Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Jeanine Poole New Hampshire employers need to be reviewing their policies regarding employee use of social media and electronic equipment now that a new law protecting employee privacy is set to take effect September 30. The new law prohibits New Hampshire employers from requesting or requiring current or prospective employees to disclose some information […]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is inviting interested parties to file briefs in a case that could overrule a decision that allows employers to restrict employees’ use of their electronic communication systems. On April 30, the NLRB issued its decision in Purple Communications, Inc. That decision notes that on October 24, 2013, an administrative […]
By Antoine Aylwin and Edith Charbonneau Your employee quits his job and returns his smartphone. It contains information that shows he was scheming against you. What can you do with this? Could you use the e-mails found in the smartphone as evidence? This question was recently ruled upon by the Quebec Superior Court in Les […]
Faced with racially motivated workplace killings, reporters from ABC’s Primetime Live sniffing around your facility, and a spate of race discrimination lawsuits, cracking down on racial harassment might be a good thing, right? Maybe so in some utopian world of rationality and logic, but we live and work “down the rabbit hole.” In our world, […]
Counting down the weeks until the new season of The Office starts. Tonight’s rerun episode — “Dwight K. Schrute, (Acting) Manager” — was first covered by my Office (and office) mate Jaclyn West; check it out, it’s a great read (http://blogs.hrhero.com/thatswhatshesaid/2011/05/14/straight-shooter/). Poking around The Office website on nbc.com, I came across a web exclusive: a […]
Try this one on for size. A number of years ago, four to be exact, we were enjoying a successful relationship with a company we had contracted with since 1995. By all accounts, the firm was doing a good job for us. In 2007, one of the key people employed by the firm decided to […]
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, my youngest son pulled out his favorite holiday movie to get himself in the Christmas spirit. You see, my wife was planning a day of putting up the Christmas tree, stringing lights outside, and generally decorating our home for the holidays. You might say that not everyone in the family shares […]
By Susan W. Kline Experienced HR professionals know that, generally speaking, an employee has no viable claim for sexual harassment unless her workplace has become “hellish.” Nonetheless, savvy employers will take action long before offensive behavior adds up to an actionable claim of sexual (or racial or religious) harassment. By focusing on inappropriate behavior and […]
Q:I have a couple of employees who just started using religious expressions (e.g., “God bless” and “Your friend in God”) in their e-mails. Another employee is offended by the e-mails and wants me to make them stop. Any words of wisdom? A: In addition to prohibiting religious discrimination in the workplace, Title VII of the […]
Resources for Humans managing editor Celeste Blackburn reviews the book E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide — How to Write and Manage E-Mail In the Workplace by Janis Fisher Chan. An industrious HR person could not only benefit personally from reading this book and applying its theories but could also condense the information to create […]