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Hiring Based on Internet Searches: Are You Dodging the Bullet or Becoming the Target?

If you rejected a candidate because of information you found on the Internet, did you dodge the bullet of a bad hire or make yourself the target of a big ticket lawsuit? Here’s one expert’s advice. Doing a Google® search on a job applicant—it’s sooo tempting. Facebook®, MySpace® and a dozen other sites are just […]

Great California Workplaces: California Pacific Medical Center Invests in Its Employees; Winning Strategies

California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) in San Francisco is this year’s winner of our 2007 Great California Workplaces Award in the nonprofit category. Like most hospitals, it faces a difficult challenge of attracting and retaining qualified employees: Healthcare professionals—especially nurses—have many options in today’s job market, and they’ll go where they can best utilize their […]

Great California Workplaces: Quality and Sustainability Drive Lundberg Family Farms’ Winning Commitment to Its Employees

Lundberg Family Farms is a family-owned-and-operated business in Richvale that produces and markets high-quality organic rice and rice products using environmentally friendly farming processes. Lundberg uses sustainable methods that protect the land and other natural resources for future generations, from the field to all aspects of production and marketing. This commitment to care and quality […]

McDonald’s Fails to Accommodate Employee Unable to Wash Hands

by Daniel Pugen and Earl G. Phillips McCarthy Tetrault In Canada, human rights legislation provides that employers have a duty to accommodate disabled workers unless such accommodation would cause “undue hardship” on the employer. A recent case involving McDonald’s Restaurants before the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal illustrates the high standard of accommodation expected of […]

‘I Didn’t Know You Wanted Me Here Every Day!’

Yesterday’s issue emphasized the necessity of sharing your attendance expectations with employees. Here are the key points that BLR’s popular 10-Minute HR Trainer suggests you stress in employee training on attendance. 1. Employer Expectations Regarding Attendance Regular attendance is a requirement of every employee’s job. It is important because: High absenteeism rates reduce productivity. Absenteeism […]

9 Rules for Dealing with Attendance Problems

Every organization has them—employees who push every attendance policy to the extremes. Here are 9 ways to put a stop to their shenanigans. The vast majority of supervisors’ day-to-day HR problems relate to attendance, says Bob Gibson, blogging on Fedsmith.com But too many managers tend to be casual about it. That won’t work, says Gibson. Managers […]

Pregnancy Complications: Disability, No; Sex Discrimination, Maybe

By John C. Pitblado By now, you know that the old “sticks and stones” schoolyard adage is way off: Words can hurt you. You may be surprised to find out how few words (in this case, a 12-word phrase in an e-mail) it takes to really hurt an employer that’s facing a discrimination claim. HR […]

Managing the Millennials in the Workplace: Part 2

by Stephen J. Stine Last week, we examined who the Millennials (members of Generation Y) are and tips for managing them in the workplace. This week we’ll look at some of the challenges they present to employers and how to deal with them. Audio Conference: Are You Ready for the Millennials? What HR Needs to […]

The Dinner Party

LITIGATION COST: Paying lawyer to review corporate ethics policy: $1,500; paying Michael severance: $5,000; avoiding corporate scandal: priceless. Does any company really want its regional manager to hit up subordinates for money? Does it matter that he did it in his condo rather than his office? The answer to both of these questions is, quite […]

Note from Boss Saved 50 Years: Little Things Do Matter

By Elaine Quayle, BLR EditorJust My E-pinion We may think that small tokens of appreciation don’t matter to workers, but here’s the story of a boss’s congratulatory letter that was treasured for 50 years. My mother put only her most valuable things in her white leather jewelry box. And since her jewelry collection was meager, […]