Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
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.
Let’s review some overall basics from yesterday’s Advisor: Who needs to be trained? OSHA’s Hazard Communication (HCS or HazCom) standard requires you to train employees to work safely with the hazardous chemicals in their work area when they are initially assigned to that area and whenever a new hazard is introduced. Why train workers in […]
In yesterday’s Advisor we learned important lessons from Bank of America’s $2 million back pay lawsuit. Today, more suits plus an introduction to the “50×50,” the unique guide that helps employers avoid lawsuits state by state by state. The San Francisco Giants baseball team paid $544,715 in back wages and liquidated damages to 74 employees […]
Do your employees realize that not all hazardous chemicals are liquids or vapors, or that some otherwise harmless chemicals like nitrogen can become very hazardous indeed under certain conditions? Make sure your workers grasp the full range of possibilities that the term “hazardous chemicals” encompasses. Background on chemical safety Who needs to be trained? OSHA’s […]
Bank of America Corp. (BOA) will pay 1,147 African-American job applicants $2,181,593 in back wages and interest for race-based hiring discrimination, says the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), declaring “a major victory.” Here are some details about the BOA case and other backpay/discrimination lawsuits that sound a warning […]
What might trigger chemical sensitivity for employees in the workplace? Here we provide a list of possible triggers and resulting symptoms, as well as common scenarios employers may need to face regarding employees with sensitivities.
Your settlement costs probably won’t be that high. But the bottom line? You ignore basic wage and hour issues at your peril. You are likely to get sued if you don’t pay careful attention. And these mistakes tend to affect not just one employee, but whole groups of them—which quickly multiplies your liability in the […]
While he was in Birmingham, Alabama, visiting his daughter at college, business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald saw a local newspaper with the headline “Live Generously: How three Gardendale teenagers hope to change lives with new business.” Oswald, CEO of BLR, shared his thoughts about the article in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter: […]
While the ADA Amendments Act made it easier for employees to show that they have a disability, it did not eliminate the requirement, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in Neely v. PSEG Texas, No. 12-51074 (5th Cir. Nov. 6, 2013). Facts of the Case Jeffrey Neely worked as a control-room operator […]
by Paul M. Saito Governor Neil Abercrombie has signed into law the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act of 2013, which defines marriage in Hawaii as between “individuals without regard to gender.” Hawaii is the 15th state to give same-sex couples the right to marry. The law goes into effect December 2. A special session of the […]
As Microsoft is washing its hands of a controversial employee performance appraisal practice, Yahoo is reportedly adopting it. Stack ranking systems—also known as forced ranking or forced distribution—require managers to rank their employees from best to worst, apply the rankings to a bell curve and use the results to determine pay as well as who […]