Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
We’re encountering challenging disability accommodation situations because of differences in California and federal law. Is the California definition of “disability” always going to be more favorable to employees than federal law? I also don’t understand why whether a person has a disability is determined under California law without considering mitigating measures. If a person is […]
Much like I wondered whether Santa was real as a kid, I often wonder if there is a real-life Michael Scott out there somewhere. This week, I think that I found the answer! When sales took a slump for a Provo, Utah, company, a supervisor came up with the idea of “waterboarding” one of the […]
We have both a construction staff and an office staff, and we’re trying to put together a policy for paying employees in the event of an emergency. What happens if the construction staff needs to be sent home during inclement weather or the office staff and upper management can’t work because their computers are down? […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady My recent column “Software Police: Best Way to Curb Webslackers?” generated interesting opinions. Most agreed that webslacking is an insidious problem, but two said to hold off on that monitoring—it’s no good for morale. Here’s a sampling of readers’ reactions: It is akin to an addiction “The problem […]
In the last issue of the Advisor, we covered tips for dealing with noncompetes. Today, more detail on that, plus how to train your supervisors and managers on hiring (and everything else). For some more guidance on dealing with noncompetes, we turned to the HR Red Book (What to Do About Personnel Problems in [Your […]
In a long-awaited ruling that could put the brakes on some wage and hour class actions in California, an appeals court has provided welcome guidance and relief to employers on their responsibility to provide meal breaks and pay for “off-the-clock” work.
A review by Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the book Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership by Joseph Jaworski. Review focuses on author’s lesson about using listening as a management tool. In Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership, Jaworski talks about how he made the difficult decision to leave the lucrative practice of law […]
These days, to get great people, you’ve often got to hire away from your competitors, and that brings the issue of “noncompetes” to HR’s front burner. Today’s experts tell you how to manage restrictive agreements. Aren’t noncompete agreements more a matter for lawyers than HR people? Sure, but when a new hire goes awry because […]
by Rachel Ravary McCarthy Tetrault Last week’s decision in Hydro Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d’Hydro-Québec 2008 SCC 43 is good news for employers – finally there is a clear limit to your duty to accommodate employees who are chronically absent from work. Not only did the Supreme Court […]
Can’t join your workplace wellness activities due to a health condition? Sure you can, using the government’s accessibility rules for wellness programs. Here’s a primer. In yesterday’s Advisor, we looked at “benign discrimination” and “multiple plan” rules for wellness programs. Today, we look at the “reasonableness” test and the “alternative standard” requirement, and introduce a […]