Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a Fair Labor Standards Act case to decide if drug company reps should qualify for the outside sales exemption. Specifically, Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. is about whether pharmaceutical sales reps working more than 40 hours in a week are eligible for overtime under the FLSA. A key question […]
In the aftermath of a natural disaster (or other emergency situation), a lot of organizations learn what they should have done to prepare in advance. For example, does your organization have a clear point of contact for employees to turn to for the latest information on the status of the workplace and when they should […]
Effective leaders plan for the future, including for a time when others will step into their roles. Leaders can learn a lot about succession planning from Yoda, the fictional but wise Grand Master of the Jedi Order in Star Wars.
Litigation Value: $50,000 for the office meeting Michael called to discuss his sex life with his employees. In this week’s episode of The Office, we saw two storylines, both of which provide interesting employment law issues: Michael’s quest to find out if Donna is cheating on him and Darryl’s attempt to play a prank on […]
Dear Readers, The article’s authors—Amy Wrzesniewski, a professor of organizational behavior, and Barry Schwartz, a professor of psychology—had conducted a study about motivation. According to them, there are two types of motivation: internal and instrumental. Internal motivation, as you would guess, comes from within. People are motivated to do something based on the feeling of […]
Today, even as the economy improves and unemployment decreases, companies find themselves in the perplexing and frustrating position of being unable to fill roles with qualified individuals, despite large numbers of available applicants. Is it a simple compensation problem?
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. —Helen Keller
by Courtney Bru The last few years have seen a dramatic expansion of rights on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court found unconstitutional the heterosexual definitions of “marriage” and “spouse” in the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). And earlier this year, the Court found same-sex marriage […]
Employer shared responsibility or “play or pay” provisions (aka 4980H) of the ACA are effective January 1, 2014; however, no penalties will be assessed until 2015. Nevertheless, says Gillihan, your planning must be ongoing now if you plan to use a 12-month measurement period—that period has already started. Gillihan is counsel in the Atlanta office […]
It is August 30, 2012, the night of a blue moon, and I’m a bit blue with the news earlier in the week that this will be the last season for The Office. So I thought I’d crack open a Blue Moon (OK, not literally — taking some literary license here) and share some thoughts about […]