Author: Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR

FLSA Class Action Overtime Suits—Are You Next?

If you don’t do an FLSA wage and hour audit, someone else will, says attorney Tom Makris. And it won’t be just the government. These days, it could be a potential business partner … or even your banker. It started with mergers and acquisitions, says attorney Tom Makris. Now it’s spread to far more routine […]

Hiring: Is It a Good Idea to ‘Google’ Applicants?

I recently returned from a meeting where one expert recommended doing a Google search on applicants as part of the evaluation process. He said you often find very interesting things about people, especially if they blog or have their own website. Someone else thought it might be an invasion of privacy, and others objected that […]

Blackberries at the Beach: Are Exempt Employees the New Wage Slaves?

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR’s founder and CEO explores the “Blackberries at the beach” phenomenon—the expectation of 24/7 availability even when on vacation. Do nonexempts need to be paid? Are exempts modern day wage slaves? At BLR’s last Employment Law Update conference, several speakers talked about the issue/problem/phenomenon of the “BlackBerry® at […]

WSJ’s Top Small Workplaces: How Teamwork Helps

In yesterday’s Advisor, we listed common traits of The Wall Street Journal’s 15 top small companies. Today we’ll explore one of those traits—teamwork—taking our cue from a unique BLR resource, Managing an HR Department of One. For many of the top small workplaces, teamwork is an important part of the structure and atmosphere. Why is […]

Is Bullying Doing More Harm than Harassment?

Bullies may be causing more harm in your workplace than sexual harassers, according to a new study, “Outcomes of Aggression and Harassment.” Although both bullying and harassment have negative consequences, the study concluded that employees who experienced various types of workplace aggression—bullying, incivility, or interpersonal conflict—were more likely to quit their jobs, be less satisfied […]

WSJ’s Top Small Workplaces—and Why They Won

What makes a great smaller company, especially from the HR point of view? The Wall Street Journal’s 15 Top Small Workplaces seem to know. Here are their secrets. Winning Workplaces, an Evanston, Illinois-based nonprofit that helps companies create better work environments, recently teamed up with The Wall Street Journal to select 15 winning small companies […]

FMLA Fraud: How to Detect and Deal with It

In the last Advisor, we looked at one expert’s remedies for FMLA headaches. Today we look at her suggestions for dealing with FMLA fraud, and at a new audio conference that deals with FMLA’s most-abused provision—intermittent leave. Although most employees use FMLA leave appropriately, says Beverly Kish, there are always going to be some who […]

There Are Headaches, There Are Migraines, and Then There Are FMLA Headaches

Although proposed changes to the FMLA may alleviate some of the pain, FMLA headaches will not go away anytime soon. Today’s expert shares some workplace-tested remedies. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) management isn’t such a headache if you work out your policies carefully, publicize them to employees, and enforce them consistently, says Beverly Kish, […]

I Love My iPod® … But there’s this thing called Work!

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR’s founder ponders whether workers can really give full attention to their jobs when they are listening to talk radio or music. The iPod has changed my life. Well, maybe that’s overstating it, but it is certainly one of the best toys of recent years. For example, regular […]

Expert: ‘First, Visit the Scream Room!’ (Managing Disabilities … Part 2)

Yesterday’s Advisor covered 7 ADA traps. Today we’ll look at one more common trap—the co-worker question—and we’ll see how the famous BLR “Red Book®” takes care of many traps HR faces, especially when it comes to state law and how it interacts (and conflicts) with the federal. Yesterday, attorney Nancy Cooper (an owner in the […]