Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Charles S. Plumb The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) prohibits sex-based discrimination in pay and benefits. Employers shouldn’t pay different wages to employees of the opposite sex for substantially equal work. “Substantially equal” work doesn’t mean identical work. It means substantially equal in terms of required skills, effort, and responsibilities. An employer can […]
On December 16, 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its fiscal year (FY) 2013 performance report, which indicates the agency is as busy as ever. According to the report, the EEOC received a total of 93,727 private-sector charges of discrimination in FY 2013, making it one of the top five fiscal years in […]
Although sponsors of group health plans have had their hands full sorting through the still-changing Affordable Care Act requirements, the recent uproar involving AOL CEO Tim Armstrong is a stark reminder of the need to stay vigilant on HIPAA privacy — even as companies wrestle publicly with health care costs. As has been widely reported, […]
The Census Bureau has reported that in fall 2012, more than 50 million U.S. adults, or one in four, had obtained a professional certification, license, or educational certificate apart from a postsecondary degree awarded by colleges and universities. Among the adults included in the report, 12 million had both a professional certification or license and […]
The other day my 19-year-old daughter told me, “It takes teamwork to make the dream work.” I’m sure she didn’t come up with that on her own, but it was new to me. Dan Oswald, CEO of BLR®, offered his thoughts on teamwork in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter. Teamwork is defined as […]
As we leave the recession behind, the hot button for HR is going to be retention, says consultant Ronald Katz. HR will have to focus on holding on to your most valuable assets and then on getting the highest effort out of them. Voluntarily Give Their Discretionary Effort Some employees do just enough not to […]
by Jasmin Rojas Roses are red Violets are blue, Cupid’s arrow at work May snag a lawsuit for you. It’s February, the month of romance. Love (and perhaps a plethora of pheromones) permeates the air. No doubt that greeting cards and jewelry commercials contribute to a love sick contagion during this month. Guess what? Your […]
You don’t have to try very hard these days to find employment law references in pop culture. Movies and TV shows examine issues of employment discrimination, politicians seem unable to resist the urge to text photos of their private parts to their disgusted subordinates, and professional athletes provide ample fodder for lawyers in desperate search […]
Do not include the following in your documentation, says Wobst: Personal opinions. Rumors or speculation about the employee’s personal life. Theories about why the employee behaves a certain way. (Don’t practice psychiatry without a license.) For example, don’t call an employee “crazy.” Instead, document behaviors. Legal conclusions. (Don’t practice law without a license.) For example, […]