Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Pregnancy and Discrimination: Are Your Practices Compliant? Most employers know that pregnancy and discrimination do not mix. But unfortunately it still occurs too often, though not always intentionally. According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly half of the U.S. workforce is comprised of women, and out of that group, roughly 80 percent are or will […]
Emergency management preparedness often falls squarely in HR’s lap. Preparing for emergencies involves evaluating your risks, determining the legal and regulatory players, and determining the role of (and how to manage) unions, vendors, and contractors, especially on a multi-employer site. How can you design and communicate effective emergency management procedures? Why is this HR’s responsibility? […]
Yesterday’s Advisor featured the Four Ms of setting good appraisal goals; today, legal pitfalls in appraisals, plus an introduction to a unique leadership training system. Because poor performance is often advanced as the reason for a termination, the performance appraisal system is often the crux of the defense against a wrongful termination suit. Here’s how […]
Ridiculous as it sounds, “they never told me” is a standard defense in employment lawsuits. It plays to the jury’s sense of fairness, and it plays pretty well. ‘Surely They Know What I Want’ Managers and supervisors don’t like confronting their employees about performance problems so they tend to assume that employees are aware that […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, Employers Counsel Network attorneys briefed readers on new NLRB developments; today, their take on social networking, plus an introduction to the HR audit system that makes sure supervisors and managers are following policy. A common thread in social media cases is that the supervisors have overreacted, says attorney Molly DiBianca. Supervisors aren’t […]
Unless they protect themselves, employers using unpaid interns risk running afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor laws. Indie movie spinoff Fox Searchlight (a division of Twentieth Century Fox) has been slapped with a lawsuit by two interns who worked on the set of the award-winning film, Black Swan. In Eric Glatt […]
The U.S. government is sharpening its whistleblower protection program, hiring and training more OSHA agents to cultivate employee complaints against their companies. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) wants to increase the number of “whistleblower managers,” who work with disgruntled employees to dig up dirt on companies for alleged violations of workplace laws. Their work […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, Hunter Lott of Please Sue Me fame, offered his lawsuit avoidance tips. Today, his advice on legal exposure in 2011, plus an introduction to the new 24/7 leadership training system. What percent of charges did the EEOC drop last year? Lott asks. More than 64 percent. “That’s us!” Lott says. That’s HR […]
It used to be the “60 Minutes Rule,” but lawsuit avoidance expert Hunter Lott now encounters people who say 60 Minutes, what’s that? So he advocates the “YouTube Rule”—don’t do anything in the office, he says, that you wouldn’t want to see on YouTube. Lott, who is a popular speaker and consultant and owner of […]
Lawsuits are down, but judgments are up. Training is the answer. This fall marks 20 years since the term “sexual harassment” entered the American lexicon in a big way. Americans came to know it through the testimony of Anita Hill, as she complained about alleged unwelcome advances from her ex-boss, now-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, […]