Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Has your Thanksgiving leftovers disappeared from the workplace fridge? If so, you may not be the only one. In a recent Monster poll, workers were asked, “Have you ever ‘borrowed’ someone else’s food from the shared refrigerator at work?” While a majority (82 percent) is innocent, others are frank about their thievery. Twelve percent admitted […]
Plan sponsors and administrators face many issues when making disbursements from retirement plans. A recent court ruling on a payout based on a fraudulent claim should reassure those making distributions that if the distribution was in accordance with the plan terms, an employer may not suffer a penalty. In Foster v. PPG Industries Inc. (No. […]
by Jeanine Poole New Hampshire’s requirements for employer safety programs are changing. Passed in June, House Bill 1587 goes into effect on January 1, 2013. The new law provides: Employers with 15 or more employees (formerly 10 or more employees) must have a written safety program filed with the New Hampshire Department of Labor (NHDOL). […]
Although the calendar shows winter is still a month away, employers would be wise to think now about how they’ll handle the challenges hazardous winter weather will bring. When snow, ice, or other extreme weather shows up in the forecast, employers’ thoughts turn to how weather might prevent employees from getting to work and how […]
by Kara E. Shea Many employers provide bonuses to employees this time of year, including everything from holiday turkeys to annual longevity pay. However, employers that play Santa must be mindful that under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), some bonuses may require additional overtime pay to nonexempt employees. Payments that affect overtime First, […]
Surely one of the most frustrating things about HR is managers who won’t manage. HR sets up its policies, practices, and systems and then managers don’t follow through. Some don’t care, some can’t, and some just don’t have the backbone to make tough calls. One thing’s sure—when things go South, HR’s going to catch the […]
[Go here for risks 1 to 5.] 6. Fair Labor Standards Act Risks For exempt employees, employers must pay the full salary for any workweek, regardless of the number of days or hours worked. Therefore, if an exempt employee is on an unpaid leave of absence and uses an electronic device to check or respond […]
How can you keep your managers out of the retaliation danger zone? First of all, they have to recognize the danger zone (go here for yesterday’s danger zone list), and then they need to know to contact HR before taking action. Keeping Managers Out of the Danger Zone Are you in the danger zone? If […]
HR Daily Advisor: You have two new certifications—HRBP (HR Business Professional) and HRMP (HR Management Professional). I understand these are mostly for foreign HR people—can you give me some details? HRCI: The HRBP and HRMP are for HR professionals who work outside of the United States and have mastered their country’s HR practices and regulations. […]
Oswald, CEO of BLR, offered his thoughts on “loose” control in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter. Look “manager” up in the dictionary, Oswald says, and you’ll find it described this way: “a person who has control or direction of an institution, business, etc., or of a part, division, or phase of it.” There […]