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maternity

Intermittent Leave: Pregnant Employees and Curbing Abuse

In the last installment, we covered the rules regarding Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) intermittent leave. This article will focus on intermittent leave regarding pregnant employees. Curbing abuse of intermittent leave for pregnant employees can be difficult due to the permissive approach taken by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to FMLA leave during […]

Compliance in the Pandemic

For the past few years, COVID-19 has been a constant stressor. For businesses, there is some uncertainty around how to best handle the pandemic from a legal standpoint.

Benefits

2019: The Year of Employee Benefits

Saturated with jobs and lacking enough people to fill them, the tight labor market continues to make headlines, and for employers it’s not just a news story. Instead, it is a new reality that will be here for the foreseeable future. Making your organization stand out from the crowd is increasingly important—and more challenging.

conduct

How to Take Advantage of OSHA’s ‘Employee Misconduct’ Defense

Many times, when employers receive an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citation—if not most times—they claim it wasn’t their fault, but rather the employee did something stupid. OSHA recognizes such a defense, called the “employee misconduct” defense. It is an affirmative defense, meaning the employer has the burden of proof in establishing the misconduct.

Talent Management Dashboard and Scorecards: Templates to Get You Started

There’s great interest in scorecards and dashboards, but how do you get started? Jayson Saba, Vice President of Market Strategy, Ceridian HCM, offered his tips at the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Talent Management Conference, held recently in San Diego. What’s the Difference Between a Scorecard and a Dashboard? A scorecard, says Saba, is […]

What are Social Justice Benefits?

More and more, we’re seeing organizations opt to take a stand on social issues. Consumers and employees are doing so as well by participating in boycotts, joining protests, signing petitions, and donating to causes or groups that they feel are in alignment with their values.

How to Teach the Basics of Professionalism

HR professionals have probably seen it all, including those employees that come off as less than professional. Their unprofessional behavior might have no bearing on their skills and knowledge, but you might not put them in front of a customer. Luckily, a skill like being professional can be taught.

Beware Deductions for Lost or Stolen Property from Exempt Employees’ Pay

by Kathy Neal Many things can be scary for the unseasoned HR manager, particularly when it comes to wage and hour law. One of the scariest areas involves pay deductions. HR Guide to Employment Law: A Practical Compliance Reference Understanding the Fair Labor Standards Act – FLSA Many employers issue laptops or smartphones to their […]

What to Include in Orientation Training

In a BLR webinar titled Interviewing, Hiring, and Onboarding: Best Practices for Landing Cream-of-the-Crop Employees (and Weeding Out the Duds), Sharon P. Margello, Esq., partner in the nationwide law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., described some of the information to convey to new hires regarding work schedules, including: Starting and ending times […]

FMLA Can Apply when Domestic Violence Impacts the Workplace

Domestic violence in the workplace has a significant impact on the abused employee as well as the rest of the staff. It can have a significant impact on the victim’s physical and mental health, and can also affect other aspects of the victim’s life, including work. According to Employers Against Domestic Violence, 71 percent of […]