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.

‘Just Cause’ Measure on Colorado November Ballot

A proposed measure that would amend the Colorado Constitution to bar employers from firing or suspending employees without just cause was certified for the November 2008 ballot by the Colorado secretary of state on August 22. The “Just Cause Initiative,” which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 55, gathered more than 130,000 signatures […]

HOT LIST: New York Times Bestselling Paperback Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling paperback business books as ranked by the New York Times on August 25. 1. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. How and why certain products and ideas become fads. 2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen […]

Readers Take Offense over ‘Commitment’ Column

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR CEO Bob Brady’s “Commitment” column generated some surprisingly strong backlash. Here’s his response. In last week’s column I wrote about “commitment” in the workplace and tried to make a joking comparison about male-female relationships. My offhand attempt at humor backfired and provoked a mini-controversy. In the column, […]

Sample Employee Background Checks Policy

To ensure that individuals who join [Company Name] are well qualified and have a strong potential to be productive and successful employees, it is [Company Name]’s policy to investigate the backgrounds and employment references of applicants. In addition, [Company Name] may conduct background investigations when employees are being considered for promotions or transfers, or in […]

Workplace Electronic Monitoring: What’s Legal? What’s Not?

What legal right do bosses have to monitor their workers’ communications, especially when sent through new technologies?  The answer (as usual) is: It depends. Yesterday’s Advisor briefed you on the subject of electronic surveillance of your employees. We summarized the pros and cons of looking at your employees’ e-mails, instant messages (IMs), and other communications, […]

EEOC Releases New Guidance on Avoiding Religious Discrimination

Recently, Lynn Noyes, a permanent software developer at temp agency Kelly Services in Nevada City (near Sacramento) won a massive $6.5 million verdict when a jury found that Noyes’ manager failed to select Noyes for promotion because she lacked certain religious beliefs held by that manager. Evidence in the case showed that the manager also […]

It’s Our Ship: The No Nonsense Guide to Leadership

Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the book It’s Our Ship: The No Nonsense Guide to Leadership by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff.  Standard book on how to manage transforms to inspiration for HR to fight corporate bureaucracy. The title of It’s Our Ship: The No-Nonsense Guide to Leadership, another in the series by Captain D. […]

Employee Surveillance—Do You Really Want to Be Big Brother?

When it comes to electronic surveillance of employees, as the TV ad says, “Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should.” Most companies now have the means to conduct electronic surveillance of their employees’ at work, since so much that employees do passes through company computer networks. But should you peek? Susan Heathfield, […]

Script Your Managers’ Critical HR Discussions

In sensitive HR discussions with employees, some of your managers will do best working from a script. But don’t try to write one until you’ve gotten the appropriate written policies backing it up. Yesterday’s article on the proper handling of terminations gave tips on what management personnel should and should not say in these circumstances. […]

HOT LIST: Bestselling Business Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of bestselling business books hourly. Here is a snapshot of what books were hot this morning — Monday, August 18. 1. Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson. Following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, the […]