Can Holding a Grudge Hurt Your Bottom Line?
Two years ago, your company offered Bob a job, and he turned you down in favor of a newer, flashier start-up.
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Employee Pregnancy—Recognize, Don’t Patronize
When employees become pregnant, everyone wants to be understanding and protective, but it’s easy for “protective” and “caring” to turn into “discrimination” in court. The general rule is, a woman affected by pregnancy must be treated the same as other applicants and employees on the basis of their ability or inability to work. Employees with […]
Ontario Adds to Broad Canadian Harassment/Violence Laws
By Alix Herber Canada’s two largest provinces — Ontario and Quebec — now have laws requiring employers to seek to provide workplaces free of “harassment.” No longer limited to human rights-related harassment, the term is broadly defined in these laws. Further, Ontario’s new law extends beyond harassment. It, like the federal law, also will require […]
Can Job Descriptions Lose Your Case in Court?
Job descriptions may seem mundane, but when they show up in court, they can kill your case if they’re not accurate. About.com‘s Susan M. Heathfield shares three key warnings for employers. 1. Job descriptions sometimes become outdated as soon as you write them. In this fast-paced, changing, customer-driven environment, it’s a challenge to keep job […]
Controversy Continues over NLRB Nominee
According to the New York Times, President Barack Obama has reportedly decided to renominate Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Last summer, the President nominated Becker, Mark Pearce, and Brian Hayes to the U.S. Senate to be members of the NLRB. In December, Becker’s nomination was returned to the White House for […]
Hot List: Amazon Editors’ Picks for Best Business & Investing Books of 2009
Here are the Amazon’s “Editors’ Picks” of the best business and investing books of 2009. 1. The Myth of the Rational Market: A History of Risk, Reward, and Delusion on Wall Street by Justin Fox. Time magazine’s editor-at-large leads readers on a chronological journey of modern economic theory, featuring the cast of scholars who constructed […]
The Delicate Business of Mental, Physical, and Environmental Job Requirements
HR managers developing job descriptions often face a tough question: What is the best way to list special job qualifications—such as mental, physical, or environmental job requirements—without running afoul of the law? Some job description writers are reluctant to list such requirements for fear that doing so might discriminate against an individual with a disability […]
What to Do When Government Officials Unexpectedly Show Up
by James P. Gillece, Jr. As an employer, you may have already experienced the discomfort of having the “Men in Black” — i.e., agents or investigators from a government agency — appear on your doorstep. With increased enforcement efforts by various federal and state agencies, the likelihood that you’ll be visited by regulators isn’t an […]
Management and Employees Shouldn’t Be Enemies
The other day a colleague brought a recent New York Times article to my attention. The headline read, “A Once-Defiant U.A.W. Local Now Focuses on G.M.’s Success.” Excuse my naivete, but why wouldn’t the employees of a company always have been focused on the company’s success? Is there ever an excuse for an employee not […]
How Feedback Is Worded Can Make a Big Difference
Your managers are busy. They have a ton of duties to juggle, only one of which is instructing and giving feedback to employees. And often, it’s the same feedback over and over again.