Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady In a recent Advisor, we warned you away from 25 “forbidden” interview questions. Reader feedback ranged from “I didn’t know that” to “Everybody knows that” to “Are you sure you’re right?” to “I’m sure you’re wrong.” Today we sort it all out. Too Simplistic Regarding our list of […]
Lawsuits are down, but judgments are up. Training is the answer. This fall marks 20 years since the term “sexual harassment” entered the American lexicon in a big way. Americans came to know it through the testimony of Anita Hill, as she complained about alleged unwelcome advances from her ex-boss, now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, […]
The other day, I read about a confrontation New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had with the state’s firefighters. It occurred on September 17 of last year. Gov. Christie was scheduled to address the firefighters at their annual convention. As the governor entered the convention center and made his way up to the stage, he was […]
The U.S. Supreme Court left intact a landmark federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruling that has forced many employers to reassess how they deal with temporary workers. The federal court had ruled that Microsoft improperly treated as many as 10,000 temporary employees as independent contractors and illegally denied them the option of participating […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, we discussed the “overtime revolution” and hit some common overtime violations. Today, more violations and the announcement of an audio conference that will help insulate you from overtime lawsuits. As we said yesterday, overtime violations, easy as they should be to avoid, just keep coming and coming. And many involve high-dollar settlements. […]
BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 15 best selling hardcover and paperback business books for June 2009 and gives a short summary. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. As you’d expect with Gladwell, there are lots of surprises in his explanation of why some people succeed fantastically. Pluck and smarts get less play here […]
While laid-off workers really miss their paychecks and benefits, downsized employees are down about something else this time of year—missing the March Madness office pool.. However, outplacement solutions provider RiseSmart® is busy collecting brackets of participants in its second “RiseSmart Challenge,” an alternative program that serves as a fun way to help unemployed workers take […]
A California court of appeals has ruled that an employee cannot recover punitive damages for the employer’s violations of state Labor Code provisions governing meal and rest breaks, pay stubs, and minimum wages.1 That’s because those Labor Code provisions include specific remedies, including penalties that are punitive in nature—and those are the only remedies available. […]
There’s a compensation heat wave, says Susan Willmott, SPHR, and the only way to avoid it is with a compensation structure that’s carefully worked out based on job content and value to the company. In yesterday’s Advisor, we learned about writing job descriptions that provide information about job value; now with job descriptions done, here’s […]
Employers may need to prepare for an avalanche of paperwork if the U.S. Senate’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) passes Congress in its current form (or a similar form). The comprehensive 2,074-page health care reform bill, if passed, would impose many additional burdens on employers. Changes to Health Plans Employers would be […]