Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Our company has decided that it would be beneficial to offer employees the opportunity to work from home. Before we enter into work-at-home arrangements with employees, we want to have a written telecommuting policy in place. What should we cover? —Andrew W., Human Resources Specialist, Santa Cruz Telecommuting can be a cost-effective alternative to […]
Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, this Monday morning, March 30, in the “Management and Leadership” section of the “Business and Investing” category. 1. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. Blink is about the first two seconds […]
I was intrigued to learn this week that Hewlett-Packard had sued to prevent its former CEO, Mark Hurd, from joining Oracle Corp. as co-president. You may recall that a few weeks ago I commented that I thought HP had done the right thing by parting ways with Mr. Hurd after he violated the company’s standard […]
A class action allegation cannot succeed when each employee works a different schedule and has countless other fact-dependent duties and responsibilities. For one employer, thousands of employees with varied work schedules and pay rates could not demonstrate “class” status for Fair Labor Standards Act purposes. This was particularly true when the employees were paid on […]
It’s the time of year when college students are getting ready to go back to campus to complete their education and find their place in the world of work. But students aren’t the only ones heading back to school. Employers, too, have business on campus as they look for the best and the brightest to […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Eric Meyer covered legal challenges related to social media background checks. Today, his take on managing such checks, plus an introduction to a unique 10-minutes-at-a-time training program for supervisors and managers. In an interview, you have at least some control, but when you go online, you have no control over what […]
Most employers are all too aware of the danger of discrimination lawsuits, but there are many other legal threats in the HR arena. In today’s Advisor, attorney Allison West SPHR briefs employers on defamation, negligence, and fraud lawsuits . West, principal of Employment Practices Specialists in Pacifica, CA, offered her tips at SHRM’s Employment Law […]
Sending a COBRA election notice shortly after an employee began military duty was not evidence that an employer fired the employee due to his military status in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, a federal district court in Arkansas held. In generally rejecting the USERRA claims, the court indicated, among other […]
Everybody’s had a bad boss at some point in his or her career. Given their prevalence, you can train better leaders by identifying the dysfunctional ones. Know who the bad bosses are, the traits they embody, and their interpersonal failings in order to build empathetic, communicative, and overall “good” bosses.