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.

NLRB guidance on confidentiality in workplace investigations

Conducting a workplace investigation usually involves confidentially interviewing witnesses and other parties involved in the situation at hand. But what if asking employees to keep the information confidential was actually violating those same employees’ rights? This is what the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has implied in recent cases. What should HR do?

When You Should NOT Negotiate and Other Expert Tips

Yesterday’s Advisor featured expert Douglas McCabe, PhD’s tips for successful negotiations. Today, more of his tips, plus an introduction to the new, affordable training system, TrainingToday®. McCabe, who is professor of management at the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, offered his negotiating tips at the BLR® HR Strategic Summit, held recently in Scottsdale, Arizona. […]

Is OSHA a Defense to an ADA Discrimination Claim?

What happens when OSHA compliance gets in the way of ADA compliance? For example, what happens if an employer fires someone (with proper process and documentation, of course) for unsafe behavior, only to discover that this person had an undisclosed medical condition that was causing the behavior? The medical condition qualified as a disability, which […]

DOL Sues Staples for Alleged FMLA Violations

The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit seeking back wages and liquidated damages on behalf of a former Staples Contract and Commercial Inc. employee for alleged violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act. DOL filed suit after a Wage and Hour Division investigation found that the employer failed to notify an employee […]

Infographic Examines Performance Appraisal Practices

BLR 2013 Performance Management Survey Reveals Worst Evaluator Mistakes A new infographic puts the spotlight on employer performance management practices—and what HR professionals think of them. The infographic highlights findings from BLR’s 2013 Performance Management Survey conducted among survey participants representing 1,358 organizations.  It includes a “Performance Appraisal Report Card” reflecting participants’ ratings of how […]

HR Managers Are Negotiating 24-7

If you’re in HR, you’re negotiating 24—7 says expert Douglas McCabe, PhD. You’re negotiating contracts, negotiating with peers, subordinates, and bosses. You’d better figure out how to do it right. Negotiators have high status in this country, McCabe says; you don’t put losers on your negotiating team. McCabe, who is professor of management at the […]

Best Practices for Dress Code Policies

Despite the fact that there are no federal laws outlining what employer dress code policies can and cannot do, there are still plenty of ways dress codes can get employers in legal trouble. Legal challenges to dress codes are often based on allegations of gender bias, religious bias, race/national origin bias, or disability bias. To […]

Good Boundaries to Make for Good PTO Policies

Yesterday’s Advisor featured tricky PTO policy questions from Attorney Katherine Marques. Today, we present her key success factors for PTO, plus we introduce the best way to find compliance violations—before the feds do. Marques, an associate in the New York office of Holland & Knight LLP, offered her PTO tips at a recent webinar sponsored […]

Exceptions to meal period requirements in California

In California, meal periods for employees must be at least 30 minutes by law, and the employee must be fully relieved of all work during that meal period. The meal period may be unpaid, and it has to be taken within the first 5 hours of the shift. These requirements apply for any workday in […]

The 11 Questions Your PTO Policy Must Answer

We all love PTO because it’s easier to administer than separate time-off policies, but there are many issues to be clarified before your program runs smoothly and avoids lawsuits, says Attorney Katherine Marques. Unfortunately, to complicate matters, many state laws (and some city laws) cover sick time and/or vacation time, so proceed with caution, says […]