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Office Decor—Company Eschews Minimalist for Funky

Are you stuck in a neutral-colored cubicle with no view of the sky? Does your company ban personal pictures and mementos from your work space? Does all the furniture match? Excessive blandness has been known to lead to lethargy at the least. Well, Etsy is in the forefront of bucking the minimalist trend in office […]

Are Your Employees Minding Their Own (Safety) Business?

As a 30-year veteran of the safety profession, Marc Gomez, assistant vice chancellor for facilities management and environmental health and safety at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), has given plenty of thought to the causes of injury. “We do follow-ups and look closely at the root causes. And we see the main cause of […]

So What Are You Doing Later This Week?

Maybe you’ve got the usual lined up: a few (probably more than a few) meetings, some “repeat offender” employees who need to be whipped into shape yet again, piles and piles of paperwork, questions from above and below about all kinds of matters big and small.

Transgender Bathroom Battles–Coming Soon to Your Workplace

Yesterday’s Advisor covered many of the issues around bathrooms and transgender employees. Today, some guidelines and tips, plus an introduction to the all-HR-solution-in-one website, HR.BLR.com. Bloomington, Indiana’s Human Rights Commission issued guidelines regarding gender identity, restrooms, and dressing rooms. (See yesterday’s issue for details.) Here’s what they say: If you have single occupancy restrooms, designate […]

Investment Fee Disclosures Leave Most Participants Unmoved

A “snapshot” survey conducted in October found the start of disclosure of fees from retirement plan service providers spurred little change in the behavior of either plan participants or sponsors. A total of 176 defined contribution plan sponsors responded to the Plan Sponsor Council of America’s survey, launched a few weeks after sponsors began disclosing […]

How do You Train Employees To Stay Focused on Safety When Their Work Becomes Routine?

Gomez is assistant vice chancellor for facilities management and environmental health and safety at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). The university is known for a strong commitment to undergraduate education and top research and graduate programs. Its new school of law graduates its first class this year. According to Gomez, safety is increasingly integrated […]

North Dakota employers need to be ready for new smoking law

by Lisa Edison-Smith North Dakota employers need to take steps to comply with a new antismoking law that will take effect on December 6, 2012. On November 6, voters approved Measure 4 by a 2-1 margin. The law “prohibit[s] smoking, including the use of electronic smoking devices, in public places and most places of employment […]

HHS relaxes state insurance exchange decision deadlines

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires states to establish health insurance exchanges to provide individuals and small employers with access to affordable insurance coverage beginning January 1, 2014. States have the flexibility to design and operate exchanges that best meet their needs while complying with the ACA’s statutory and regulatory standards. A state that chooses […]

Indefinite protection for federal employee disabled by work-related injury

by Nicola Sutton When the employment relationship becomes impossible to perform because of a factor outside the control of a Canadian employer or employee, the employee’s employment can be terminated by virtue of frustration of contract. When an employee won’t be able to return to work because of injury or illness, the same applies. But […]

HR’s New Stumbling Block Is the Bathroom?

With states and municipalities passing laws designating gender identity as a protected class and the number of employees self-identifying with gender identity issues increasing, many employers are concerned, especially with transgender employees and bathrooms. Sad to say, that’s where it’s at in HR today, worrying about how to juggle toilets to avoid discriminating on the […]