Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Employers must give employees written notice of their possible right to take an Earned Income Tax Credit on their federal tax returns, as required by a new California law, A.B. 650, that took effect on January 1. The new provision applies to all employers and employees covered by California’s unemployment insurance law.
There’s nothing like a termination to get the “l’m-going-to-sue!” juices flowing. People want someone to blame, and, guess what? It’s not going to be them. Ill-considered and hasty terminations spell lawsuit time after time. And most of those lawsuits are avoidable—if you know what to do. Yes, you may win the lawsuit. But, unfortunately, once […]
I’m trying to get a wellness program going in our company but I can’t seem to get top management to “get it.” Can you help out by outlining why wellness is important— something even our VPs can understand?— Stephen P., Manager of People, San Francisco
Well, David Letterman reached an agreement with the writers, and they are coming back to work. For him. No such luck for those of us who are anxiously awaiting the return of our favorite show. Nevertheless, the labor dispute is continuing to teach us valuable lessons. Like why companies should avoid this mess in the […]
by D. Michael Henthorne I’ve been asked to address a group of nursing managers in one of South Carolina’s leading hospital systems on avoiding labor unions and recognizing union-organizing activities. Despite growing up the son of a Teamster (my father was a truck driver), for most of the last 29 years I have lived in […]
“Work-life balance” is one of the most popular HR buzz phrases. Yet until a few years ago, work-life concerns were relatively unheard of. Nontraditional workplace and scheduling alternatives like working from home were considered a perk available to a fortunate few or as a temporary accommodation for a stressed-out employee. Employer programs like the flexible […]
Note: There is no E-pinion today as we’ve reorganized the week a bit to deal with the holiday. Bob Brady will return next Friday with an E-pinion on how to handle pay increases for new employees who do outstanding jobs. As we saw in yesterday’s Advisor, new technology has generated a string of issues in […]
We’re having a devil of a time figuring out precisely how to pay our nonexempt employees when they travel. If they travel by air and stay overnight, do we start paying as soon as they leave their house for the airport? Then let’s say the plane lands at 7 p.m., they go to the hotel, […]
Cell phones, BlackBerry®, PDAs, iPod® devices, personal laptops, and flash memory sticks—they’re in your workplace, perhaps by the dozens, but are they posing more dangers than you know? Our experts sort it out. Especially now that gift-giving season has come and gone, you are probably seeing them in your workplace … gadgets! Everything from iPods […]
For many of you, it’s the first day back to work after the holidays, which means you’re swamped with voice-mails, e-mails, meetings and performance appraisals. As (reading) time is short these days, enjoy the following Hot List, which ticks off the top business audio books for 2007. This list is courtesy of the “Audies.” Think […]