Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Intraoffice communication is an important part of any work environment. However, while the need may be constant, the type of communication is not equally favored. There appears to be slight generational preferences on how to reach out to colleagues. Not surprisingly, slightly more workers aged 25–34 prefer e-mail/text (35 percent) than workers aged 55 and […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, BLR editor and attorney Patricia Trainor SPHR clarified National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) pronouncements on confidentiality and access; today, NLRB and “at-will” statements, plus an introduction to the all-in-one HR Website, HR.BLR.com. Trainor is Managing Editor of BLR’s human resources and employment law publications. At-Will Disclaimer Now an At-Risk Disclaimer For years, […]
It sounds like a trick question. Guess whose employees are growing a garden? It just couldn’t be, but it is—the workers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)! Agency employees across the country are growing gardens and distributing the harvest to food banks and shelters. “USDA created the People’s Garden Initiative 3 years ago, and […]
Retirees’ right to vested health benefits for life did not preclude a manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment from reducing or restricting those benefits, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently held in a split decision. In doing so, the circuit rejected the retirees’ argument that the company could not change the “scope” of […]
Plan sponsors that offer company stock in their retirement plan should watch carefully the results of a recent appellate court reversal that will allow participants in .’s defined contribution retirement plan to pursue an ERISA class action against the bank. They claim it endangered their savings by including company stock in their retirement plan shortly […]
To get a better handle on what’s new in succession planning, we turned to BLR’s newly-published Top 10 Best Practices in HR Management for 2012. We’re dealing with an aging workforce. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that over one-third of the civilian employees working for the federal government are eligible for retirement. […]
by Chris Chrisbens Do you instruct or ask employee witnesses to keep the subject matter of a workplace investigation and your interview confidential when you conduct an investigation? Are there consequences for employees who breach confidentiality? For years, HR professionals regularly have given those instructions and been trained by experienced investigators and the Equal Employment […]
The hyperactive NLRB has fired salvos at employers on three new fronts—confidentiality, workplace access, and employment at will—and few employers will be left unscathed. The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recent rulings reflect a trend at the NLRB to find unfair labor practices in policies and procedures employers have long considered legitimate and proper. For […]
Successful mentoring relationships start with a clear agreement about goals, procedures, and limitations, says mentoring expert Lois Zachary. Too often mentors and mentees start off without doing enough preparation and end up with an unsatisfactory experience, she says. Zachary, author of The Mentor’s Guide and the recently published The Mentee’s Guide to Mentoring, provides guidelines […]
While the focus of late has been on complying with disclosure requirements from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Securities and Exchange Commission has its own set of disclosure criteria that 403(b) plans must follow. Specifically, 403(b) contracts that offer variable investment funds are subject to the jurisdiction of the Securities Act of 1933, the […]