Archives

Audio Conference to Help Solve Paid-Time-Off (PTO) Problems and Reduce Unscheduled Absences

Paid-time-off (PTO) expenses can be as high as healthcare costs. Let a special May 2nd audio conference tell you ways to manage them better. What’s the biggest benefits cost you’ve got? Easy answer, right? It’s health care. Easy but also wrong. According to recent surveys, the costs of PTO, in the form of vacations, sick […]

Paid-Time-Off (PTO): At Many Companies, It Doesn’t Seem to Count

A surprising survey shows that many companies simply don’t track their paid-time-off (PTO) programs, even though the cost may be as high as health care. Potential savings from better management: millions. Employee: “Boss. I don’t feel well. I’d like to stay home but I’m not sure I’ve got any sick days left.” Employer: “Hey, who’s […]

Does Your Dress Code Measure Up?

by Scott Holt and Margaret DiBianca For some employees, the weekend starts early, say Wednesday or Thursday, with shorts, jeans, T-shirts, tank tops, and other very casual attire in the office. Revealing clothes, in turn, disclose body piercings and tattoos — things you may prefer to keep covered up. If your employees are coming to […]

‘Failing Forward’ Is the Best Option

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR’s CEO suggests that if you want to get ahead in HR, avoid gambles, but take risks! As the CEO and owner of a small business, I get to observe the willingness of people to take risks. Some are natural risk-takers. Some will bet only on a sure […]

Safety Training (with Guest Blogger Jason Loring)

Litigation Value: $40,000 Duty calls and Julie is not able to blog this week due to work. I’m a fellow labor and employment attorney with Ford & Harrison and also a fan of the show. This week’s episode certainly did not disappoint. The episode starts with the Dunder Mifflin employees gathered around for a “safety […]

Announcing a Special BLR Audio Conference: The Challenges of an Aging Workforce

Solving the worker shortage by retaining your older workers brings many benefits, but an aging workforce also raises several challenges. An April 25 audio conference will tell you what you need to know. To anyone charged with filling office seats and production workstations, the numbers are frightening. The Baby Boom generation, just starting to reach […]

Employment Law Tip: When Is Accommodation an Undue Hardship?

If a disabled employee needs an accommodation so he or she can continue to perform the job, you don’t have to provide any accommodation that would be an undue hardship for you. Generally, undue hardship means that providing the reasonable accommodation would result in significant difficulty or expense, based on your resources and the operation […]

Disability Bias: Disability-Based Misconduct Is Part of Disability, Says Court

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, has released a controversial new opinion suggesting that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects misconduct stemming from a disability as part and parcel of the disability itself. The case involved Stephanie Gambini, an employee of Total Renal Care, Inc, who suffered from bipolar disorder. Gambini […]

Health Insurance: HIPAA Privacy Notice Reminder for Small Health Plans

Under the privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), group health plans must remind participants every three years that a privacy rights notice is available on request. For small health plans (those with $5 million or less in annual receipts), the three-year anniversary date is April 14, 2007. The anniversary date […]

Retention: What if 75% of Your Workers Found Other Jobs?

The bad news is that surveys are showing that three of every four of your workers are probably job hunting. The good news is that there are retention strategies to keep them. If you’re not doing anything special right now, stick your head out the door and look down the corridor. Now imagine three out […]