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Pink, author of popular management books including his latest, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, offered examples of how employers give today’s employees the autonomy they want—and that you need them to have. Is Management an Anachronism? Management is not a God-given mandate, says Pink, it’s a technology from the 1850s. It’s designed […]
If an employer grants severance pay to laid-off employees, it must also pay those who were on leave for disabilities at the time of the layoff. A California auto plant failed to do so and has now agreed to pay into a $6 million settlement fund (along with Toyota) to settle an Americans With Disabilities Act […]
When it comes to workplace policy on social media, much attention is on the inappropriate actions of lower-level employees. But what happens when the loose cannon is the boss? One recent news article shows that in such cases, it’s best that at a minimum, the boss Find Methods to Limit Analogies. The article in the […]
by Joseph C. Pettygrove Most employers recognize that there are times when employees have legitimate reasons to miss work, be tardy, or leave early. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to suspect an employee’s stated reason for an absence (or a recurring absence) is a lie. Take, for instance, a worker who is repeatedly “sick” the Monday […]
One of the odder add-ons to the health care reform law requires employers to provide nursing mothers with unpaid “reasonable break time” each work day to express breast milk for up to one year after a child’s birth. Section 4207 of the law amends the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to require employers to provide […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) once again refused to a take a position on whether employers may use financial incentives to encourage employee participation in wellness programs — without violating the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). In an informal opinion letter from the EEOC’s Office of Legal Counsel, the commission assured employers that […]
Recently, an employee argued in an association discrimination claim that he was fired because his employer feared he would be distracted at work by his wife’s disability. That excuse didn’t pan out, because in fact the employer was just fed up with the individual’s poor performance, making it a legitimate employment termination. So in a […]
Companies that move from pensions to a cash balance plan can benefit by avoiding the risk of market volatility, but they should explain all aspects of the switch to employees and be careful not to violate the prohibition against age discrimination. When cash balance accounts replace retirement pensions, employees can be highly sensitive to the […]
Many members of the military serving our country in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc., do double duty as employees for public and private sector companies. This raises a host of HR issues for them and their family members, as they have taken leave both for military duty and, in some cases, to deal with the impact […]
Now that the dust is settling over the nationwide class-action disability discrimination lawsuit Verizon settled with the EEOC, we at the SmartHRManager blog wanted to ask HR professionals what this settlement means to their companies. To help you answer that question, take a look at the consent decree’s corporate improvement plan, which highlights what Verizon […]