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First Rule of SM Sourcing? Don’t Be Creepy!

People you contact are going to want to know: How did you find me? How did you know that I can …? Maintain transparency, says Dingee. Explain how you found them. You’re not hacking, you’re searching the Internet for publicly available information. Dingee’s tips came at the Advanced Employment Issues Symposium in Las Vegas. (Info […]

Responding to restroom accommodation requests from transgender employees

by Brian Bouchard Fifty-two years ago, Bob Dylan penned the now-famous lyrics “The times they are a-changin’.” True enough, Mr. Dylan, but for many, changes come slowly, and as the late David Bowie sang: “The days still seem the same.” This can be true in regard to laws, which sometimes struggle to keep pace with […]

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The Impact of Social Dynamics on Training

Social dynamics play an often subtle role in people’s everyday lives. Whether the context is the classroom, the office, the grocery store, or the local watering hole, humans tend to modify their behavior based on their perceived place in the social hierarchy of those present. The same kind of effect is present in other animals, […]

Guns do not belong in the workplace

by Al Vreeland In these pages, we try―often ham-handedly―to infuse a little humor into the very real workplace dilemmas you face on a daily basis. When we first conceived this article, obvious redneck gun jokes were, well, obvious. But the recent massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, has left us humorless, while recent events in several state […]

Ask the Expert: How Far Does the FMLA’s Reach Extend When It Comes to Family Members?

Question: We have an employee who took four days off to tend to his daughter in the hospital after she received a C-section and another who wants to take three weeks off to assist her sibling going through chemotherapy. Would the absences in both scenarios fall under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Answer: […]

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Financial Strain Puts Retirement Out of Reach for Many American Workers

A recent survey by Willis Towers Watson (WTW) reveals a growing financial strain among U.S. workers, with 88% struggling to meet basic living costs. Nearly half of employees (46%) are extremely worried about essentials such as food, healthcare, housing, and transportation. As a result, 44% of employees report living paycheck to paycheck, and 59% say […]

Employee Tracking Technologies May Violate Labor Laws

There are countless workplace technologies available to companies that enable them to track employees for various purposes. For example, many employers have GPS devices on company vehicles so they can track how efficiently deliveries are being made. But does the use of such technology violate labor law? Based on a memo from the National Labor […]