Month: October 2008

Hot List: Bestselling Business Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling business books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, this Monday morning, October 27, in the “Business and Investing” category. 1. The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder. The legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but […]

New Supervisors Don’t Know Their Own Power

New supervisors don‘t understand their new power, says attorney Jeffrey Wortman, and HR Managers had better teach them about it before they make an expensive mistake. Wortman’s comments were part of a wide-ranging discussion delivered to an enthusiastic audience at BLR’s Second Annual National Employment Law Update, held last week in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Next […]

2009 Pay Increase Survey: Results

Following a drop of more than 2,000 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in early October, we surveyed our readers to find out whether employers were revising their pay increases planned for 2009. Between October 24 and October 29, we received 518 responses. Below are the results of the survey. (Read the full story […]

Office Romance Leads to Robbery

Litigation Value: $0. Shockingly, I don’t think Dunder Mifflin can be held liable for any conduct in the “Crime Aid” episode of The Office. That doesn’t mean I think it’s advisable for Michael Scott and Holly to be messing around at work, for Phyllis to auction off sexual favors (“hugs”), or for Dwight to point […]

Avoiding Legal Pitfalls During RIFs and When Reducing Workers’ Hours

by John Vering On Oct. 3, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ reported that over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed has increased by 2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points. Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 159,000 in September and thus far in 2008, payroll employment has […]

EEOC Offers Employers Guidance on Avoiding Religious Discrimination

by Tony Puckett Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new guidance on religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also issued two other sets of materials addressing religious discrimination: “Questions and Answers: Religious Discrimination in the Workplace” and “Best Practices for Eradicating Religious Discrimination in the Workplace.” […]

Telecommuting Might Be the Answer for Workers Who Change Their Retirement Plans

by Mark Schickman Look around your workplace, and you will see baby boomers who are rethinking their retirement plans. They have had their anniversary date in 2010 circled on their calendars for a decade, they have bought their retirement condo, and they have calculated the rate of investment return that allows their retirement fund to […]

Your HR Department 2008 Survey Results

Many thanks to everyone for taking this month’s survey twice. Your answers were very interesting, especially on the essay question about the most difficult thing your HR department has had to do this year. Many of you have had to deal with layoffs, finding good employees to hire, the rising cost of health care, and […]

Pay Raises in ’09: Revised Lower?

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR CEO Bob Brady would like to know whether employers are backing off of pay raises planned for next year. Please take our very brief survey and see the results next week. Economic uncertainty Until quite recently, employers were saying that pay raises would be inching upwards. Now, […]

Investigation Complete? Don’t Relax Yet–There’s Work to Be Done

Think you have completed your investigation because you’ve interviewed your witnesses? Not so fast–there’s a lot more to do. Attorney Walter Stella, a partner in the San Francisco-based law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP, talked about the pitfalls of investigations during a SHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. After the […]