Archives

Counteroffers: Effective Retention Tool, or Display of Desperation?

Ghosts and goblins bedevil the children this Halloween week, but it’s retention that bedevils HR managers. Will counteroffers help retention? In this two-part article, today’s experts say yes, tomorrow’s say no. Retention is once again raising its head as the bugaboo of HR managers. You think you’ve got things settled and then suddenly your best […]

Employment Law Tip: Paying Employees in a Disaster

The wildfires that have flared up in Southern California are a grim reminder that disaster can strike at any time and result in unexpected workplace closures. A special provision in the Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Orders permits you to send nonexempt employees home—without having to pay a reporting-time premium—in any of these situations: Operations can’t […]

Discrimination: EEOC Alerts Employers to Email Scam

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is warning employers about a “phishing” email circulating to companies that purports to be from the federal agency regarding a harassment complaint. The bogus email contains a computer virus that may harm a recipient’s computer if the user clicks on the referenced link or downloads the attached file. […]

‘Standard Annoyance Time’: Hidden Hassles for HR Abound

Most people are happy to gain an hour’s sleep when we go from daylight saving back to standard time on November 4. But HR managers have to brace for a double hassle. Come 2 a.m., Sunday morning, sleep an extra hour, everyone, unless you work the night shift. Then you’ll probably have to work an […]

Pirated Software Creates Substantial Risk for Employers

by Saul C. Glazer Ignorance of pirated software on company-owned computer networks isn’t bliss. Given the widespread use of the Internet, a company’s employees may be downloading unlicensed, pirated software without its knowledge, and the employees may not even realize that what they’re doing is illegal Although employers may find it burdensome and costly to […]

Local Ad

Litigation Value: $1,500.00 (or a few hours of their attorney’s time to prepare an internet usage policy) It’s nice to be back! Thanks again to my guest blogger, Troy Foster, for pitching in while I had to work. Did anyone else notice how many Dunder Mifflin employees were using their computers for anything but work? […]

Quick Hiring Decisions Can Backfire on Employers

At the risk of falling into a male gender stereotype, we’re not shoppers; we’re buyers. We don’t browse. We know what we want, go directly to it on the store shelves, grab it, and head for the cash register — almost always without trying it on. Most employers feel the same way about hiring. No […]

Ethics or Mismanagement: What Would You Do to a Lying Employee?

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR’s CEO discusses lies, good deeds, and what his organization did about both, then asks for your solution to the issues this story raises. Do you ever read the popular newspaper column, The Ethicist? It’s an advice column focused on ethical issues. This is certainly something that our […]

Take as Much Vacation, Sick Leave, and Family Time as You Want!

Will it soon be a “best practice” to let employees choose how much vacation, personal leave, and sick leave to take? If it is, there’s a place where you’ll find out about it. In our last issue, we talked about Best Buy’s ROWE (Results Only Work Environment) program, which allows employees to decide where and […]