Month: May 2013

FMLA Leave Not a Reason for Discipline or Dismissal, Court Says

Employers must not impose probation on employees for excessive absences that include leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. To do so is akin to using a disciplinary measure to penalize employees for taking qualified FMLA leave. So ruled the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey as it permitted the FMLA […]

What Can Trainers Do to Work Successfully with SMEs?

“Getting them involved can be very difficult,” she says. Since training is likely not among the SMEs’ job responsibilities, it can be hard to schedule time with them and to get the information you need from them when you need it, Lee explains. She recommends scheduling “kick off meetings” with SMEs to set clear expectations, […]

4 More Things Trainers Should Know About SPCC

Our sister publication, Environmental Daily Advisor, reports from the 2013 National Institute for Storage Tank Management’s (NISTM) recent storage tank conference that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave a really detailed, 3-hour review of Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations and best practices. Here are 4 more things I picked up that I […]

Pay Budgets 2013/2014–What’s Really Happening?

Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers to these questions and more: What is the average merit and general increase for 2013 (at each performance level) What increases are planned for 2014? What are the criteria used […]

What makes a good employee: education, experience, or something more?

It doesn’t seem to make sense: Employers complain of a lack of suitable applicants despite being inundated with a glut of highly educated jobseekers. Applicants are confused, too. A recent study from McKinsey & Company’s Center for Government found that 44 percent of young U.S. jobseekers included in a survey weren’t sure that their postsecondary […]

D.C. insight: federal legislative roundup

by Sophie E. Zdatny Recently, the Employers Counsel Network (ECN) met in Alexandria, Virginia, where several notable speakers stopped by to provide their insights on current developments in the employment arena at the national level and to share their predictions for President Barack Obama’s second term. The first post looked at the personnel turnover at […]

Readers’ Story: Consoling the Cat

Have you ever had an employee miss work only to give you a far-fetched reason for their absence? A recent survey touched on a few odd excuses, like being too distraught after watching The Hunger Games. This SBT reader, who works in the construction industry, had a similar experience. The employee in question had an […]

Family Business Ends Up in Court

A family-owned business recently got tangled up in a lawsuit when the HR manager accused her brother, one of the vice presidents, of having an illicit affair with a subordinate employee that created “sexual favoritism” in the workplace. Did she have a case? Here’s what happened. “Sandra” worked as an HR manager in Howard I. […]

Good Grief—Guess Who Misspelled the Employer Name in a Job Description

Sure, you’ve seen typos and misspellings in a job description, and you think they could have just run spell-check. But did you ever see the name of the employer misspelled? This could just be a minor embarrassment to an employer and something that could quickly be corrected. The Hartford Courant Capitol Watch blog reports that […]

Pay Budgets 2013/2014–What’s Really Happening?

Pay budget—always one of the most critical decisions of the year. What’s happening with pay budgets in the real world? How about bonuses? What are your competitors up to? Help us find out! Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. […]