Communications executives to block the company from making a proposed shift off its books of $7.5 billion in pension […]