Month: June 2017

ERISA

Court Supports Plans’ Freedom to Craft Own Process for Beneficiary Designations

Beneficiary designations, and disputes over them, can be a disproportionate drain of time and other resources spent by administrators of tax-qualified retirement plans. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) does not prescribe a particular manner by which participants in ERISA-covered plans must designate their beneficiaries.

FMLA

Ask the Expert: Deeming Employee ‘Ineligible’ for Leave Isn’t Always Simple

Question: We have an employee who requested FMLA paperwork because of her migraines.  Unfortunately, she is ineligible because her location is outside of the 75-mile radius of 50 employees or more. She is requesting special accommodations to miss work when she has a severe migraine. However, she is a kitchen designer and most of the […]

furlough

FMLA Training Scenario: Reduction in Force During Leave

Here we present a leave-related workplace scenario—inspired by an actual court case—that’s intended to help HR professionals better understand an employer’s responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).  In this scenario, an employer mistakenly violates its own internal policy of not laying off employees while they are on leave and eliminates the position […]

Asking Absurd Interview Questions

Maybe you’ve seen lists of unusual interview questions. Jobs and recruiting site Glassdoor publishes such a list each year to emphasize that job seekers need to be prepared for anything during the interview process and show they can think on their feet.

Leading a Better, Wiser Off-Site Retreat

Yesterday’s Leadership Daily Advisor gathered some of the latest ideas to boost the return on your corporate retreat experience. Today we continue with the next three results-oriented approaches.

The Value of Using Restraint for Social Media Recruiting

Yesterday we heard from Randal Cole, a lawyer specializing in employment law on what you can and cannot do with social media recruiting. Today, more from him on timing and technique—and review and restraint.

White House gone wild!

These days, just about anyone with an Internet connection and some time on their hands enjoys a wonder of the modern age: binge-watching. One of the first, and still one of my favorites, is Netflix’s House of Cards. No matter how over-the-top the plot twists become, no matter how difficult it is to follow the […]

communication

Internal Communications Mistakes that Destroy Employee Engagement (and How to Fix Them)

Would it surprise you to learn that a staggering 70% of U.S. workers are not engaged with their jobs? Unfortunately, this recent Gallup statistic hasn’t changed much over the past few years so it begs the question—where are organizations going wrong? The answer: a failure to focus on and make a commitment to internal communications.

laughing workers

The Rich Benefits of Transforming Organizations into People-First Cultures

As HR pros know, business literature is packed with statistical proof that companies with people-first cultures outperform their competitors. The companies that routinely appear on “Best Places to Work” lists usually have two things in common: a people-first, employee-centric culture and superior business results.