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.

Alcoholism Policies and Accommodations –What DOL Recommends

Yesterday’s Advisor looked at alcoholism in the workplace. Today we continue with specific accommodation tips and an introduction to a program that has already written your alcoholism policy, plus 100s of others. Yesterday, we noted that under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if alcoholism limits any of an employee’s major life activities, it could […]

HOT LIST: New York Times Bestselling Paperback Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling paperback business books as ranked by the New York Times on July 14. 1. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. How and why certain products and ideas become fads. 2. Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their […]

Drunk and Disorderly–Do You Have to Accommodate Alcoholism?

One minute it’s acceptable social drinking at a business function; the next, it’s unacceptable drunkenness embarrassing to the company. How do you deal with alcoholism? By government estimates, nearly 14 million Americans abuse alcohol or are alcoholic, and millions more are close to being so. That means, odds are, some of them are working for […]

Workplace Bullying: Do You Have Any Advice on Recognizing and Preventing Bullying at Work?

We have an “aggressive” employee who seems to make her co-workers uncomfortable by loudly criticizing them; we think we have a bully on our staff. Is workplace bullying illegal? Do you have any tips for us to recognize and prevent bullying at work? Thanks. — Sara R., Oakland   Bullying exists on school playgrounds, but […]

Should the 6-Month Performance Evaluation Be the ‘Real Deal’?

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Most companies consider the end-of-year performance appraisal the crucial one. But BLR’s CEO advances a different idea. I experienced a “duh” moment a while attending the 6th Annual NY HR Week. Gary Koca, vice president of GRA, Inc., Silver Spring, Maryland, was speaking on the (ever-engaging) topic, “Performance […]

Conflict Resolution: Your Supervisors’ Hidden Responsibility

Conflict resolution. Sometimes it seems that’s all we do. Today, we follow up on yesterday’s story on mediation, and present a new audio conference that helps line supervisors and managers learn how to do it right. With the high costs of litigation, mediation is an increasingly popular way to deal with conflicts at work. However, […]

Resolving Conflicts at Work: A Complete Guide for Everyone on the Job

Technology writer and consultant David Micah Kaufman reviews the book Resolving Conflicts at Work: A Complete Guide for Everyone on the Job by Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith. Kaufman reviews book’s theme of seeking resolution to conflict at work instead of settlement. While we all seek harmony at work, conflict is inevitable. The challenges of […]

Mediation: Shorter, Faster, Less Expensive: What’s Not to Like?

Mediation is getting a second look from companies concerned about hair-raising judgments and settlements from traditional court disputes. Should your organization be looking, too? Mediation is a simple concept, says The Justice Center of Atlanta: “Bring both sides of a dispute together. With the assistance of a neutral mediator, enable them to speak their mind […]

How to Avoid FRD Claims–Step by Step

For better or worse, the American workplace is different than it was, and perhaps also different from how we want it to be. HR managers have to bridge the gap, says attorney Christopher Leh. People want the workforce to be a family, where managers and employees can talk about anything and everything. But the fact […]