Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Some issues have arisen with several of our employees who are out on leave—their jobs have been changed or eliminated, and one employee has done something that warrants termination. But someone told me that these workers are “protected” because they are on leave. Can we go ahead and fire them, or will we be slapped […]
One of our employees isn’t working out. His sales have been consistently low, he has trouble meeting deadlines, and he doesn’t interact well with clients. We’ve decided to let him go. What should we cover when we meet with him? Thank you. — Maryanne P., Santa Monica Mishandling a termination meeting could lead to […]
Fortunately we haven’t been accused of discriminating against our employees or potential hires. But with all the lawsuits we’ve been reading about lately, we want to be proactive. Do you have any strategies or advice for preventing possible discrimination claims? —Kris R., HR Director, San Jose Discrimination is a big—and often costly—issue faced by […]
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a new fact sheet explaining how federal nondiscrimination laws—including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act—apply to employer tests and other selection procedures used to screen applicants for hire and employees for promotion.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that Dec. 26, 2007, is the deadline for employers to begin using the revised Form I-9, which was released several weeks ago. This is the form that all employers must complete for new hires to verify eligibility to work in the United States. As of Dec. […]
Our facility has numerous hazards; chemical, physical—you name it, we’ve got it. We train our workers on handling and avoiding them, but what about our visitors? I’ve been tasked with tightening up our visitor safety program. What suggestions do you have for me? — Caroline C., HR Manager in Los Angeles
Governor Schwarzenegger signed a new law on October 9 granting military spouses unpaid time off from work to ensure that military families can spend time together when the service member is on leave from deployment. The law took effect immediately. Here’s what you need to know.
We’ve had two bad hiring experiences in which we found out later that candidates misrepresented certain areas of their background. Now, we want to improve our background checks. What can you recommend? — Isabella, HR Staffing Specialist in Oakland
Our workplace has a tradition of teasing and pranks. “All in good fun,” say the workers, but I think there are harassment suits building up in some employees’ minds as this continues. How can I get the message across to stop this behavior?
We are trying to make better sense of our discipline system. After people get a verbal and then a written warning, we suspend and ultimately fire them if the misconduct continues. But the suspension seems more like a gift than a punishment to many of our workers. What do you recommend for the “serious” steps […]