Archives

Delaware’s Law on Same-Sex Unions Takes Effect January 1

By Adria B. Martinelli and Lauren E. Moak The new law allowing same-sex civil unions in Delaware and recognizing civil unions performed in other states goes into effect January 1, 2012 after being passed last spring. The law also changes all sections of the Delaware Code that mention marriage by requiring that the word “marriage” […]

Organizational Development? Start with the Janitor, says Al Gore

Challenge # 4: Organization Development [Go here for challenges 1 to 3.] Gore worked on the "reinventing government" program at the country’s largest employer, the US Government. He says the key to finding better ways of doing things is to start at the bottom. His teams met first with the janitors and worked their way […]

Mental Impairment Accommodation in Action

In yesterday’s Advisor, we got attorney Audra Hamilton’s take on mental disability accommodation. Today, her examples of accommodation in action, plus an introduction to BLR’s popular pre-written policy collection, SmartPolicies. Hamilton’s remarks came at BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Nashville, Tennessee. Hamilton practices law in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Accommodation Example #1: Depression John […]

Attitude Is Key to Business Growth

Last week I was part of a CEO panel asked to discuss how to achieve double-digit revenue growth. Now, isn’t that the $1 million question! My co-panelists were highly respected executives, each with 20-plus years of experience in our industry — publishing. Yet, when we started discussing the session among ourselves, I was surprised by […]

Leopard Teams Are $800 Million Better than Layoffs

Leopard Teams Gore was followed by Wayne Cascio, winner of the Michael R. Losey Human Resource Research reward, who related to the Advisor a story of "responsible restructuring." He says that in his research he found that when faced with financial challenges, CEOs tend to fall into one of two camps: One group says, "What […]

Workers’ Comp: It Just Won’t Go Away

Workers’ comp – it’s not an area where the law tends to change very much, but it remains a hassle, day after day. In today’s CED, we’ll feature case studies – all based on real situations – that help us deal with this frustrating part of HR management.

Boomers Mean Business

By Marcia Akers Baby Boomers are now entering their retirement years while some members of “The Greatest Generation” remain in the workforce. Gen Xers and Yers are looking for advancement and rewarding entry-level positions. This first-ever phenomenon of having four generations in the workplace at the same time is creating challenges for employers, including how […]

Review Applicants’ Criminal History Cautiously

By Kara E. Shea Employers are understandably hesitant to hire an applicant with a criminal history. There are good reasons to exercise caution ― employers face considerable exposure for workplace violence committed by employees. The U.S. Department of Labor‘s Occupational Safety and Health Administration regularly cites employers that have failed to enact adequate safeguards against […]

Supreme Court Denies Wal-Mart Class-Action

By Megan E. Snyder The U.S. Supreme Court recently handed down a decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, a landmark case involving 1.5 million female current and former Wal-Mart employees who attempted to challenge the retail giant’s employment practices. Essentially, the women complained that local stores have too much discretion in making decisions about […]

Iraq War Veterans Coming Home

On October 21, 2011, President Barack Obama announced “After nearly 9 years, America’s war in Iraq will be over.” At the time, America had already withdrawn nearly 100,000 troops from Iraq, leaving nearly 40,000 “non-combat” troops to come home by the December 31 deadline set in 2008. Referencing plans for troop withdrawal in Afghanistan as […]