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tips

How Much ‘Side Work’ Can Employees Do and Still Be Paid Tipped Minimum Wage?

In a recent decision, Florida Federal District Judge James Moody upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) rule that a tipped employee may be paid a direct wage that is less than the Florida minimum wage of $8.10 per hour only if he spends no more than 20% of his time on duties that do […]

Should You Offer a Signing Bonus?

Whether you call it a hiring bonus, a signing bonus, or a sign-on bonus, the idea is the same: It’s a bonus offered to a job applicant to entice him or her to accept the position. It could be a flat dollar amount, or it may be a percent of the new salary, typically anywhere […]

6 important ways to avoid playing the blame game

by Dan Oswald When the going gets tough, how long does it take for someone to ask, “Who’s to blame for this mess?” Unfortunately, the answer is not very long. We live in a world in which everyone wants to place blame. You don’t have to look any further than the Great Recession. Republicans blamed […]

religious

Tips for Judging Sincerity of Employee’s Religious Beliefs

In many situations, the question of whether an employee’s request for a religious accommodation is tied to sincere religious beliefs isn’t at issue. Instead, you simply need to assess whether you can provide the accommodation without causing an undue hardship. When you do question whether the employee sincerely holds the beliefs—e.g., if she raises a […]

Cursing, fighting, and screaming could be protected under the NLRA

Too bad workplaces don’t come with the technology that allows employers to replace curse words with the bleeps so often heard during profanity-laced tirades on television. Then, maybe, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) wouldn’t be called on to settle disputes such as one that occurred after a bikini contest at a Hooters restaurant in […]

onboarding

Quantitative and Qualitative Tools for Measuring Onboarding Success

In two previous posts, we’ve been discussing the importance of measuring onboarding efforts, as well as some basic steps toward developing a measurement program. Here, we’re going to look at some specific types of both qualitative and quantitative measurements.