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News Notes: Big Child Labor Settlement

Sears Roebuck & Co. has agreed to pay a $325,000 fine to settle allegations that it violated federal child labor laws. Investigators allegedly found violations involving a total of 227 minors at over 60% of the Sears stores that were investigated. The violations included allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to operate power-driven equipment and letting teens […]

Tip Four: Recertify

–Have the employee recertify the condition as often as you can, in many cases, as often as every 30 days. This is at the worker’s expense and has proved a strong deterrent to bogus leave claims. Go to Tip Five

New DOL Rules Require More Disclosure to Workers with 401(k) Retirement Plans

Forty years ago, very few U.S. employees were personally affected by what happened on Wall Street. Six in 10 Americans were covered by a pension that they could count on regardless of the stock market. Today less than 2 in 10 workers in the private sector have a pension and most workers only option is […]

Hurricane Reminds We Really Aren’t in Control of Some Things

For all of us who pride ourselves on being in control of things at all times, Mother Nature served up a big reminder — in the form of Hurricane Irene — that we’re not in control of as much as we would like to think we are. A lot of executives mistakenly believe they’re in […]

Now Is the Time for HR to Become a Business Leader

By Seth Kahan HR’s responsibility to recruit and develop the right team of leaders is critical to business success—shirk that responsibility at your peril, says consultant Seth Kahan, author of Getting Change Right: How Leaders Transform Organizations from the Inside Out. This article is an excerpt of Kahan’s coming book, Getting Innovation Right, due out […]

Arbitrating Employment Claims: Court Strikes Down Arbitration Clause; Important Details You Should Never Leave Out

Agreements to arbitrate employment disputes are more popular than ever with employers because they can help avoid expensive and risky litigation. They are also controversial because some believe it’s unfair to require employees to agree in advance to submit employment claims to arbitration, giving up the right to a jury trial and potentially huge damages. […]

News Notes: Survey Flags Hot New Employee Benefit Choices

A recent survey of employers by the human resources consulting firm Hewitt Associates indicates that employees are increasingly interested in non-traditional and flexible benefits that they can pick and choose to suit their particular needs, including retirement and work/family concerns. And employers, to stay competitive in attracting the best talent, are planning to make more […]

Planned Merit and General Increases by Size and Industry: Survey Results

In yesterday’s Advisor, we saw survey results for planned increases by company location and employee level. Today, increases by company size and industry, plus an introduction to BLR’s popular Job Descriptions Encyclopedia. BLR’s 2012 Pay Budget Survey was conducted in June 2011. A total of 1637 organizations participated. Here are the rest of the results: […]

4 Ways To Curb Intermittent Leave Problems

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and its California counterpart, the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), allow workers to take time off each year to care for their own or a family member’s serious health condition, or to bond with a new child. Employers have complained about certain aspects of the law for […]