Category: HR Management & Compliance

There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.

data

HR Data Is a Mess: People Analytics Can Clean Up the Process

Every HR department has done it: Your team scrambles to sift through a year’s worth of data, stored in spreadsheets, e-mails, printouts, and some folder a manager left on your desk, all because head count planning is on the horizon. Why is it so hard? And how is it a headache every year? Outdated HR […]

policy

Why COVID-19 Should Continue to Shape Long-Term HR Policies

For more than 2 years, challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic have continued to make their presence known—not to mention the “Great Resignation” that has required HR policies to adapt quickly and continuously. At the beginning of the pandemic, when each day was “unprecedented,” employees woke up to initial responses that provided short-term solutions. But now […]

The Art of Reporting Up

Employees often bemoan the symptoms of poor communication with their superiors. This might include feeling like they aren’t getting the recognition for their good deeds or are getting blamed for things beyond their control. Or it might include feeling like the superior is simply out of touch and doesn’t appreciate the needs of the employee. […]

My Work Rule Is Legal Today, But What About Tomorrow?

Whenever the White House switches from one party to the other, there are risks because new appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) mean changes will occur in how it interprets and enforces the National Labor Relations Act (Act). Based on a recently issued notice and invitation to file briefs, all signs indicate we’ll […]

Conjunction Junction, What’s Your Function? Apparently, Deciding Harassment Cases

The words “and,” “but,” and “or” are conjunctions. In case you’ve forgotten, Schoolhouse Rock taught many of us in grade school that conjunctions link words, phrases, and clauses together to form sentences. But in case you were sleeping in class that day, the Minnesota Court of Appeals recently provided a great crash course when it […]

#MeToo Message Received: Congress Nixes Arbitration Clauses

Viewed as a risk mitigation tool, arbitration clauses are included in employment contracts and policies to route employer/employee disputes to a private forum and outside of the courthouse. Employers are attracted to such clauses because they are believed to be cost-effective and a confidential resolution of claims. As part of the #MeToo movement, however, such […]

More Flexibility with Form I-9 Compliance Expected in 2022

Like nearly all aspects of employment law today, immigration law hasn’t been immune from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The trend is likely to continue throughout 2022, particularly with regard to employment authorization documentation. The federal government is looking to consider additional flexibility for employers working to comply with the requirements.

religious

Friday Night Lights Meets Supreme Court: Will Religious Freedom Get the Game Ball?

Many of our readers are school districts or public employers whose employment law issues sometimes diverge from those of private businesses. Here is one: Government employers must respect employees’ First Amendment rights to free speech and religious expression. Private employers have no such legal duty. The contours of the rights (essentially to be free from […]

New Government Contractor AAP Verification Process in the Works

Last fall, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) received approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to implement a new online platform—the Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface (AAP-VI)—to collect information from covered federal contractors (including covered subcontractors) about their AAPs. Read on to learn when the portal will go live, although […]