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The 2 Factors That Most Affect Employee Performance

By BLR Founder and Publisher Bob Brady TV relationship expert “Dr. Phil” McGraw, reminds our boss of what employees most want from their bosses. As this is written, I’m attending the National Convention of the YMCA, in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m proud to serve as a ‘Y’ volunteer. This organization is the largest provider of daycare […]

Ban the Box Laws: Are You Affected?

‘Ban-the-box’ laws are laws that say you cannot have a question on your application that asks ‘do you have a criminal conviction?’ Typically, applications will ask for an explanation or description if the answer was yes. This forces immediate disclosure.

Announcing a Special BLR Audio Conference: EEO-1 Revised: What You Have to Do Now

The annual EEO-1 report, due each September and covering 50 million workers, has finally been revised. Your first revised report will be due this fall, but you need to be collecting data in the new way right now. This article…plus a special BLR audio conference on Feb. 20… will help you do it right. It […]

Moody’s: Interest Rate Hike Could Lift Pensions to Full Funding by 2018

The first of what is expected to be a series of interest rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve on Dec. 16 should start to help defined benefit retirement plans recover from years of underfunding, Moody’s Investor Service said in a report Dec. 14. Pension funding levels for about 670 rated U.S. non-financial corporate pension […]

Travel Time Pay: When Must An Employee Be Paid For Commute Time?

Travel time pay can be a tricky thing to master, and the issue is fraught with risk since travel-related issues in particular pose a significant risk for wage and hour claims. One question that comes up a lot is whether or not time spent traveling to work is considered compensable work time. The FLSA established […]

Reminder about OSHA Posting Requirement

It’s time to post your Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Form 300A, the summary of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred last year. Unless you have 10 or fewer employees or fall within one of the industries normally excused from the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s (OSH Act) recordkeeping and posting requirements, you’re required […]

Managing LTD Claims: Less Pain, More Gain

By Suzanne Porteous and Wendy Wang The bad news is that one of your employees has just commenced a long-term disability (LTD) leave. You may well have concerns like: (1) Will the employee ever return to work? (2) If so, when? (3) What accommodations would be needed to allow a return to work? (4) What […]

Avoiding Hiring Pitfalls in Canada

By Kate McNeill McCarthy Tetrault We all know that once you hire an employee, you have certain legal obligations to that employee. But what about before you even hire someone? In Canada, job applicants are entitled to certain human rights and common law protections that employers must be aware of in their hiring practices. In […]

Webslacking– ‘Akin to an Addiction,’ Readers Say

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady My recent column “Software Police: Best Way to Curb Webslackers?” generated interesting opinions. Most agreed that webslacking is an insidious problem, but two said to hold off on that monitoring—it’s no good for morale. Here’s a sampling of readers’ reactions: It is akin to an addiction “The problem […]