Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 15 best selling hardcover and paperback business books in January 2009 and gives a short summary. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. As you’d expect with Gladwell, there are lots of surprises in his explanation of why some people succeed fantastically. Pluck and smarts get less play here […]
Everything going smoothly with the new FMLA regs? They are now officially a few weeks old, but many HR managers fear the hassles are just beginning. The Department of Labor (DOL) says the revisions were designed to clarify the requirements and to improve communication between employers and employees. To some extent, these goals may be […]
Update from HR News: Read the latest news proposals to extend the COBRA subsidy Sandwiched in with all the infrastructure development and green energy provisions of President Barack Obama and the Democrat’s economic stimulus plan are several provisions that affect employee benefits, particularly health benefits. The stimulus bill is called the American Recovery and Reinvestment […]
by David S. Fortney At the end of his first full week in office, President Barack Obama took swift action to change employment and labor law. On January 28, he signed the Lilly Lebedetter Fair Pay Act, which relaxes the statute of limitation within which workers can file pay discrimination claims. On January 29, President […]
An employee comes to you asking to take time off to meet with school officials because his child was suspended. Do you have to grant the request? What about for jury duty, or because the employee witnessed a crime? Are you required to permit employees time off to vote? In addition to the big leave […]
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County that Title VII’s anti-retaliation provision extends to an employee who speaks out about discrimination while answering questions during an employer’s internal investigation.
Here’s the scenario: As the human resources director for your company, you’re asked to sit in on the selection process for your company’s next CEO. After an intense screening process, you have three candidates to be the next leader of your company — a white male in his early 70s, a male in his 40s […]
As surely as the word “layoffs” have become part of nervous break room conversations in companies across the country, enterprising employers have sought out creative alternatives to the standard layoff regime of cost-cutting. Using tactics such as hiring freezes, offers of unpaid leave, shortened workweeks, and even pay cuts, employers may be able to avoid […]
Employment law attorney Dominic Verstegen discusses Dunder Mifflin’s liability for Michael Scott’s actions in the “Lecture Circuit” episode of “The Offfice” should Karen decide to sue for pregnancy discrimination. Litigation Value: $200,000 Although there were several objectionable/actionable incidents on the Lecture Circuit (Part I) episode of The Office, what stood out to me was Michael’s […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR CEO and founder Bob Brady recently wrote about some of the more annoying aspects of meetings and e-mail exchanges, and he asked you to send in your top e-mail annoyances. Boy, did he ever push a hot button! Here is just sampling of the responses we received. […]