Category: HR Management & Compliance

There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.

What Should We Do About Informal Business Emails?

Our employees are too informal in their work emails to clients, vendors, etc. They are saying things they shouldn’t—such as speaking negatively about company policies—and their tone is too informal for outside business contacts. What can we do?

Readers Strongly Reject ‘No iPods at Work’ Rule

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Two weeks ago, BLR’s founder and CEO Bob Brady, waxed eloquent in this space over the many good things about his iPod®, but also expressed his e-pinion that “serious” workers don’t have talk radio and music on while they work. Most readers disagreed. I never cease to be […]

More Emergency Closing Challenges—and an HR and Comp Managers’ “Multi-Tool” to Get You Through

In the last Advisor, we considered compensation challenges related to emergency closings. Today: Related hassles and the problem solver thousands of HR pros use to help them through it. In an emergency closure, ordinary procedures are usually disrupted. Here are key processes you need to have in place to keep things going: Notification Notification is […]

Snakes In Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work

Resources for Humans Managing Editor Celeste Blackburn reviews the book Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work by Paul Babiak, Ph.D. and Robert D. Hare, Ph.D. Review highlights how book teaches employers to avoid hiring psychopath employees by giving interview tips. Babiak is an industrial and organizational psychologist, and Hare is the author of […]

Family and Medical Leave: DOL Proposes Changes to FMLA Regulations; A Look at the Highlights

In February, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a long-awaited proposal to update and retool Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations. The lengthy proposal covers notice requirements, medical certifications, eligibility, the definition of “continuing treatment” for a serious health condition, fitness for duty, and more. The changes are generally welcome news for employers.

Employee Benefits: U.S. Supreme Court Says Individuals Can Recover Damages for Mishandling of Retirement Accounts; Self-Protection Options for Employers

In an important new development, the U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that when fiduciary misconduct diminishes the value of an individual account in a defined contribution plan, such as a 401(k), the harmed employee can sue for damages. In the past, courts have taken the contrary position that the federal employee benefits law only […]

Survey Looks at Workplace Stress

A  new survey reveals that even though 48 percent of U.S. employers acknowledge that employee stress caused by working long hours affects business performance, just 5 percent of them are taking steps to address the stress problem. The survey, conducted by global consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide, also found that although 29 percent of employers […]