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.

Proposed Law Would Institute Paid Family/Medical Leave

Congress has proposed a bill that would provide up to 12 weeks of paid leave each year to qualifying workers for the birth or adoption of a new child, the serious illness of an immediate family member, a worker’s own medical condition, and/or for specific military caregiving and leave purposes. The Family and Medical Insurance […]

’Tis the Season … to Do Right by Employees and Customers

“Have you ever thought about what employees really want from a company and a manager?” asks business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald. What is it that really makes employees feel satisfied in their workplace? Among other things, having a manager who cares about them as people is part of being happy at work. So when […]

Rhode Island’s temporary caregiver leave law takes effect January 1

by Timothy C. Cavazza As of January 1, 2014, Rhode Island’s temporary disability insurance program will be expanded to cover employees taking temporary caregiver leave. Leave will be available to employees “to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, or to bond with a new child.” An employee who is […]

New California law grants domestic workers overtime pay

by Cathleen S. Yonahara A new California law taking effect January 1, 2014, grants overtime pay for at least the next three years to domestic workers who are personal attendants. Under old state law, “personal attendants” are exempt from statutory overtime and meal and rest break provisions, but they are not exempt from minimum wage […]

New York law on unemployment taxes takes effect January 1

by Colin Leonard and James Rooney A new law going into effect on January 1, 2014, will increase New York employers’ contributions to the state’s unemployment compensation program. Earlier this year, legislation was enacted in response to the insolvency of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and the state’s need to repay $3.5 billion borrowed from […]

Failing to Track All FMLA—4 Hazards

It is generally in your best interest to capture all absences that are Family and Medical Leave (FMLA)‐related, says consultant Kristi McKinzey, PHR. She offers four common hazards employers face when they don’t track all absences. McKinzey, a consultant with The Robert E. Miller Group in Kansas City, Missouri, was joined by a colleague, attorney […]

Washington, D.C., closer to $11.50-per-hour minimum wage

The Washington, D.C., City Council on December 17 unanimously approved raising the city’s minimum wage to $11.50 an hour by 2016. The minimum wage then would be indexed for inflation. The current minimum wage for hourly workers in Washington, D.C., is $8.25 an hour, a dollar higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an […]

Be Careful When Training Older Generations

Today’s Advisor contains answers from our “Ask the Expert” feature on HR.BLR.com.. The question is, “Is it permissible to exclude employees from training if they are expected to retire soon?” Here is how our expert responded: Especially in light of the economy, it is understandable that an employer would want to invest its training dollars […]