Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is getting tough on wage and hour violations, and you don’t want them to be the ones doing your FLSA audit. Far better to find and fix problems—before DOL starts going over your books. It shouldn’t be hard to calculate pay and overtime, yet employers are losing big–dollar wage […]
An Alameda County jury has awarded $1.27 million to an African-American BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train mechanic who claimed his superiors retaliated against him after he complained about harassment by a co-worker.
A new law that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2008, requires employers to provide a new notice to employees, along with annual wage summaries (such as W-2 or 1099 forms). The measure, A.B. 650, requires all California employers to give all employees written notice of employees’ possible right to take an Earned Income Tax […]
The management landscape is littered with HR-related traps for unwary new supervisors or managers, and the stakes are too high to let them “learn by doing.” Here’s a tool to train them with minimal effort on your part and theirs. Last issue we talked about supervisors and managers who tried to be good supervisors, but […]
Amazon.com updates its list of bestselling business books hourly. Here is a snapshot of what books were hot this morning — Monday, November 26. 1. Personal History by Katharine Graham. This candid and insightful autobiography tells the story of Katharine Graham’s personal struggles as a daughter, wife and mother and her professional triumphs as she […]
We’re in the process of rewriting our employee handbook, and we want to modify our employee appearance policy. What do we need to consider? We want our employees to look professional, but we don’t want to get caught in a lawsuit. —Ronald W., San Jose
“No good deed goes unpunished.” Nowhere is that more true than when untrained supervisors and managers try to be good bosses. If you’ve got new or recently promoted supervisors or managers, see if any of these situations are familiar: “Do you think you might be depressed?” asks the concerned but untrained boss. “I didn’t,” says […]
Storing records electronically means knowing a whole new set of skills and rules. There are the practical (“If I e-file a document, can I throw the signed paper copy away?”) and the legal (including some new rules from no less than the U.S. Supreme Court.) Just how do you get it all right in a […]
No one needs training to feel emotions around the Thanksgiving table, but how about around the conference table? Has the time come for emotional intelligence testing and training? “I wish I had a decoder for each relationship at the office.” “When one of my direct reports starts talking to me about her medical problems, I […]
Paid-Time-Off (PTO) programs can greatly simplify your attendance programs, but they can also be complicated. Our expert tackles “spendthrift” employees, and we also preview two upcoming BLR audio conferences, on December 5 and 12, that could answer all your PTO questions. What do you do with employees who use up all their PTO leave early […]