Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The summer job season for teenagers kicks off in the next few weeks. Therefore, employers planning to hire young workers to augment their workforce must make sure they are compliant with the child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act to avoid facing steep penalties. Whether they are bagging groceries or mowing lawns, working […]
Employers trying to comply with health reform’s play-or-play mandate — and calculate their exposure to penalties — now have more insight based upon a new notice of proposed rulemaking and a new set of questions and answers from the IRS. Under reform, employers have to calculate full-time equivalent employees for one or more of the […]
I consider myself reasonably open to new ideas and exploring new opportunities, but the other day when a financial consultant began questioning some things we have and have not done in our business I felt my temperature begin to rise. I must admit it was my idea to take this consultant and his colleague to […]
By Keri Bennett Employers everywhere often wonder when an employee’s “innocent” or no-fault absences reach a level that warrants termination. Can these employees ever be fired? Yes, is the answer from one New Brunswick labor arbitrator in Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 1252 and Vitalité Health Network. Facts A nurse at a hospital in […]
By Arthur Silbergeld, Esq. Anyone who works on a computer knows the sinking feeling that comes with hitting that nasty combination of keystrokes causing your machine to freeze. The fact that many companies now keep IT staff available around the clock just to help frantic employees get their misbehaving computers working, retrieve lost documents and […]
By Liza Casabona Thinking that an unpaid intern might provide an answer to payroll your budget woes? Think again. Several recent, high profile lawsuits filed by interns underscore the risks faced by companies sponsoring unpaid internships. The Hearst Corp. is among the latest companies to be accused by interns of wage and hour violations. The […]
A new U.S. Department of Transportation rule reduces the number of hours a truck driver can work within a week. The new final rule, announced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration a few days before Christmas, reflects new research in driver fatigue to make sure truck drivers can get the rest they need 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 […]
I’ve been thinking about self-discipline a lot lately. Maybe it’s because I’m carrying around an extra 20 — OK, 25 — pounds and wondering how I allowed myself to get to this point. Obviously, I haven’t been as disciplined with my eating and workout regimen as I need to be. But self-discipline is the key […]
NBC trotted out a repeat — St. Patrick’s Day — last night. My colleague, Jaclyn West, wrote an excellent piece focusing on work-life balance when the episode originally aired back in March. Jaclyn’s post made me think about potential wage-hour issues that arise when employers demand long work days. It’s no secret that wage-hour litigation is a […]