Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
No post today. Call it a sympathy strike (yes, I know that sympathy strikes are illegal – take it up with the NLRB). Well, better yet, call it a holiday hiatus as the truth is that I’m blowing off my responsibilities this morning and heading for the mall to finish up my Christmas shopping. In […]
By the BLR Editors Just My E-pinion At long last, a response has come from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on its call for public comments on the FMLA. Too bad DOL is a day late and about 10 dollars short. First came the hope … that, after requesting public comments, the U.S. Department […]
One of our employees isn’t working out. His sales have been consistently low, he has trouble meeting deadlines, and he doesn’t interact well with clients. We’ve decided to let him go. What should we cover when we meet with him? Thank you. — Maryanne P., Santa Monica Mishandling a termination meeting could lead to […]
EEOC is rattling its unconscious/systemic discrimination saber—and if they target you for an investigation, it’s going to be expensive and annoying, whether you are innocent or guilty. Here are 8 steps you can take to forestall the attack. What are the best practices for keeping the EEOC at bay in a time they’re begun to […]
While California law generally requires employers to pay overtime when employees work over eight hours in a day or 40 in a week, certain executive, administrative, and professional employees are exempt from this requirement if they meet three conditions: 1) the employee is paid on a salary basis; 2) the employee earns a certain minimum […]
A Fresno jury returned a staggering and unanimous $19.1 million verdict in favor of former Fresno State women’s basketball coach Stacy Johnson-Klein, who charged that her firing almost three years ago was the result of gender bias and retaliation.
The California Assembly has voted in favor of a landmark health care reform measure—A.B. x1 1, the Health Care Security and Cost Reduction Act—which is backed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration. If approved there and signed by the governor, the bill would then go to voters in November […]
Does your workplace discriminate “unconsciously?” Courts aren’t sure, says Fortune magazine. But the EEOC isn’t waiting to find out. Despite years of the government, courts, and society in general fighting it, patterns of discrimination still exist at many businesses. Workers seem to be held down based on race, gender, or other factors. But while some […]
Humorist David Granirer says that humor helps us stay well but that several topics are verboten in the workplace. Today we look at topics you can joke about. As noted in yesterday’s Advisor, humor at work can lead to both healthier employees and a healthier bottom line. But there are some forms of humor that […]
The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times on December 17. 1. The World Is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman. (Picador, $16.) A columnist for the New York Times analyzes 21st-century economics and foreign policy and presents an overview of globalization trends. 2. The Tipping […]