Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Our workplace has a tradition of teasing and pranks. “All in good fun,” say the workers, but I think there are harassment suits building up in some employees’ minds as this continues. How can I get the message across to stop this behavior?
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a new Form I-9, which you can access at www.uscis.gov. Five documents, which employees previously could have submitted for proof of identity and employment eligibility, were removed from List A because they lack sufficient features to help deter counterfeiting, tampering, and fraud. Employers can no longer accept […]
As of the first of the year, California’s minimum wage will be $8.00 per hour, up from the 2007 rate of $7.50. Keep in mind that this rate increase affects not only hourly, nonexempt workers but also salaried, white-collar exempt employees. As of January 1, the minimum monthly salary for these exempt employees will rise […]
We are trying to make better sense of our discipline system. After people get a verbal and then a written warning, we suspend and ultimately fire them if the misconduct continues. But the suspension seems more like a gift than a punishment to many of our workers. What do you recommend for the “serious” steps […]
Under California and federal law, an exempt employee must receive his or her full salary for any week in which the person performs any work, regardless of the quality or number of hours worked. This is known as the “salary basis” rule. If you dock an exempt employee’s weekly salary, you could violate this rule […]
We’ve got a fork truck driver whose hearing is so bad that he can’t hear people shout at him, and he can’t hear warning honks. We think he’s a real danger to other workers. What can we do? — Joel, HR Manager in Merced
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Advisor readers never cease to amaze. My E-pinion “Happiness Haters Unite”, that ran on November 2, drew a surprising volume and variety of responses, some funny and some profound. I based the column on a study conducted by Harvard that concluded that happier workers were more productive. I […]
FLSA audits are important, as we saw in yesterday’s Advisor, and we want to help you do them right, but first, note the one factor you absolutely must have in place, if you do one at all. In almost every case, you’re going to be ahead of the game—and the Department of Labor investigators—when you […]
During the holiday season, many employers shut down their operations for a few days over Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s. If you’re thinking of closing up shop for the remaining holidays this year, first make sure you’re up on special pay rules for employees who qualify as exempt from overtime. Paying Overtime: 10 Key Exemption […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is getting tough on wage and hour violations, and you don’t want them to be the ones doing your FLSA audit. Far better to find and fix problems—before DOL starts going over your books. It shouldn’t be hard to calculate pay and overtime, yet employers are losing big–dollar wage […]