Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
In June 2013, the American Medical Association officially voted to classify obesity as a disease. While this classification doesn’t have legal weight, it provides support for individuals arguing that obesity should be considered a protected ADA disability—which could open the door for discrimination claims. Let’s take a look at the rationale behind this change. Obesity […]
With the gaining popularity of self-service learning, learning tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI), mobile learning, and learning as a service (LaaS), many learning and development (L&D) professionals are probably starting to wonder whether workers should be in control of their own training or if they already are in control of their own training. The […]
Step outside the boundaries of the employer/employee relationship, just for a moment. As a benefit professional or someone who runs a business, your focus is getting the business of the company done. Of course, that includes figuring how to get the best from your employees. Rewarding people fairly, in terms of money and benefits, helping them understand their importance in the business’ success, and communicating with them in a way that encourages their loyalty all contribute to that effort.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has proposed to shift the definitions of qualified matching contributions (QMACs) and qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs) to employer-sponsored retirement plans to apply at account allocation, not at the initial plan contribution stage.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued guidance about whether employers may offer incentives to employees or their family members to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Although the guidelines are general in nature and don’t provide specific answers about the amount you may offer as an incentive, they do provide some clarity on the do’s […]
You may have seen or heard a new term recently in the news: “unbossing.” It effectively means reducing the number of managers in an organization. The idea is hardly new— – organizations for decades have critically evaluated the number of managers or “middle managers,” to figure out if those management layers add enough value. Things […]
Question: What can employers do when they doubt an employee’s certification for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Answer: If an employer doubts the validity of an employee’s FMLA certification, it may require the employee to get a second opinion from a healthcare provider. Generally, for employees to be granted leave under […]
Almost two-thirds of participants in BLR’s 2014 Variable Pay Survey indicate that they put some employee pay at risk. The recently-completed survey was completed by 1,452 employers. Here are some highlights:
I was speaking with a friend recently. He had worked for a large financial services company and had lost his job the day before our conversation. My friend told me that he hadn’t been surprised by the announcement. In fact, he knew it was coming for some time and was just waiting for his “package.” […]
Yesterday I flew to New Orleans to attend SHRM’s 2017 Annual Conference & Exposition. Professionally I am an editor. But when I am not working, and sometimes when I am, I am a consumer. To say that I am a hard sell is an understatement. In fact, 99.9% of the time I do not buy […]