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.
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Advisor readers never cease to amaze. My E-pinion “Happiness Haters Unite”, that ran on November 2, drew a surprising volume and variety of responses, some funny and some profound. I based the column on a study conducted by Harvard that concluded that happier workers were more productive. I […]
FLSA audits are important, as we saw in yesterday’s Advisor, and we want to help you do them right, but first, note the one factor you absolutely must have in place, if you do one at all. In almost every case, you’re going to be ahead of the game—and the Department of Labor investigators—when you […]
Resources for Humans Managing Editor Celeste Blackburn reviews the book Woe Is I: A Grammarphobe’s Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O’Conner. Review highlights book’s tips for writing e-mails and avoiding cliches. The pen is mightier than the sword. We’ve all heard it, and since we are meeting on a blog […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is getting tough on wage and hour violations, and you don’t want them to be the ones doing your FLSA audit. Far better to find and fix problems—before DOL starts going over your books. It shouldn’t be hard to calculate pay and overtime, yet employers are losing big–dollar wage […]
An Alameda County jury has awarded $1.27 million to an African-American BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train mechanic who claimed his superiors retaliated against him after he complained about harassment by a co-worker.
Amazon.com updates its list of bestselling business books hourly. Here is a snapshot of what books were hot this morning — Monday, November 26. 1. Personal History by Katharine Graham. This candid and insightful autobiography tells the story of Katharine Graham’s personal struggles as a daughter, wife and mother and her professional triumphs as she […]
We’re in the process of rewriting our employee handbook, and we want to modify our employee appearance policy. What do we need to consider? We want our employees to look professional, but we don’t want to get caught in a lawsuit. —Ronald W., San Jose
Storing records electronically means knowing a whole new set of skills and rules. There are the practical (“If I e-file a document, can I throw the signed paper copy away?”) and the legal (including some new rules from no less than the U.S. Supreme Court.) Just how do you get it all right in a […]
No one needs training to feel emotions around the Thanksgiving table, but how about around the conference table? Has the time come for emotional intelligence testing and training? “I wish I had a decoder for each relationship at the office.” “When one of my direct reports starts talking to me about her medical problems, I […]
Paid-Time-Off (PTO) programs can greatly simplify your attendance programs, but they can also be complicated. Our expert tackles “spendthrift” employees, and we also preview two upcoming BLR audio conferences, on December 5 and 12, that could answer all your PTO questions. What do you do with employees who use up all their PTO leave early […]