Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
When an employee is acting “strangely,” a supervisor or manager might innocently ask him or her questions that could lead to legal liability for your company. When it comes to managing mental health in the workplace, it’s important to train supervisors and managers on how to engage with an employee whose behavior is affecting job […]
Before the mid-1990s, e-mail was a relative novelty in office communication. Today, of course, it’s perhaps the most prevalent medium for colleagues to communicate back and forth. Although it’s been the main method of communication for just a few decades, there are signs employees are increasingly looking to alternative forms of communication for collaborating with […]
The plot of good versus evil, good guys versus bad guys, or right versus wrong has played out in books and movies for ages. It is arguably the most common struggle at the center of narratives of all types. So it should be no surprise that the same struggle is prevalent in corporate environments under […]
With low unemployment comes an increasing risk of turnover—and this makes employers weary in times when the economy is growing but not skyrocketing. Employers today are facing these risks and trying to determine how to keep employees happy and motivated—and keep them from job searching in their spare time. Some employers are opting to provide […]
Yesterday, we looked at a case involving an employee who claimed to want to return to work but submitted a note from his doctor stating that he was “totally incapacitated.” Today, the conclusion of the case, courtesy of attorney Nancy N. Lubrano of the Irvine office of Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP.
An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Chief Counsel Advice memo issued to assist counsel in one of the agency’s regional offices provides two ways missed 401(k) loan payments can be handled without taxing the participant in plans permitting a cure period for such skipped payments. The guidance—while neither a precedent or legally binding—may be beneficial for […]
by Jennifer Suich Frank Q One of our employees brought a large ball to work and is using it instead of her company-provided chair. She says it’s better for her back, but she doesn’t have a back problem. She states that she’s using it proactively. Do we have the right to require her to use […]
While it’s unlikely that employee benefits law will ever form the basis of an edge-of-your-seat Hollywood thriller—ERISA Extreme, anyone?—the past few weeks are about as close as we will ever get.
New research published in 2017 suggests that a simple payroll loophole could cost U.S. employers more than $373 million every year. The loophole is well-known and widespread. It’s called buddy punching. Recently, TSheets—a cloud-based time tracking app—released new insights into buddy punching, and ways employers can curtail this trend.