Category: HR Management & Compliance

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.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

HR manager Paul Knoch reviews the book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. The review counts this business fiction as a quick, informative read that would be of use to almost any HR practitioner who must work with a team of employees. Have you ever wondered why your team of smart, competent, […]

Overtime Relief May Be on the Horizon for California Employers

To address California’s dire budget situation in light of deteriorating economic conditions, Governor Schwarzenegger has called a special session of the legislature and announced a plan to get the state budget on track, invigorate the state economy, and generate jobs for the unemployed here. The governor’s proposal calls for tax increases and spending cuts—plus changes […]

What to Do When You ‘Hear It Through the Grapevine’

When you get hints of inappropriate activity (e.g., a boss “hitting” on a subordinate or racial teasing) but no evidence, no corroboration, and no complaint, should you act? Yes, says today’s expert. The bottom line is that, when faced with a “hint” of inappropriate activity, you absolutely should act, says attorney Thomas N. Makris, SPHR. […]

‘Oh, Sure–She’s Exempt.’ Uh Huh.

Today we look at misclassification—the third of “The Big Three” compensation challenges (see yesterday’s Advisor for the other two)—and a new in-depth audio conference series that will answer the tricky technical questions about exemptions. Misclassification can lead to big-bucks fines and lawsuits. First, if you’ve misclassified one employee as exempt, you’ve probably misclassified many others […]

Hot List: Bestselling Business Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling business books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, this Monday morning, November 17, in the “Management and Leadership” category. 1. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. You probably don’t realize it, but life is a […]

FLSA Lawsuits—Throttle ‘The Big Three’

Wage and hour just shouldn’t be that hard, but the lawsuits keep coming, and the dollar amounts are staggering—especially when class actions amplify fees, fines, and judgments. What’s the problem? A number of factors make wage and hour a challenge: Many of the decisions about overtime, break time, meal time, and hours of work are […]

New FMLA Regulations Issued by DOL

Final regulations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), were issued Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The new regulations allow employers more control over when employees can take leave. As expected, the new regulations cover the recently enacted leave benefits for family members of both seriously injured or ill service members and […]

Election Day Brings Milwaukee Employees Sick Leave Benefits

While much of the focus on the recent election has been on the results of the presidential and federal and state legislative races, in Wisconsin, city of Milwaukee voters also passed a binding referendum creating an ordinance providing sick leave benefits for all employees working within the city. Effective immediately, the ordinance is being enforced […]

Holidays 2008 Survey Results

The results from this year’s HR Hero annual holidays survey are very similar to years past and it doesn’t appear that the number of holidays granted in 2009 will be different than in 2008 or previous years. The one difference is that July 4, 2009 will be on a Saturday. Because of that, many of […]