Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Jane Pfeifle After 29 years, I am leaving the practice of law to become a judge in the 7th Judicial Circuit. As I look back on the past few decades, I want to share some observations of what successful employers do. Fairness reduces the fare Being fair pays off. Employers that treat employees fairly […]
by Dan Oswald “Be all that you can be.” For years, that was the recruitment slogan used by the U.S. Army in its advertising. I think most of us would say we want to be all that we can be. We unabashedly claim we want to be the BEST. People don’t claim they want to […]
‘Tis the season for your company’s annual holiday party. And while the notion of drinking, eating and generally enjoying merriment with your coworkers, subordinates, and superiors may seem innocuous, it is anything but. What seems like a festive occasion during the most wonderful time of the year is, if sledded incorrectly, a mine field of […]
Oregon’s new “ban the box” law takes effect January 1, meaning employers will be prohibited from asking applicants to check a box inquiring about criminal history on employment applications. The new law makes it unlawful to exclude an applicant from an initial interview solely because of a past criminal conviction. An applicant is unlawfully excluded […]
By Louise Béchamp As we reported previously, employers in Canada’s federal sector have had the right to dismiss employees without cause with one caveat. Only if the dismissal was not “unjust” within the meaning of section 240 of the Canada Labour Code. In Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal determined […]
Everybody’s heard the office party horror stories—some merrymakers get drunk, unfortunate comments are made, even more unfortunate outfits are worn, and sometimes somebody even gets hurt. It’s enough to make the human resources department want to retreat to the North Pole until mid-January. Solutions to party woes do exist, however, and even if the party […]
by Tara Z. Hall While not a true “ban the box” measure, a new Iowa law taking effect January 1 will allow exonerated individuals to keep past criminal charges from becoming known to potential employers. The measure, signed into law last spring, sets up a process for individuals who have been wrongfully accused of a […]
by Ryan B. Frazier Employers sometimes classify employees incorrectly under the law. For example, employees may be treated as independent contractors, who are considered self-employed. Although misclassification may be intentional, it is most often done mistakenly under a belief that workers are properly classified. Employees are misclassified for many reasons. Employers may try to avoid […]
With the college football regular season coming to a close, you may have noticed that a different kind of season has begun, a time referred to by authors and sports bloggers alike as “silly season.” The fun (and farce) is typically kicked off by the mid- to late-season rumors that a formerly promising coach of a prominent […]
by Dan Oswald May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. —Nelson Mandela Life is full of choices. Some big, some small. Every day we are faced with choices, and once we decide between Option A and Option B, we head down a new path. What occurs after we make the choice is a […]