Month: August 2007

A Tool to Educate Supervisors in Legal Hiring, and a Whole Lot More

What if you could educate supervisors and managers in 10 different HR skills for the cost of one program? Here’s how you can. The controversy over video résumés we reported on yesterday points up again how delicate the issue of hiring is in this day and age. Think about it. A supervisor or manager gets […]

Video Résumés: Is There Trouble in Sight?

Video résumés show jobseekers in all their glory, but is discrimination also part of the picture? Here are the two views on the subject. You’ve advertised for a spot in your organization, and now your e-mail inbox is bulging with résumés. As you work your way through the pile, one candidate has included a link […]

Employment Law Tip: Do You Know the Callback Pay Rules?

Each workday a nonexempt employee is required to report for work and does report but isn’t put to work, or is given less than half of his or her usual or scheduled day’s work, the employee must be paid for half the usual or scheduled day’s work, but in no event less than two hours’ […]

Retirement Plans: New Rule Regarding Stock Diversification Notice Penalties

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has published a final rule clarifying the penalty that may be imposed on a plan administrator for failing to provide a written notice to participants and beneficiaries of their rights to diversify the portions of plan accounts that are invested in the employer’s publicly traded […]

Discrimination: Measure Would Eliminate EEO Suit Damages Caps

A new measure introduced in the U.S. Senate would remove existing caps on compensatory and punitive damages an individual can recover in an employment discrimination lawsuit. The new legislation, titled the Equal Remedies Act of 2007 and authored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is aimed at eliminating damages caps that were implemented a decade and […]

5 Steps to Effective Training

To train effectively, first create a conducive environment, then follow these 5 steps: Yesterday’s Daily Advisor discussed preparation for training … how to quell the discomfort many feel about facing new challenges and how to set up an effective training environment, followed by opportunities to put the new knowledge quickly to work. Now let’s cover […]

Use Your Brain Before You Train

Training can be easier and more effective if you prepare properly … both yourself and the trainees. Here are tips for doing it. Ask any group of HR managers what they least like about the job, and it’s even money that the answer will be training. A lot of that probably comes from the fact […]

What Employers Should and Shouldn’t Keep in Employees’ Personnel Files

Labor and employment law attorneys get a lot of questions from employers about personnel files. The most frequently asked question is, “What should I include, and who gets to see them?” Read on as we attempt to sort out some of those questions. HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 […]

Race Discrimination Claims Tossed Despite Offensive Conduct

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits race discrimination. But is a minority employee the victim of discrimination or retaliation if a supervisor treats all direct reports “very badly” and “like a child”? What if the supervisor also steps up documentation on the employee after she complained that the supervisor is “racist”? […]

Cocktails Revisited

Litigation Value: $75,000 (I’m sticking with my earlier assessment) A number of people have asked me whether Jan could really be fired for dating Michael. My answer? Probably. Well, at least in most states. Employers can, and often do, implement policies prohibiting their employees from engaging in romantic relationships with co-workers and, certainly, with subordinates. […]