Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Mark I. Schickman The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) lists as one of its purposes the creation of a uniform national labor policy. That might have been the thought nearly 80 years ago when the NLRA was enacted, but it is the furthest thing from the truth today — as state-to-state conflicts in employment […]
Being an employer in California comes with all sorts of headaches. And one that probably makes you reach for the ibuprofen at least as often as any other – if not more – is the recordkeeping headache. Plus, as if the seemingly nonstop paperwork and report filing aren’t enough, sometimes you have to deal with […]
As part of its ongoing ERISA enforcement, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration recently investigated Walnut, Calif.-based Avacon Corporation’s 401(k) ERISA compliance. As a result of the investigation, the PWBA filed acomplaint, charging that four Avacon plan officials and trustees had failed to forward employee contributions to the plan in a timely fashion. During the […]
A Tosco worker injured in a catastrophic 1999 explosion and fire at the company’s Martinez refinery and the family of another worker killed in the disaster have filed a lawsuit against Tosco. Employees who are injured on the job are generally limited to workers’ comp benefits. But this lawsuit attempts to sidestep this restriction by […]
The Obama administration is working to keep its minimum wage hike proposal in the public eye, and simultaneously appears to be pushing back against critics who charge that raising the minimum wage would not help working families. On Feb. 28, the U.S. Department of Labor released a report detailing the demographic characteristics of minimum wage […]
We know that we’re supposed to make a “genuine” offer of employment before we require medical tests and so on. But what do we do when we are waiting for one more reference to come back or the results of a background check? (We can do the background check before the offer, right?) Do we […]
BusinessWeek ranks business books that are the most recent bestsellers and provides a short summary. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? Do you feel that you are both a person who gets […]
On April 1, 2009, the Milwaukee Equal Rights Commission (ERC) adopted a draft of the City of Milwaukee Paid Sick Leave Ordinance Administrative Rules. These rules establish the standards and procedures the ERC will use for both the implementation and the enforcement of the ordinance by the ERC should the current legal challenge to the […]
by Tammy Binford Proponents of a diverse workforce understand that an employee group made up of all ages, races, and cultural backgrounds has a lot to offer. In spite of the advantages of diversity, though, employees’ differences can lead to a lack of understanding that holds everybody back. But is there a secret to capitalizing […]
Most employers know the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) protects an employee’s right to participate in union activities. But the law is actually much broader than that. It also covers workers—union and nonunion—who join together to protest or seek changes in the terms and conditions of their employment. Retaliation against an employee for engaging in […]