Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Automation is becoming a major trend in the HR world, with some researchers claiming HR will be fully automated in 5 years, and others claiming a majority of HR professionals will be automating tasks as early as 2019. If these estimates are correct, will the human in Human Resources be out of a job in […]
Many employers are seeing an increase in employees requesting time off to care for their aging parents. Because that trend is likely to continue, you should be prepared to manage such requests, particularly when the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies.
Most Massachusetts employers are required by law to provide “meal breaks” for their employees. However, in many industries, it isn’t always feasible for employees to leave the premises during lunch or even to stop working while they’re eating. If employees work through their meal breaks, must they be paid for that time? What if they […]
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking to discourage arrangements in which employees can obtain large wellness incentive payments in exchange for a relatively minor after-tax contribution. Contrary to their promoters’ claims, these setups cannot enable employers to finance wellness incentives solely by reducing their employment tax liability, the IRS warned.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) in early May clarified guidance issued in late 2016 about its Early Warning Program (EWP), explaining that the program had not been expanded and such a review for an employer’s defined benefit (DB) retirement plan would not be triggered solely by a change in credit quality.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that imposes minimum wage, overtime, record-keeping, and child labor requirements. Although the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) enforces the FLSA, employees may file their own lawsuits under the Act. A lawsuit may be an individual action or a collective action, which is similar to a […]
Productivity concerns affect the entire organization. If the employer needs more productivity, either the existing employees must make that happen through productivity gains, or more employees must be hired. Either way, Human Resources (HR) is involved, directly or indirectly, through communications, training, hiring, or implementing new programs.
Drug or alcohol abuse in the workplace is obviously a serious concern, and a recent report describes how drug use in the workforce is on the rise. Not only could the employee be putting him- or herself at a health risk, he or she may also be putting other employees at a safety risk. And, […]
After a number of very challenging years for recruiters, things are finally looking up.
When employees are crammed into an office or other work environment for 40 or more hours a week, conflict is bound to arise. However, it’s how you handle conflict that matters the most, and that especially includes not using pepper spray.