Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Yesterday’s Advisor offered advice for HR managers on what to do when there’s a hint of trouble, like harassment or racial teasing. Today, a look at the bigger question—why the problems weren’t reported. Situations such as those mentioned in yesterday’s Advisor — a boss hitting on a subordinate or racial teasing— should have been formally reported […]
If you’re planning to close your doors for the holidays to help trim costs, and you want exempt employees to use up their accrued vacation during this period, you may want to review whether your plans comply with state wage and hour rules regarding exempt employees. A recent opinion letter from the state Division of […]
In yesterday’s post, we discussed the idea that using artificial intelligence (AI) or big data in the recruiting process doesn’t eliminate problems with discrimination and bias. Perhaps counter-intuitively, these methods can actually emphasize bias if we’re not careful because the machine doesn’t know any better. It can only assess the (often imperfect) traits it is told to […]
On Election Day, November 7, 2000, you’re required to let employees take paid time off to vote if they don’t have sufficient time outside of work hours. Polling places are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. You don’t have to pay workers for more than two hours off and you can require that they […]
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has issued final regulations revising and simplifying the rules for written affirmative action programs. However, the new regulations also substantially increase the number of employers who must complete the annual Equal Opportunity Survey and submit personnel and compensation data.
By Steve Bruce, Editor, HR Daily Advisor Just My E-Pinion Our headline in a recent issue of HR Daily Advisor—"He’s back … in the lobby … with a gun"—was calculated to attract attention; that’s what headlines do. But not the kind of attention we attracted. A number of readers were upset by the headline and […]
United Healthcare of Florida, Inc., has agreed to shell out $1.8 million in back pay and damages to resolve a same-sex harassment and retaliation lawsuit. The suit, filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), charged that a male regional vice president subjected a male senior account executive at the company’s Sunrise, Fla., office […]
Governor Wilson has introduced legislation to reform California’s wrongful termination laws. If passed, the measure would put an end to court cases that have allowed employees to sue on the ground that the employer’s actions or practices created a promise-though not in writing-that the person could only be fired for good cause. For example, employees […]
Misclassifying an employee as exempt from overtime can cost employers potentially huge payouts of past overtime. Last year alone, the federal Department of Labor ordered employers to pay $134 million in back wages to misclassified employees. And that doesn’t count court judgments. Now a new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision may cause you to […]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, has issued another in a string of rulings invalidating mandatory arbitration agreements used by electronics retailer Circuit City. In the latest case, Circuit City employee Paul Mantor claimed the company indicated to employees that they risked their future with the retailer if they chose not to […]