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Marijuana Disclaimer Must Be Crystal Clear, Court Rules

California law prohibits employers from asking job applicants about most marijuana-related convictions that are more than two years old. A new California appeals court decision, Starbucks v. Superior Court (Lords), highlights the fact that employers must be extremely clear with applicants that they are not seeking this barred info.

E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide

Resources for Humans managing editor Celeste Blackburn reviews the book E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide — How to Write and Manage E-Mail In the Workplace by Janis Fisher Chan. An industrious HR person could not only benefit personally from reading this book and applying its theories but could also condense the information to create […]

Five Easy Rules for Fighting Off Hiring Lawsuits

Hiring even one new employee invokes no fewer than seven federal laws and probably a few state laws as well, says attorney Stephen R. Woods. How does an employer navigate this legal minefield? Woods offers five easy rules. Woods, a shareholder with the national law firm of Ogletree Deakins, made his suggestions at the recent […]

More Bad News for Wal-Mart in Canada

by Dominique Launay Five weeks ago, we told you about an unfair labor practice complaint against Wal-Mart in Saskatchewan, arising out of its closure of a store in Jonquiere, Quebec. Well, it seems that Saskatchewan isn’t the only province in which Wal-Mart is being dealt blows. The Quebec Labor Relations Board  has also recently ruled […]

The Interactive Job Description—New Recruiting Tool

Yesterday’s Advisor introduced the “interactive” job description—a productive new take on an evergreen topic. Today we’ll review more interactive job description tips, and introduce a unique new job description system. Irving H. Buchen, an HR researcher and consultant, is a member of the doctoral business faculty at Capella University. Here are his tips for making […]

Hot List: New York Times Bestselling Paperback Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling paperback business books as ranked by the New York Times on January 5. 1. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. How and why certain products and ideas become fads. 2.  Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by […]

The Accountants

Litigation value: $15,000 In our last review of The Office webisodes, we tune into the first websiode, “The Accountants.” In the episode, Oscar, Angela, and Kevin interview everyone in the office to track down $3,000 missing from the books. At times, the interviews become a bit inappropriate, like when the accountants get on Michael’s computer […]

Job Descriptions Must Offer Steak, Not Pablum

The job description can be a great marketing tool and even “replace” the first interview, but not without a determined effort to put real meat on the job description bones. Most job descriptions offer “pablum,” says Irving H. Buchen. The dull boilerplate language doesn’t reveal very much about the job and isn’t going to enthuse […]

Employee Privacy Challenges & Solutions

M. Lee Smith Publishers and HR Hero have just released a new HR executive special report on employee privacy challenges for HR pros – Employee Privacy Challenges & Solutions: Electronic Monitoring, Health Information, Personnel Files, and More. The report is written by employment law attorney Katherine Novak Townsend. Employee Privacy Challenges & Solutions, is a […]

New Employment Laws and Regulations Going into Effect

While the world has been focused on the U.S. and global economic meltdown, a historic presidential election, and staggering unemployment numbers, some pretty significant changes have been made in federal employment laws and regulations with most going into effect in just a few weeks. A recent issue of HR Hero Line includes a roundup of […]