Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
On April 24, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it will review a regional director’s decision that Northwestern University’s scholarship football players are employees who are eligible to unionize. The Board’s announcement came one day before a secret-ballot election, which will go on as scheduled. The NLRB said the ballots will be impounded […]
After a 13-year wait, the Internal Revenue Service has just released its comprehensive regulations covering COBRA health benefits continuation coverage. The new regulations-which are a complex mix of final and so-called proposed rules-clarify several gray areas of the law but don’t change the basic COBRA mandates, including the detailed notice requirements. Even though the rules […]
President Barack Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination June 17 at an Oval Office event. The memorandum addresses the benefits to which same-sex partners of federal employees may be entitled and is a result of internal reviews conducted by the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the secretary […]
We have a training program that involves five years of rotating assignments before employees are ready to really start the job. And it is a few years after that before they start to actually contribute significant profits. Because we have to invest so much in their training, can we have an age cutoff, such as […]
Last year we warned about “testers”-individuals who act as job applicants for the sole purpose of scoping out whether your hiring practices are legal. A new report has concluded that testers can help expose bias in hiring, and the government now plans to deploy these undercover applicants in California workplaces.
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, romance is in the air—and maybe even in the workplace. But while workplace romance may be a nice diversion for those involved, it can create some big risks for employers. This can include the threat of sexual harassment lawsuits when a relationship sours, lowered productivity, and even diminished morale […]
Last October, we launched Resources for Humans: A Review of the Best Books for HR. So this week, we are taking a look back at the five most popular reviews. We hope you have enjoyed this first year and found many helpful books. We look forward to bringing you another year full of great reading. […]
The first step in tackling any problem is to understand it. Henry Neils, who heads an organization known as the International Assessment Network, has identified 13 signs of work-related burnout: 1. Chronic fatigue (exhaustion, tiredness, a sense of being physically run-down) 2. Anger at those making demands 2. Self-criticism for putting up with the demands […]
Telecommuting allows employees to work part or all of their standard workweek from a remote location, “seamlessly commuting” by e-mail, cell phones, and virtual private networks. (Editor’s note: It’s not always “seamless.”)