Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Smartphones. Certainly, they can be tremendous tools, but they also can be major distractions in the workplace. A recent survey from CareerBuilder placed cellphones at the top of a list of productivity killers at work, more of a problem than office gossip, social media, smoke breaks, and other diversions. Phones are now so much more […]
On April 10, 2017, a 53-year-old man walked into a special needs classroom in San Bernadino, California, pulled out a gun, and shot his estranged wife, 53-year-old Karen Elaine Smith. Two children standing near Smith were also hit by gunfire; 8-year-old Jonathan Martinez died later at the hospital. The gunman then turned his gun on […]
From the employer’s perspective, employee network groups can boost engagement and retention—or they can create divisiveness. To ensure the former, employers need to be involved from the start.
A Massage Envy franchise violated federal law when it fired an employee for traveling to Ghana, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The company acted on fears that its massage therapist might contract Ebola and, in doing so, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the commission has alleged in a lawsuit.
You fire an employee for poor performance. He says the termination was in retaliation for filing a race discrimination claim against the company. Will you have the employment documentation to back up your decision and avoid a costly lawsuit?
Students from a Louisiana university searched for Mardi Gras beads as part of a teambuilding and team-bonding exercise, but they found so much more in the process.
You’ve probably heard by now that the U.S. House of Representatives last week passed a new law that allows private employers to offer employees comp time in lieu of overtime pay. That law has not yet been passed in the U.S. Senate but what if it is? How will it impact your compensation plan? Will […]
Here we present a leave-related workplace scenario—inspired by an actual court case—that’s intended to help HR professionals better understand an employer’s responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This scenario involves an employee who can no longer work overtime due to a medical condition—but the employer says that working overtime is an essential […]
In a recent case, an employee suffered a stroke at work. Even after a 14-month leave of absence, her doctors could not state with certainty when she would be able to return to work. In that situation, it was clear her employer did not discriminate against her based on her disability when it terminated her […]
If an employee comes to work sick (as in the flu, fever, vomiting, etc.), do we have the right to send that employee home and make them use their Paid Time Off (PTO)? Or are we obligated to paying a sick employee if we decide to send them home?