Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
To ensure that individuals who join [Company Name] are well qualified and have a strong potential to be productive and successful employees, it is [Company Name]’s policy to investigate the backgrounds and employment references of applicants. In addition, [Company Name] may conduct background investigations when employees are being considered for promotions or transfers, or in […]
What legal right do bosses have to monitor their workers’ communications, especially when sent through new technologies? The answer (as usual) is: It depends. Yesterday’s Advisor briefed you on the subject of electronic surveillance of your employees. We summarized the pros and cons of looking at your employees’ e-mails, instant messages (IMs), and other communications, […]
Recently, Lynn Noyes, a permanent software developer at temp agency Kelly Services in Nevada City (near Sacramento) won a massive $6.5 million verdict when a jury found that Noyes’ manager failed to select Noyes for promotion because she lacked certain religious beliefs held by that manager. Evidence in the case showed that the manager also […]
Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the book It’s Our Ship: The No Nonsense Guide to Leadership by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff. Standard book on how to manage transforms to inspiration for HR to fight corporate bureaucracy. The title of It’s Our Ship: The No-Nonsense Guide to Leadership, another in the series by Captain D. […]
When it comes to electronic surveillance of employees, as the TV ad says, “Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should.” Most companies now have the means to conduct electronic surveillance of their employees’ at work, since so much that employees do passes through company computer networks. But should you peek? Susan Heathfield, […]
by Brian Smeenk On June 30, 2008, new human rights legislation in Ontario came into force. The new regime radically changes the way in which human rights complaints are dealt with in Ontario. Employers, employees, and unions are watching closely to see how well the new system works. 1. Complainants given direct access to tribunal […]
In sensitive HR discussions with employees, some of your managers will do best working from a script. But don’t try to write one until you’ve gotten the appropriate written policies backing it up. Yesterday’s article on the proper handling of terminations gave tips on what management personnel should and should not say in these circumstances. […]
Amazon.com updates its list of bestselling business books hourly. Here is a snapshot of what books were hot this morning — Monday, August 18. 1. Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson. Following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, the […]
Most law firms approach diversity from a committee approach (see the “Diversity Trends” article for proof), if at all. A few years ago, Warner Norcross & Judd LLP decided that method wasn’t working. The firm, one of the largest in Michigan, named Rodney Martin its diversity partner in 2006 and gave him the authority and […]
One hundred percent of the 80 large law firms that participated in a recent survey report having a diversity committee. That number is up from 96 percent from last year’s Altman Weil Flash Survey — and it’s not the only indication that law firms are increasingly committed to diversity efforts. For instance, 58 percent say […]