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.
Reimbursement rates for lodging, meals and incidental expenses for fiscal year 2013, which begins Oct. 1, will be frozen at FY 2012 levels, the U.S. General Services Administration announced Aug. 27. GSA is the arm of the federal government that sets travel policy for federal employees. The reimbursement rates, commonly called per diems, determine the […]
Employee leave—whether it’s vacation, sick time, or PTO—is frustrating enough, without worrying about what your competitors are up to. You need facts about best practices, and our Employee Leave Survey will ferret them out. But only if you help. For years, BLR® has surveyed HR and compensation/benefits professionals to find trends in policy and practice. […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released a draft of its Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) that spells out priorities such as stepped-up efforts against hiring discrimination and harassment, new protections for various vulnerable workers, preserving access to the legal system, and dealing with emerging issues like changes brought by the ADA Amendments Act. Recruitment […]
Employees with chemical sensitivity may be entitled to workplace accommodations, including permission to work from home, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled in Core v. Champaign County (July 30, 2012). Pamela Core, an employee at the Champaign County Department of Job and Family Services, had asthma and a severe chemical […]
A medical certification is a written document from a health care provider verifying that an employee’s leave is for a serious health condition. It is an objective tool that HR managers should use to determine whether to grant or deny leave requests under FMLA, the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, and the California Family Rights […]
Companies that are characterized by a diverse, respectful, and dignified workplace invariably enjoy the benefits of improved employee morale, higher productivity, larger market share, and a strong bottom line. And that’s good news, because your organization IS going to be characterized by diversity—demographics alone guarantee it. But as we saw in yesterday’s Advisor, addressing diversity […]
One of the favorite moves of diversity training facilitators is to ask employees to drop all pretenses, and just go ahead and express feelings they have about other types of people. “Get them out on the table and let’s learn how to deal with them.” The facilitator will usually say, “Let’s agree that what’s said […]
Universally, HR managers wish that intermittent leave would just go away. Unfortunately, every HR department has to cope with its traps and technicalities. Today’s Advisor covers nine tricky aspects of intermittent and reduced schedule leave.” 1. Only for Medical Necessity There must be a medical need for intermittent leave or leave on a reduced leave […]
How do you craft a social media policy and internet use policy that helps to maintain your business image and reputation, your right to duty of loyalty, and your right to privacy without infringing upon your employees’ rights to privacy and freedom of expression? How specific do you need to be in your employee handbooks […]
Ladders are simple devices—and that may be their biggest fault. Workers tend to mistake simplicity for harmlessness, often overlooking necessary precautions. More precautions are necessary to stay safe on portable ladders than your employees might think. For example, even before setting up a ladder, the site has to be checked for safety. Say the site […]