Month: January 2009

Did They Actually Clarify Intermittent Leave? (Yes, a Little)

In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Frank Alvarez covered several key points on compliance with new FMLA regs. Today, more of Alvarez’s tips, and an introduction to the first available updated FLMA compliance guide. Intermittent leave has always been a bugaboo for HR managers, and the new regulations do offer some clarifications. Here are Alvarez’s thoughts on […]

The High Cost of Low Morale . . . and What to Do About It

Author and talent management expert Carol A. Hacker writes about her book “The High Cost of Low Morale . . . and What to Do About It.” She offers tips from her book for reducing employee turnover. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that the average cost of one turnover is 30 percent of the […]

Ready for F-Day? (January 16 Is FMLA Day)

Scurrying to get ready for F-Day? All the new FMLA changes are effective January 16. We’ve gathered some compliance tips from a nationally recognized expert, attorney Frank Alvarez. Alvarez is national coordinator of law firm Jackson Lewis’s Disability, Leave & Health Management Practice Group. Here are his thoughts on some changes employers have hoped for. […]

Two Rules for Smart Hiring

Hiring even one new employee invokes no fewer than seven federal laws and several state laws as well, says attorney Stephen R. Woods. How does an employer navigate this legal minefield? Woods, a shareholder with the national law firm of Ogletree Deakins, offered two tips at a recent BLR Employment Law Update conference in Las […]

A ‘Routine’ Background Check in Canada? There’s No Such Thing

by Derek Knoechel In 1990, a 21-year-old woman was caught shoplifting. She then pleaded guilty to a charge of theft, receiving a conditional discharge. Some five years later, she applied for a position with the Montreal police force. So began a 13-year legal odyssey culminating in a Supreme Court of Canada decision (Montréal (City) v. […]

Pie-in-the-Sky Recruiting? Get Real!

“I want someone from the top of the class at a top business school, who has advanced rapidly at a fast-growing, respected firm (but I want to pay an entry-level salary).” That’s pie-in-the-sky recruiting—spinning your wheels with no results. In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered the first five prehire necessities. Today, we look at five more, […]

Business Week’s Bestseller List

Business Week ranks business books that are the most recent bestsellers and provides a short summary. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. As you’d expect with Gladwell, there are lots of surprises in his explanation of why some people succeed fantastically. Pluck and smarts get less play here than such matters as […]

Ten Things You Must Do Before You Recruit

“I want that job filled yesterday!” It’s every hiring manager’s mantra, but it can’t be yours. HR has to step back and approach hiring carefully. There’s too much at stake—from bad hires to damaging lawsuits—to rush ahead blindly.Here’s what you must do before you jump into recruiting: 1. Learn Federal and State Laws and Regulations. […]

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed

Update: U.S. Senate has passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and it has been sent to President Barack Obama. He is scheduled to sign the bill into law on Jan. 29, 2009. In one of its first major employment law actions of the year, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that will […]

Benefits 2009 HR Hero Survey

Each January, HR Hero asks its readers about the benefits their company plans to offer in the new year. With the changes in the economy and employers looking for ways to cut expenses, will they be reducing benefits or passing more of the cost of them on to employee? Take the survey and we’ll report […]