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.

Employee Testing: Meeting ADA Requirements While Keeping Employees Safe

Did you know that some employers may be violating ADA requirements when performing safety tests for OSHA? This may include testing employees to ensure that they can perform certain physical functions of the job. This may also include taking adverse actions only against employees who have a disability. Employers need to be careful. “Some employers […]

Depression as a disability: Combating vague accommodation requests

Addressing depression and related mental disabilities and meeting reasonable accommodation requirements is a delicate balance. Often, employees who are in this situation will have a preconceived idea of what work restrictions would benefit them as an accommodation, and they ask their healthcare providers to state those things as a work restriction when they obtain medical […]

Louisiana’s scaled-down pay law goes into effect August 1

by David Theard Louisiana’s Equal Pay for Women Act (EPWA), which applies only to public-sector employers, goes into effect August 1. The new law affirms that paying unequal wages to public employees on the basis of sex is discriminatory and violates public policy. The original bill would have covered both public- and private-sector employees, but […]

Rules Could Require Fed Contractors to Hire a Certain Percentage of Disabled

Federal employers and contractors may soon have new disability regulations to follow, two federal agencies have announced. Both the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have said they will issue new regulations for the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination in hiring and employment practices by the federal government […]

‘No Fair, I’ve Got Free Speech Rights!’ (Sorry.)

Special from Chicago—SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition In private employment, the employer determines whether there is an expectation of privacy, says attorney Jonathan Segal, but unwary employers may create the right if they are not careful. (Government employees generally have a constitutional right to a higher level of privacy than those in the private sector.) […]

What Metrics Should HR Be Using? Q&A Session

What financial metrics should HR be using? What is most important to track? Which metrics measure effectiveness? Should the metrics vary depending on what industry your organization is in? Teri Morning fielded all of these questions and more in a recent BLR webinar. Check out the sample questions and answers below to learn more. Q. […]

Make Your Safety Training Program OSHA-Compliant

Many industrial jobs require employees to have specialized knowledge and skills, and to be prepared to deal with a special set of serious hazard exposures. OSHA-mandated specialized training requirements are found in a number of standards. For example: Hazard communication of chemical, carcinogen, and radiation hazards (29 CFR 1910.1200) Combustible dust (29 CFR 1910.22, 269, […]

How HR Can Earn a Seat at the Table: Understanding Cash Flow Statements

For HR to be most effective, you should understand how the business side of the organization works. HR won’t earn a permanent seat at the decision-making table without a clear understanding of what’s behind the finance team’s decisions and strategies—including basic financial reports. Let’s take a look at the cash flow statement as an example. […]

Q&A on Doing Business in Canada

Doing business in Canada requires understanding how Canadian employment law differs from US. For example: Are hourly employees in Canada required to be paid overtime after 40 hours of work in a week, just like in the US? Is there paternity leave in Canada? What notice must an employer give an employee before terminating them? […]

Depression and other mental disabilities: Beware of assumptions

Dealing with depression and other mental disabilities in the workplace can be challenging. This is especially true if an employer also has to combat negative attitudes towards the affected employees that hinder compliance with the law. California employers need to be aware of assumptions and attitudes about emotional or mental disabilities that can lead to […]