Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The pandemic reset long-established expectations about work, and employers and employees are still sorting out what it will mean over the long haul. It’s clear that employees overwhelmingly want more flexibility in the way they work, and they’ve demonstrated by the tens of millions they’re ready to jump ship if they don’t get it. But […]
Tracking employee productivity used to seem straightforward: Calculate hours worked against raw output, rinse, and repeat. But it has become increasingly clear that tracking time isn’t the best way to study or measure worker productivity—it only tells part of the story. Employees who sit at their desk for 8 hours might appear more productive on paper […]
Steve Pemberton has come a long way since he entered the foster care system as a toddler. The chief HR officer at workplace recognition company, Workhuman, chronicled his life story in a book released in 2012 that was subsequently made into a movie. The book, A Chance in the World: An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious […]
Before March 2020, the new world of work was slowly making its way into the working world ecosystem. A relatively small number of companies offered flexible work options, and a few more organizations experimented with unique benefits and work environments (cue the Ping-Pong tables and free lunch). The newness of these types of programs made […]
In order to compete effectively in the marketplace, companies have to invest time, money, and effort into training their staff members. Unfortunately, there is a persistent skills gap across virtually all industries in the United States. But the problem isn’t that companies aren’t trying to train their staff. In fact, in the aggregate, the problem […]
The opioid epidemic is affecting workplaces across the country. Because opioids can be lawfully prescribed (but are increasingly abused), employers must tread carefully when taking adverse action against opioid users to avoid running afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “Recovery-friendly” workplaces may provide an alternative solution to help combat the crisis, but that […]
Risk management is often thought of as a specialized task that is the responsibility of a discrete team or individual. It may bring to mind images of actuaries or the compliance team poring over data and crunching numbers.
A California auto detail business required its employees to work for at least 1 year before earning vacation. An employee left after 6 months and received no vacation pay upon his departure. He sued the company, claiming it unlawfully required him to forfeit his accrued vacation pay.
Question: If you offer a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) to your regular full time employees, are you obligated to offer the HRA to people that terminate and elect COBRA? If yes, can you charge the employee for the COBRA premium AND can you charge for a premium equivalent rate for the HRA (or administrative charge)?
Fortunately for employers, the answer is No, according to a recent Oklahoma City federal court decision. But this isn’t to say you shouldn’t keep your training on point. Read on for the facts of the case. Former employees and their attorneys have become increasingly creative when it comes to suing past employers. In addition to […]