Tag: Recordkeeping

USERRA Leave Hassles—‘I’m Bewildered’

Effland, a shareholder at the Indianapolis office of Ogletree Deakins PC, says that USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) offers two essential rights, the right to take leave, and the right to return. The basics of the law are: Coverage: Virtually all employers, regardless of the number of employees. Eligibility: Virtually all employees […]

Our 9 Essential HR Skills—Do You Agree?

[Go here for skills 1 to 5] HR Manager’s Key Skill #6—Discrete and Ethical HR professionals are the conscience of the company, as well as the keepers of confidential information. As you serve the needs of top management, you also monitor their actions toward employees to be sure that policies and regulations are followed. You […]

Time to Self-Evaluate—How Many of the 9 Essential HR Skills Do You Have?

This is the 2013 version of our most popular article ever, written in 2006. In no way is our list authoritative, but it is the opinion of people, including BLR® Founder Bob Brady, who’ve spent decades meeting with HR professionals, supporting their goals, and reporting their achievements. You may agree or not with our assessments, […]

Complain About Me? No Raise for You!

Find the balance, Moldover says. When you get wind of a manager’s action that might be retaliatory—like denying a raise—put the situation in context and try to view it from the employee’s perspective. Context Matters With retaliation, context matters, Moldover says. Of course, no one’s going to be happy about losing a raise, but a […]

2012 Survey Highlights–Pay, Policies, HR, Leave, Holidays

Pay Budgets 2.5 to 3 Percent Our survey revealed that most employers offered modest pay increases in 2012 and will do so again in 2013. In 2011 the average “planned” merit increase for 2012 was 2.1%. Actual merit increases for 2012,s however, were higher than anticipated for the first time in at least two years, […]

Are Employees on Leave Talking and Texting? (FLSA)

[Go here for risks 1 to 5.] 6. Fair Labor Standards Act Risks For exempt employees, employers must pay the full salary for any workweek, regardless of the number of days or hours worked. Therefore, if an exempt employee is on an unpaid leave of absence and uses an electronic device to check or respond […]

Best Practice for Internet Background Checks? Survey Says …

Of the survey respondents who conducted either Google searches or social media searches: Concerned about learning too much online? Twenty-six percent were concerned about learning too much (For example, a candidate’s gender, religion, or race.) Have your hiring decisions been influenced by what you found online? Forty-one percent have been positively influenced to hire based […]

The 3 Flavors of Flex

Fellows, founder and president of WorkLife Performance, Inc. divides flex/telecommuting into three “flavors.” She offered her tips at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR and HR Hero. Flavor #1—Flexible Hours This is the opportunity to begin and end each workday at an approved time outside the standard (or “core”) working hours while still completing the […]

How Do I Know They’re Not Doing the Laundry?

One of the advantages to telecommuting that many organizations are finding is that it forces managers to manage by results rather than by presence, says Fellows, founder and president of WorkLife Performance, Inc. Fellows offered her flex/telecommuting tips at a recent webinar sponsored by BLR and HR Hero. Flex Program Evolution Flex started in early […]

Publish Your Political Activity Policy Now! (Here Are Two Samples)

Here’s sample Political Activity Policy number one: Employees are not to participate in election activities while working and are not to use company facilities to engage in election activities. When not on company premises, representing the company or using company resources, an employee’s personal conduct is his or her own to regulate. Employees are encouraged […]