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Interns and Trainees: Must They Be Paid?

(Updated May 2010) By Hillary J. Collyer Summer is here, which means that student interns are arriving for their summer internships — and many of these internships are unpaid. Internships afford students the opportunity to gain practical, real world experience, as well as explore various career paths and develop potential contacts. Employers should be careful, […]

5 Questions to Ask When Hiring New Customer Service Agents

Making new hires in customer service isn’t easy. You know that your customer service agents need to wear a lot of different hats while serving a wide variety of clients. They help with the ongoing growth of your company by making sure customers are satisfied and turning them from one-time buyers into repeat clients. A […]

Innovating in the Digital Divide: 3 Imperatives for Executives in a Post-COVID-19 World

The pandemic highlighted a digital inclusion problem in the United States that has put those without connectivity skills and access at a severe disadvantage. Both private and public sectors must take a more active stance on how innovation, corporate responsibility, diversity, and social inclusion are closely linked—and find solutions to bridge the digital divide for […]

Employee Shift Switching May Pose Multiple Legal Problems

We are a hospital. Our employees often switch shifts or take extra shifts for someone else. They have their own informal system for handling switches and it works—we always have coverage. But I’m worried about compensation issues. They handle their pay as though they had worked their normal shifts, and they take care of paying […]

NLRB’s Latest Move Continues Administration’s Union-Boosting Efforts

A new memo from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel (GC) represents a continuation of efforts to promote unionization, according to attorneys who help guide employers through union campaigns. NLRB GC Jennifer Abruzzo on April 27 announced an initiative aimed at promoting collective bargaining through partnering with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service […]

To dock or not to dock? That is the question

by Kara E. Shea One of the most common questions I hear from employers involves when they can or can’t dock employees’ paychecks. It’s very tempting to use an employee’s paycheck as a way to recoup losses you’ve incurred because of her actions, especially when, as a practical matter, there will never be any other […]

Why Employers Should Hire Workers Who Are Visually Impaired

As an employer, your interest is in finding a reliable and dedicated team, which may include impaired persons. However, before proceeding, you want to know whether they can keep up with the workload and work efficiently or effectively, as well as the legal obligations to adding them to your team. While doing all this, you […]

Alcoholism, alcohol abuse, and the workplace―navigating legal risks

By Holly K. Jones Q We administer a voluntary leave program through which workers can donate paid leave to their colleagues to obtain necessary medical treatment. Recently an employee asked to use the program to seek substance abuse treatment for alcoholism. This isn’t the type of treatment we had in mind when we established the […]

Don’t Be Afraid of Social Media: Smart and Simple Ways To Use These Tools for Benefits Communication

by Jennifer Benz Social media is the buzz at every corporate communications or HR conference, and the tools are growing more quickly than anything else online. Yet few companies are effectively integrating these tools into their benefits or strategic HR communications. Many companies are paralyzed because they don’t understand the tools, or they assume social […]

It’s Time to Throw Your Frontline Teams a Digital Lifeline

During the past year, while most of us have hunkered down at home, frontline workers have done vital work keeping our factories and distribution centers operational, keeping our lights on and our water flowing, and delivering the groceries and e-commerce purchases on which so many of us have come to rely. The deskless workforce doesn’t […]