Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Social networking websites—such as Facebook, Friendster, and MySpace—allow users to post information about themselves, to stay in touch with friends and meet new ones. A typical member profile might include photos; education; career interests; lists of family, friends, favorite music, television shows, and films; weekend activities; political leanings; personal musings; and more.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced last week that discrimination charge filings in 2007 shot up 9 percent over 2006, and pregnancy bias filings reached an all-time high. The EEOC reports that it received 82,792 complaints from private-sector workers nationwide last year, which was the highest volume since 2002 and the largest annual […]
We have people out on leave. Some employees take intermittent leave and others are out for chunks of time. Our managers complain to me about how disruptive these absences are. I’m worried that the managers are going to retaliate against the workers. What should we be doing to prevent this? —Heather S., Sacramento
We’ve experienced a lot of turnover in the past two years—many employees have decided to quit and move on to other companies. On an employee’s last day, I meet with him or her to go over final paperwork, benefits, COBRA, etc., but I think we should also interview the departing employee to find out why […]
Suppose an employee files a discrimination lawsuit against you, claiming she was let go in a reduction in force because of her age. To help prove her case, she wants to paint a picture of a corporate culture of age bias. She plans to do this by introducing testimony from former co-workers who also claim […]
We have quite a diverse population in our area, and many of our applicants do not have good English skills. Can we require our employees to be able to speak English? We think it’s critical for our salespeople who deal with the public, and really, just as important for our assembly, fabrication, and warehouse workers […]
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, romance is in the air—and maybe even in the workplace. But while workplace romance may be a nice diversion for those involved, it can create some big risks for employers. This can include the threat of sexual harassment lawsuits when a relationship sours, lowered productivity, and even diminished morale […]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled 3-2 that an employer didn’t violate federal labor relations law by having a policy that barred employees from using the company’s email system for union activities and other non-job-related solicitations. Employers have basic property rights to regulate and restrict the use of company property, including an email […]