Tag: employer

Performance Appraisals: Do’s and Don’ts from the Real World

Makris, senior counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, and Rhoma Young of the HR consulting firm Rhoma Young & Associates offered tips for ensuring that performance appraisals are used legally and effectively. Their suggestions came in a recent BLR®/HR Hero® audio conference. From a legal perspective, performance appraisals are important because they can help defend […]

Trash talk or abuse? NFL debates banning the N-word

In any other NFL offseason, with the hype over combine results all over the television and free agency in full swing, it’s likely many football fans might not notice the NFL Competition Committee meeting in the background. But this year, the committee is making news as it mulls over a controversial potential new rule that […]

Stop Measuring Satisfaction—Start Focusing on Engagement

Benowitz, who is the vice president of Growth and Development at The Employee Engagement Group, offered his expert tips on engagement surveys in a recent webcast offered by BLR. Engagement is about mutual commitment, says Benowitz. Companies help employees reach their potential and employees help their companies perform better. This combination results in engagement—“the capture […]

If you don’t have anything nice to say…

Lately, have you felt feverish, light-headed, even giddy? Well then you must have Oscar fever. The stars! The gowns! The teeth! My god, those blinding white teeth! For you, March 2, 2014, was a night of luxury, glamour, and take-out noodles because NO WAY you were cooking for the family and risk missing J-Law stumble […]

‘Thinking About Retirement?’—Danger or Diligence?

Can You Ask About Retirement Plans? Can you ask older employees about their retirement plans? Yes, if you are careful, says BLR® Senior Legal Editor Joan Farrell. But push too hard and it starts to look like age discrimination. If an employer has a legitimate reason, like workforce planning or succession planning, it’s not a […]

‘Thinking About Retirement?’—Danger or Diligence?

Can You Ask About Retirement Plans? Can you ask older employees about their retirement plans? Yes, if you are careful, says BLR® Senior Legal Editor Joan Farrell. But push too hard and it starts to look like age discrimination. If an employer has a legitimate reason, like workforce planning or succession planning, it’s not a […]

Can You Terminate Those with the Highest Salaries?

While salary level may be a legitimate factor in determining which employees to lay off, it cannot be the determining factor if it adversely affects older workers, says Tinnin, who is a partner with Tinnin Law Firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and editor of New Mexico Employment Law Letter. In 2005, he adds, the U.S. […]

Performance Management: Do’s and Don’ts in the Real World

Makris, senior counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, and Rhoma Young, of the HR consulting firm Rhoma Young & Associates, offered tips for ensuring that performance appraisals are used legally and effectively. Their suggestions came in a recent BLR®/HR Hero® audio conference. From a legal perspective, performance appraisals are important because they can help defend […]

9 Things You MUST NOT Include in Your Documentation

Do not include the following in your documentation, says Wobst: Personal opinions. Rumors or speculation about the employee’s personal life. Theories about why the employee behaves a certain way. (Don’t practice psychiatry without a license.) For example, don’t call an employee “crazy.” Instead, document behaviors. Legal conclusions. (Don’t practice law without a license.) For example, […]

Simple Rule for 2014: If You Write It, They Will Post It

Before you hit the Send key, ask how it might sound to a jury. Is it: Readable? That is, is it easy to understand, legible, and well organized? Professional? Wobst cites the example of a CEO who couldn’t write a sentence without a four-letter word in it. (That ultimately cost the employer $2 million.) Concise? […]