Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
What’ll it be this year, a holiday ham for your employees or a holiday gift coupon for a comparable amount? It would seem reasonable to view these presents as more or less the same, at least for tax purposes. But, as we’ll explain, the IRS said otherwise in a recent decision.
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady It’s with (slightly) mixed emotions that I announce that Business & Legal Reports, the company I founded 32 years ago, has changed its name to Business & Legal Resources and launched a new corporate website at www.BLR.com. You may be wondering—why the change? The switch from “Reports” to […]
A federal court has approved a $47,000,000 settlement entered into between the EEOC and Rent-A-Center to resolve two major class action lawsuits charging the rent-to-own company with sex discrimination. The lawsuits claimed that women were denied promotions, demoted, and sexually harassed, and that some women were fired or forced out after the company was acquired […]
If an employee mentions feeling harassed, bullied, or discriminated against, but is concerned about retaliation, is the employer required to get the complaining employee’s permission before starting an investigation into the problem?
In yesterday’s Advisor, We covered Michael Aitken’s suggestions for the employee side of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Today, employer responsibilities under the act, plus an introduction to a unique product aimed specifically at the smaller HR department. Aitken’s comments came during the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) recent annual Conference […]
Last year, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, ruled that employees cannot expect privacy when using workplace computers if their employer has an electronic monitoring policy in place. But now, the Ninth Circuit has revisited that ruling—this time finding that the employee indeed had an expectation of privacy for the computer […]
If an employee comes to you complaining about alleged harassment, it’s a no-brainer: You launch an investigation, end of story. But what about an employee who comes to you with a bullying complaint?
Yesterday’s Advisor featured common—and egregious—wage/hour missteps; today, four more, plus an introduction to the simple-to-use, popular guide that answers all your FLSA questions. [Go here for failures 1 to 3] 4. Providing inaccurate or falsified payroll records to the government Obviously, providing falsified records is not a wise practice. However, many submitted records are merely […]
If attendance at a conference session is any indication, HR professionals remain concerned about how to navigate the intersection of the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Now that the Americans With Disabilities Amendments Act has altered the definition of “disability,” it is more common than ever for the laws […]
The IRS has increased the mileage rate commonly used to reimburse employees for business use of a car from 31 cents to 32.5 cents per mile. The new rate applies to miles driven beginning January 1, 2000.