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.

Republicans Block Controversial NLRB Nominee Craig Becker

On Tuesday, U.S. Senate Republicans (along with two Democrats) used a filibuster to block Craig Becker’s nomination to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In a 52-33 vote, the Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to end the Senate debate on Becker’s nomination and move to a final vote. Senators Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) […]

Court Clarifies Standards for Mixed-Motive Claims

“Mixed-motive” discrimination claims are among the most confusing kinds of employment cases. A mixed-motive bias claim occurs when an employee alleges that bias was one of the reasons that the employee was terminated or suffered some other kind of adverse employment action. In these cases, the employer asserts that there was a legitimate reason for […]

Virginia Senate Passes Sexual Orientation Bias Protection for State Workers

by Michael E. Barnsback On Monday, February 8, the Virginia Senate passed a bill (SB 66) prohibiting discrimination in state employment that includes sexual orientation as a protected category. Although Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine issued executive orders prohibiting discrimination (including sexual orientation discrimination) in the state workforce, this is the first time that […]

Social Media: Your Best Offense or Your Best Defense?

Social media usage is coming like a tidal wave, and employers need to be thinking about their offense—how to present themselves online—and their defense—how to respond to negative expressions about their company on blogs and rant sites. Alison Davis, a communications consultant, recommends a thorough and proactive approach. Davis is CEO of Davis & Company […]

Smart Managers, Dumb Moves

In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered several common legal but stupid actions that managers think are smart. Today, we’ll hit a few more, and we’ll take a look at a unique HR audit system that ferrets out stupid moves before the feds do. (Go here for legal but stupid moves 1 through 3.) 4. Auto-Deducting for […]

Hot List: New York Times Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times on February 8. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. hy some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of Blink: The Power […]

Legal, Yes, But Stupid

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and that goes for many managers who think they know all about employment law. Unfortunately, there are a lot of actions that may be technically legal, but practically stupid. Here are some of management’s favorite legal but stupid actions: 1. Firing At-Will Employees for No Reason […]

From the CEA Mailbag: Pay Cuts OK?

I was recently hired as the director of our organization. This organization has never set pay ranges or pay scales for our employees, and we are currently paying some employees well above market rates. The Board of Directors would like to set a new pay scale for all employees, which will result in varying pay […]

5 Ways to Put the Spring Back in Workers’ Steps

By Dave Anderson Just My E-Pinion Are your employees happy? Probably not, says Dave Anderson, an author and lecturer and president of Dave Anderson’s Learn to Lead. The most recent survey by the Conference Board suggests that only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work—an all-time low since the study was established in […]

Obama Includes Another COBRA Subsidy Extension in Budget

The Obama administration proposed another extension of COBRA premium subsidy benefits on Monday, according to Business Insurance. President Barack Obama included this latest extension in his proposed federal budget for the fiscal year 2011. The proposed extension would reportedly extend the 65 percent premium subsidy to individuals whose employment is terminated between March 1, 2010, […]