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Google Points the Way to Productive Meetings

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Everyone says they hate meetings—yet they are a staple of 21st century business ritual. If we can’t meet in person, we do them on the phone or, increasingly, through such nifty gadgetry as GoToMeeting or Webex. Today, BLR’s founder and CEO Bob Brady shares what he’s learned from […]

Cyberslander: 6 Ways HR Can Contain It

Yesterday’s Advisor  briefed us on the challenges of cyberslander. Today, recommendations for dealing with it, and a new technological solution to a far older HR problem … writing job descriptions. Here are Attorney Matthew S. Effland’s tips for identifying and managing cyberslander. Effland, an associate at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., in Indianapolis, […]

Double Billing: A Young Lawyer’s Tale of Greed, Sex, Lies, and the Pursuit of a Swivel Chair

Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the book Double Billing: A Young Lawyer’s Tale of Greed, Sex, Lies, and the Pursuit of a Swivel Chair by Cameron Stracher. Review recommends book because of its inside look into how employment litigation gets out of control. Double Billing: A Young Lawyer’s Tale Of Greed, Sex, Lies, And […]

HR’s New Worry: Cyberslander

Technology is everywhere, it’s misunderstood, and it creates a lot of problems for HR managers, not the least of which is an annoying new one–cyberslander. Today’s expert sorts out the challenges. These days, we seem to live on our e-mail, instant messaging, voice mail, Internet, intranet, extranet, cell phone, BlackBerry®, and blogs, says Attorney Matthew […]

New Defense Against Overtime Class Actions Confirmed

by Donovan Plomp McCarthy Tetrault The British Columbia Court of Appeal just issued an important decision about an employee’s right to make a statute-based overtime claim in a civil action. The decision, Macaraeg v. E Care Contact Centers Ltd., should make BC employers very happy. And it may provide a new defense to overtime pay […]

Hiring: Best of Intentions, Worst of Lawsuits

Today, more manager’s hiring mistakes to add to the expensive 6 in yesterday’s Advisor, plus a program that’s helping HR managers all over the country be more effective … especially if they’re in small or one-person departments. Although they may have the best of intentions, untrained managers doing hiring can get their companies in legal […]

HOT LIST: Bestselling Business Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates it’s bestselling business book hourly. Here is a snapshot of what books were hot this morning — Monday, May 12. 1.The Post-American World. “This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else.” So begins Fareed Zakaria’s important new work on the era we are […]

Selection Slips and Hiring Hiccups: 8 Common Failures: Hiring and Recruiting

In today’s economy, hiring should be easy. But that doesn’t change the fact that the hiring process is fraught with legal pitfalls, especially for unwary and untrained managers. Here are 8 of the most common, as listed by a prominent attorney. (The first 6 today, the balance tomorrow.) Managers think they are doing a good […]

Unions, Politics, and Money: Campaign 2008

In a democracy, social issues regularly become political issues, and solutions (including compromises) are worked out through public elections. Since employers and unions are frequently on opposite sides of key issues, both attempt to involve the public and spend extensively to support their respective positions or solutions. Both the short- and long-term ramifications of this […]

HR Director Sentenced to Jail for Facilitating Compensation Scheme Including Backdating Stock Options

by Mark Schickman HR directors usually aren’t the most politically powerful officers in higher-level corporate cultures. The function doesn’t produce product or create sales, so there’s no ready way to judge its value and contribution. Like a solid defensive lineman, an HR director is working best when basking in total anonymity — when no HR […]