Tag: human resources
From the Experts: Do You Have to Cover Pre-Hire Expenses?
Religious Discrimination: What Can I Do with a Senior Manager Who Pushes His Religion on His Employees?
We have a situation. One of our senior managers is pushing his religion. He prays at meetings and holds prayer groups and Bible studies. He insists they are “voluntary,” but his employees feel that if they don’t attend, they won’t get a shot at raises and promotions. What should I do about a manager who […]
Leave: Is It a Good Idea to Allow Gifting of PTO Time?
Our PTO program wraps together all time off—sick leave, vacation, and personal time. Now we’ve had a suggestion that we allow “gifting” of PTO time; that is, permit workers with excess time to give it to a worker who, say, ran out of time and is dealing with an issue, such as his or her […]
5 Topics for HR Strategic Planning
The following are five important topics to help you do strategic planning to improve your company’s HR functions and put those plans into action. Audit your policies and practices with the Employment Practices Self-Audit Workbook Planning to succeed The essence of strategic planning for any organization is (1) the identification of desired goals and objectives […]
HR Audit: A Measure of Success
Not unlike an annual employee performance evaluation, an HR or employment law audit provides an objective means to measure the effectiveness of HR functions with respect to productivity, efficiency, and morale, among others. As a risk-management tool, an audit can identify obsolete or ineffective practices and flag compliance issues. In fact, employment practices liability insurance […]
Downsizing: How Can We Prevent Unfounded Lawsuits After RIFs?
Our company is going to go through a prolonged period of significant downsizing. A recent seminar told us to expect a retaliatory wave of unfounded allegations, grievances, and lawsuits by disgruntled employees. Can you suggest steps we can take to protect ourselves against these attacks? Should we retain specialists? What do you recommend we do? […]
Workplace Bias: City of Emeryville Enters $2.3 Million Settlement
In what is being hailed as one of the largest public entity individual employment settlements ever in California, the City of Emeryville (near Oakland) has agreed to pay $2.3 million, plus $1.3 million in attorney’s fees, to a city employee who claimed racial discrimination and retaliation.
Cell Phones: What If an Employee Gets in an Accident While Doing Business on Your Cell? February
Although I gather it’s not illegal yet to talk on a handheld cell phone while driving, I’ve been hearing about some situations in which the company was held liable for accidents when the employee was doing business on the cell phone while driving. Even while driving to a ball game with the kids and taking […]
Handbooks: Can You Help Us with a Rewrite of Our Handbook?
I’ve been tasked with the rewrite of our employee handbook. Can you tell me what the current thinking is on disclaimers? What are the key topics I should focus on as I do this rewrite? — Tom T., Manager of Staffing and Development, Modesto