Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.
We had an accident in the office last week, and we didn’t have a trained person around to attend to the injured employee. It looks like there might be a lawsuit attacking our accident and injury preparedness. In any event, the incident brought up the issue of how much first-aid skill we need to have […]
We fired an employee, thinking he was “at will,” but now he claims we made an oral promise that he could be fired only for cause. We’ll fight this one in court, but how do we keep from having misunderstandings like these? —Martin B., HR Manager in San Francisco
If you don’t do an FLSA wage and hour audit, someone else will, says attorney Tom Makris. And it won’t be just the government. These days, it could be a potential business partner … or even your banker. It started with mergers and acquisitions, says attorney Tom Makris. Now it’s spread to far more routine […]
I recently returned from a meeting where one expert recommended doing a Google search on applicants as part of the evaluation process. He said you often find very interesting things about people, especially if they blog or have their own website. Someone else thought it might be an invasion of privacy, and others objected that […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR’s founder and CEO explores the “Blackberries at the beach” phenomenon—the expectation of 24/7 availability even when on vacation. Do nonexempts need to be paid? Are exempts modern day wage slaves? At BLR’s last Employment Law Update conference, several speakers talked about the issue/problem/phenomenon of the “BlackBerry® at […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, we listed common traits of The Wall Street Journal’s 15 top small companies. Today we’ll explore one of those traits—teamwork—taking our cue from a unique BLR resource, Managing an HR Department of One. For many of the top small workplaces, teamwork is an important part of the structure and atmosphere. Why is […]
Bullies may be causing more harm in your workplace than sexual harassers, according to a new study, “Outcomes of Aggression and Harassment.” Although both bullying and harassment have negative consequences, the study concluded that employees who experienced various types of workplace aggression—bullying, incivility, or interpersonal conflict—were more likely to quit their jobs, be less satisfied […]
Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the book Resolving Conflicts at Work: A Complete Guide for Everyone on the Job by Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith. Review calls book insightful for tips on resolving conflict at work with communication, conversation, and listening. One of your greatest challenges is resolving workplace conflicts. While one goal is […]
What makes a great smaller company, especially from the HR point of view? The Wall Street Journal’s 15 Top Small Workplaces seem to know. Here are their secrets. Winning Workplaces, an Evanston, Illinois-based nonprofit that helps companies create better work environments, recently teamed up with The Wall Street Journal to select 15 winning small companies […]
In the last Advisor, we looked at one expert’s remedies for FMLA headaches. Today we look at her suggestions for dealing with FMLA fraud, and at a new audio conference that deals with FMLA’s most-abused provision—intermittent leave. Although most employees use FMLA leave appropriately, says Beverly Kish, there are always going to be some who […]