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FMLA: Does Texting Apply Under Call-In Policy?

By Steve Jones If you have an attendance policy that requires employees to follow a certain procedure to notify management of absences but you occasionally receive notice in a way that isn’t specified in the policy (e.g., a text instead of a phone call), you should make sure you’re consistent in accepting or refusing the […]

What Employers Need to Know When Employees Seek Loans, Withdrawals from Retirement Plans

(Updated Dec. 4, 2009) by Douglas R. Chamberlain When facing financial difficulties, employees often look to their retirement plans as a possible source of needed funds. Many plans offer participant loans or permanent withdrawals, the latter generally on a hardship basis. However, plan loans and withdrawals can jeopardize the employee’s retirement benefits, and both are […]

Are You Training Your Workers to Avoid the Leading Cause of Employee Fatality?

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says more than 2.5 million people went to emergency departments, and about 200,000 were hospitalized due to vehicle crashes in 2012. Indeed, crashes remain the leading cause of employee fatality. What can you do to reverse this trend? Start with training on essential information. According to […]

Retirement Plans: An Overview of the Pension Reform Act of 2006

President Bush has signed the Pension Protection Act of 2006 into law, which overhauls pension funding rules, clarifies cash balance plan rules, encourages automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans, and much more. The law spans a massive 907 pages, and we describe some of its key provisions here.

No Guinness for You!

Litigation Value: Probably neglible, seeing as no one seemed to be offended by Michael’s Irish jokes, and Michael himself looked slightly flattered by the long hug with Todd “PacMan” Packer and Meredith. Who knew that St. Patrick’s Day was such an important holiday at Dunder Mifflin? This week on The Office, we saw our favorite regional […]

Real-Life Learning Competitions for Young Learners

Deloitte, LLP, which was named “#1 Private Company for Leadership Development” by Chief Executive magazine early this year, sponsors a variety of competitions that provide learning opportunities for college students and bolster the firm’s recruiting efforts. In January, a team of University of Wisconsin students went up against eight finalist teams from other colleges and […]

How to avoid retaliation claims when timing raises red flags

What's an employer to do when there is ample documentation to terminate an employee, but the employee has recently engaged in a protected activity? For example, what if the employee files a workers' compensation claim or takes FMLA leave in close proximity to performance issues? This presents a real timing dilemma for employers: Doesn't it look retaliatory to terminate the employee immediately after the protected activity?

Fake Job References—Has the World Really Come to This?!

The other day I heard about a company that provides fake references for job applicants, renters, and others. And from what I understand, the length it goes to in order to “lie” on behalf of its clients is unbelievable—even if the references it provides are believable.

Salary Surveys and Market Pricing

Market-based compensation utilizes salary survey data to evaluate an organization’s pay levels and can make them more, or less, competitive depending on the organization’s compensation philosophy—a framework within which compensation decisions are made.