Author: jessica

Financially Stressed Employees–Neither Happy Nor Productive

Businesses aren’t the only ones stressed and anxious about these difficult economic times. Employees (and their families) are also feeling the effects—and many employees are facing very serious financial problems such as burdensome debt, lost income, bankruptcies, and foreclosures. Employees experiencing increased financial stress at home are likely to have a hard time keeping their […]

Write Fed-Friendly Job Descriptions

How should you go about writing your job descriptions? Consider this four-step process from the fed’s Job Accommodation Network (JAN)—likely to pass muster during any agency inspection. JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. JAN’s program consists of the following steps: Step 1: Perform a Job Analysis […]

When Legal Behavior Boosts Employers’ Costs

It’s not just healthcare costs that rise as a result of unhealthy employee behaviors. For example, how about the millions of lost workdays each year and billions in costs for drug and alcohol abuse? Should employers address such conduct? In an interview with BLR® editors, expert Lisa Ballentine said it’s just “responsible management” to do […]

Can You Fine Obese Employees? Smokers?

Clarian Health of Indianapolis, Indiana, has announced that it will begin to charge employees who smoke, are obese, or fail to control high blood pressure or cholesterol. Management believes that a $5 per-paycheck fine will motivate people to change. But according to expert Lisa Ballentine, wellness rewards do a better job. Most companies sponsor wellness […]

I Am the Office Manager … With No HR Experience

Just My E-pinionBy Cindy McPherrin Cindy McPherrin, today’s guest columnist, offers her thoughts on the challenges of coping with her suddenly acquired HR responsibilities. (We’d like to hear about the challenges you’re facing as well.) I am the office manager of a two-family owned mid-size design/building firm. We have professional architects, we provide construction management […]

Can a Single Employee Elect an Alternative Work Week?

We are an employer with fewer than 10 employees. Can a single employee elect an alternative work week? If she does, can she work weeks that look like this?: M-10, T-3, W-5, Th-8, F-4, Sa-10 First, the alternative work week rules apply to all California employers regardless of the size of the company, although there […]

Is Discretionary Paid Vacation A Good Idea?

I have a client that is a start-up company that I’m helping set-up up Policies & Procedures for their Handbook. They currently do not have any formal Time-off policy and do not want any established Company Holidays, amount of sick days per year or amount of vacation days per year. What they want and currently […]

Can You Still Tell a Joke in the Office?

Yesterday’s Advisor presented attorney Jonathan Segal’s practical tips for dealing with harassment. Today, we continue with his comments on jokes in the office and his important messages for supervisors. Segal’s remarks came as part of his “Harassment Quiz” at SHRM’s recent Annual Convention and Exposition in New Orleans. Segal is a partner in the Philadelphia […]

New Case: Corporate Officers May Be Forced to Pay Out-of-Pocket Under FLSA

In 2005, the California Supreme Court ruled that, under state law, individual managers and corporate officers couldn’t be held personally liable for unpaid wage claims. In other words, only the company could be forced to pay back wages. This was an important victory for California employers (Find out more on the 2005 case). But the […]