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Retirement Plans: You Could Be Sued If You Don’t Tell Workers About Changes You’re Considering But Haven’t Yet Adopted

When changing retirement plans, employers sometimes don’t notify employees until all the details are in place. But a new case makes it clear that if you don’t let workers in on your plans earlier, you could face an expensive lawsuit. Employer Enhances Early Retirement Benefits In a workforce reduction, IBM offered workers two early retirement […]

What Employers Should Expect from a Ramped-Up EEOC

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is trying to buck a trend. While government budget cuts have become the norm, the EEOC is requesting for fiscal year 2012 an $18 million increase from 2011. The agency says it needs more money to restore enforcement and legal staff positions, modernize technology, and expand training, among other […]

Etiquette

New Manual Offers International Business Etiquette Tips

In a globally connected world, those who wish to be truly successful need to demonstrate their ability to engage with suppliers, customers, business partners, and even coworkers from around the globe.

The Accountants

Litigation value: $15,000 In our last review of The Office webisodes, we tune into the first websiode, “The Accountants.” In the episode, Oscar, Angela, and Kevin interview everyone in the office to track down $3,000 missing from the books. At times, the interviews become a bit inappropriate, like when the accountants get on Michael’s computer […]

Tempted to Ask, But Shouldn’t

Yesterday’s Advisor briefed on impermissible preemployment inquiries; today, we present more inquiries that you may not have realized you need to avoid. Persons to Notify in Case of Emergency Questions should not be asked about the names and addresses of a job applicant’s relatives. Such inquiries may lead to information related to an applicant’s marital […]

Job Descriptions—The First Place the Feds Look

When "they" come to check up on you, whether they’re agency investigators or class-action-minded attorneys, the first stop is the job description. Today we’ll begin our look at three of the fed’s favorite job description checkpoints: ADA, FLSA, and discrimination. From the ADA standpoint, the most important thing the job description does is to delineate […]

How Recognition Can Help Managers Earn Employee Trust and Reduce Turnover

By David Brennan, Achievers It’s no secret that satisfied employees are the most productive. Research shows that happiness has a dramatic effect on performance, and that business success is driven by engaged employees. Conversely, unhappy or disengaged employees are less productive and creative, and more likely churn, which represents a significant drag on an organization’s […]