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Tuition Assistance: Do Your Benefits Measure Up?

By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Editor, HR Daily Advisor Eighty-five percent of employers report offering tuition assistance to employees, according to a recent survey of tuition assistance plans by BLR®‘s HR Daily Advisor. This is a significant increase over the 52% of employers who reported having such a plan in late 2007. A quick review […]

‘Your Honor, the Real Reason Was Performance’ (and I’m a Liar)

In yesterday’s Advisor, we looked at five things you never want to have to say in court; today, three more, and an introduction to the all-in-one solutions website for HR managers. ‘No, really it was performance’ This is the standard “now I’m changing my story” line. Here’s the scenario: you fire someone whose performance has […]

Hot List: Wall Street Journal’s Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the Wall Street Journal with data from Nielsen BookScan on October 11. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? […]

9 Things You Don’t Want to Have to Admit in Court

Many times, the easiest way to train managers about HR issues is to ask them to imagine themselves on the witness stand. When they realize what they will have to admit to, they learn fast. “I fired him for no reason” This is the statement that “at-will believers” will have to make on the witness […]

Self Interest or Team Effort?

I was in a meeting yesterday and our discussion centered around how we could really engage certain people within an organization. We weren’t long into the discussion when someone said, “I always think that people are motivated by self-interest.” My first thought was that his comment was a bit cynical. But as I thought about […]

The Play’s the Thing

Litigation Value: A jug of wine, and thou. Unless the bottle nicked by Michael Scott (and shared with some of his coworkers) contained a vintage beyond the norm for community theater events, we could limit our legal discussion to petty theft. But how instructive — or fun — would that be? With the most recent […]

Note to Supervisor: Consult HR before Approving FMLA Leave

We all know that an employee need not specifically state that she requires a leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). What we don’t know is how much (or how little) an employee has to say in a particular situation to put the employer on notice that she is seeking FMLA […]

Can an Employer Attempt to Influence an Employee’s Vote?

Yesterday’s Advisor Advisor covered many key issues relating to political discussion and debate in the workplace; today, more on employer policies, and good news on your policies—they’re updated and ready to go. Time Off to Vote There is no federal law that requires employers to give employees paid time off to vote, but some states […]

OSHA’s Enforcement Push: 27 Separate Cases with $100,000-plus Fines

By Jim Stanley, President, FDRsafety Big fines make big news as was evident when OSHA recently proposed $16.6 million in penalties in a deadly explosion at a Kleen Energy Systems construction site in Connecticut. But day-in, day-out announcements of OSHA fines may be just as significant because they illustrate the depth of the agency’s enforcement […]