Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Chelsea V. Brown As summer heats up, temperatures start to rise, anticipation for family vacations and summer holidays grows, and the spirit of summer can be felt throughout the workplace. As the arrival of summer becomes increasingly evident in cubicles and corner offices, employees can become relaxed about workplace rules and conduct. In some […]
When GE execs wanted to brighten up their black-and-white training materials for their Leadership Practices Program for Women, they did so literally—with color. The program, administered by two women executives (who job share), seeks to address and provide insight into the unique concerns of talented, “high-potential” female employees. The facilitators, Nancy Schumann and Sandy Sullivan, […]
Sports Illustrated has come out with its annual list of the top 50 highest-earning athletes in American sports. And who is missing? It’s obvious, but it may surprise you. You can probably guess who is in the Top 10, but the top jock is not who you may think. It is someone who has been […]
Reasonable accommodations are a pain and are subject to abuse, says Attorney Lawrence Postol, but litigation over the failure to provide accommodations, with a trial by jury, is a bigger pain and subject to greater abuse. Postol, who is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, offered his Americans with Disabilities […]
We recently ran an article about a survey on odd desk décor. Among examples were a live pig, a lava lamp, and paper dolls. One SBT reader wrote in about an employee who had his own weird way to personalize his workspace. Here’s the story: “We had an employee who was apparently granted a bit […]
An increasing number of employers are examining providing a low-benefits health plan that covers only preventive health services but not high-price major medical claims. Offering this type of low cost or “skinny” plan is allowed under the health reform law. The question is: Will skinny plans trigger a large-employer exodus to de minimis coverage, and if so, […]
To recap: Without even realizing it, most leaders do and say things that send employees into their “Critter State” where every decision they make is driven by fear, says Christine Comaford, author of the new book Smart Tribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together (Portfolio/Penguin, June 2013). And the consequences are more dire than you might […]
Conducting workplace investigations is an arduous process, but it can be made easier by having the right policies in place to support the investigation process. In California, where the laws are often more strict than in other states, this is especially important. Policies set the stage for workplace investigations The best place to start a […]
Health reform fees that health insurers and self-funded plans must pay in order to fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute are “ordinary and necessary business expenses,” and therefore qualify as deductible from federal taxes, a recent IRS memo states. Insurers and health plans will pay the $1 (soon to become $2) per covered life fee […]
by Dan Oswald If you read the Harvard Business Review, you might have noticed a recent article proclaiming “The New Employer-Employee Compact.” The article, like all the other articles and books written on the subject, reminds us that the days of lifelong employment with a single company are over. (Thanks for that news flash!) Then […]