Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Pondering arcane overtime rules, BLR founder and CEO Bob Brady asks “Isn’t it about time that the U.S. Department of Labor emerges from its cave and joins the 21st century?” I’m speaking of overtime regulations. At BLR, we have several salespeople earning between $70,000 and $100,000 a year. […]
California law provides broad protection to employees who are whistleblowers. But how do you know when an employee is blowing the whistle? And what should you do once the whistle has been blown?
Update Dec. 21, 2009: President signs bill including COBRA subsidy extension Representative Joe Sestak (D-Pennsylvania) introduced the Extended COBRA Continuation Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 3930) this week in the U.S. House of Representatives. The proposed bill would extend the original federal COBRA subsidy created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), […]
Virginia Menge, a school bus driver employed by the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, was placed on leave after allegedly failing a random urine drug test by testing positive for nitrate, a substance which can alter test results. The drug testing agency refused Menge’s request to have the urine sample retested. Menge then resigned, […]
Update Dec. 16: House Passes COBRA Subsidy Extension and Expansion Today, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued model COBRA continuation coverage notices that reflect the new nine-month, 65 percent subsidy on COBRA premiums. The notices are available online at www.dol.gov/ebsa/COBRAmodelnotice.html. There are four types of notices, each tailored to a particular employee, beneficiary, or […]
California employers are required to keep posted in a conspicuous place a notice stating the name of the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier or stating that the employer is self-insured. The notice must be easily understandable and posted in both English and Spanish (where there are Spanish-speaking employees). The notice must include the following details:
During the month of February each year, most public and private employers are required to post OSHA Form 200 in a conspicuous place. This ‘Log and Summary of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses’ calls for details about on-the-job injuries and illnesses that occurred between January 1 and December 31 of the preceding year. Unless you’re in […]
In part one of this article, we noted that employers are having a difficult time getting enough qualified applicants for all of their open roles. We started to explore some of the reasons why there are fewer applicants. For example, we noted that a lot of people who are of working age are not participating in […]
Stories abound in the media of disgruntled employees who, after being terminated, lash out at their employers and coworkers in violent ways. That’s why it is important to follow a plan of action during a termination meeting. Here are some tips on how to minimize violence during these difficult situations: Remove any dangerous objects in […]
In July 2002, we reported on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that an employer can defend against a disability discrimination claim by showing the individual poses a direct threat-that is, a significant risk to the health and safety of the individual or others that can’t be eliminated by reasonable accommodation. Now, in a new development […]