Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The business landscape abounds with HR-related traps for unwary new supervisors or managers, and the stakes are too high to think that they can get trained on the job. In yesterday’s Advisor, we talked about supervisors and managers who tried to be good supervisors, but their good intentions backfired. Instead, they laid the groundwork for […]
In a blow to a U.S. Department of Labor position, a divided Supreme Court ruled today that pharmaceutical sales representatives qualify for the “outside sales” exemption of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In an opinion delivered by Justice Samuel Alito, the Court found that under the most reasonable interpretation of DOL regulations, PSRs qualified as […]
By Nancy Williams Pharmaceutical representatives who persuade physicians to prescribe specific drugs don’t make any actual sales. They can’t because the products they promote can be sold legally only through a doctor’s prescription to an individual patient. Yet for years, it has been a common industry practice to categorize such employees as outside sales representatives […]
It can be hard to describe good customer service, but you sure know it when you see it. Last week, I was at — of all things — a baseball tournament in the greater Atlanta-metro area. The tournament wasn’t a small volunteer undertaking. The organization that sponsored the tournament is national in scope and has […]
When it comes to immigration enforcement, no employer is immune from immigration scrutiny. An organization that ignores problems with its procedures in this area is risking ruinous fines and penalties. You have an obligation to hire only workers who are legally authorized to work in the United States.
By Lindsey Taylor The issue of employees with environmental sensitivities often arises for Canadian employers. Most commonly, employees complain about sensitivities to strong scents such as perfume. Human rights laws in many provinces accept that environmental sensitivities may be disabilities, to which the duty to accommodate to the point of undue hardship may apply. This […]
“No good deed goes unpunished.” Nowhere is that maxim more applicable than when untrained supervisors and managers try to be good bosses. If you’ve got new, or recently promoted, supervisors or managers, see if any of these situations are familiar: “Do you think you might be depressed?” asks the concerned, but untrained, boss. “I didn’t,” […]
By Tammy Binford Dad usually gets a new tie or some other token of appreciation from the kids in observance of Father’s Day. But what he may want more is a little extra support at work. Working moms are often at the center of discussions about work-life balance – how to get the children to […]
By Richard Lehr During the past several years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has increased its focus on employers’ use of background check information, particularly arrest and conviction records. On April 25, the EEOC issued its revised “Enforcement Guidance on Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the […]
Since the enactment of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) in 2009, commentators have been predicting a rise in disability claims. Statistics recently released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) show that those predictions have come true. In fiscal year 2011, the number of disability discrimination charges filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) […]