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.
Employees were given new rights to a secure and private place in which to express breast milk under a 2010 amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act; however, that amendment does not give those employees a private right to sue their employers for failing to provide such a space. Instead, said the U.S. District Court […]
A.B. 1396 is a new California law affecting commission agreement contracts and commission agreements in general. For any employee who is paid a commission, regardless of whether that is all or just a portion of their compensation, A.B. 1396 requires employers to have a written commission agreement.
In today’s Advisor, we’re going to examine conflict resolution and why it’s so important for your personnel to be trained in this invaluable management skill. When supervisors and managers know how to resolve workplace conflicts effectively, they can save time and turn potentially destructive situations into positive, productive opportunities for growth and development within their […]
Employees are becoming more and more sophisticated in ways to abuse the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), particularly using intermittent leave when vacation and sick leave are not available, says attorney W. Melvin Haas, who offers 12 steps to minimize abuse. In order to minimize disruption in the workplace, an employer must detect and […]
The number of wage and hour lawsuits continued to increase and hit a new high in 2012, according to data released on July 20 by law firm Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago. More than 7,000 Fair Labor Standards Act cases were filed in federal court during the 12 months ending March 31, a slight increase over […]
A California trial court recently held that a partner doesn’t have the right to file a claim for retaliation for reporting sexual harassment of employees under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). That decision was appealed. But a California appeals court reinstated the case; read on to find out more.
A Midwestern farm company that fired a manager on the day he was due to return from FMLA leave has withstood the ex-employee’s allegations of FMLA retaliation and interference in a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling affirming a district court decision. The case is Winterhalter v. Dykhuis Farms, Inc., No. 11-1743 (July 23, […]
Are all your employees accurately classified as exempt or nonexempt? Are you sure? The costs of misclassification can add up quickly, and the DOL estimates that nearly 70 percent of employers are not in compliance. You shouldn’t risk it. By learning how to conduct an internal payroll self-audit that evaluates your current policies and practices, […]
Does this scenario look uncomfortably familiar? If so, here are several actions you can take to get your safety committee excited, involved—and committed—to complementing and strengthening workplace safety and training. Safety Planning If you don’t already have a safety program, or you have one but need to update it, you can use your safety committee […]
Dan Oswald’s recent epinion, “Bell Curve, or Everyone’s Excellent?” garnered a wide variety of interesting responses from our readers. One reader found that performance appraisals are a “revenge tool,” while others agreed that managers have to be tougher in grading performance. Oswald, who is CEO of BLR, blogs on business and leadership in the The […]