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How Many ‘F Bombs’ Before It’s Illegal?

How many “Fs” does it take until it’s illegal? “You don’t care,” says attorney Jonathan Segal, “because long before it’s illegal it’s unacceptable, and you should act.” It all depends, says Segal. Say someone just got some terrible news and he says, “Oh, f—.” Is that harassment? No, says Segal, but it may be inappropriate. […]

Hot List: BusinessWeek’s Best Seller List

BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 10 best selling hardcover and paperback business books for October 2009 and gives a short summary. 1. The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich. An unflattering portrait of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. 2. A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The […]

Voluntary Benefits: Some Say ‘Garbage’; Some Say, ‘Bargain’

Miles is vice president and senior employee benefits consultant at Gregory and Appel Insurance. During his presentation at a recent boot camp sponsored by BLR®, he was joined by colleague Janet McClure, vice president and worksite marketing team leader. What Are Voluntary Benefits? “Voluntary benefits” are generally insurance products sold to employees at work through […]

Tip for HR: Don’t Be a Management Tool

Special from SHRM’s Legal and Legislative Conference Tip for HR: Don’t Be a Management Tool In yesterday’s Advisor, SHRM’s top-rated speaker, attorney Jonathan Segal offered the first 10 of his “they won’t tell you but I will” principles. Today, 11 to 15, plus an introduction to the unique guide specially directed toward the smaller or […]

What Do These Protesters Augur for Jobs and Benefits?

Last week I caught wind that some protesters were causing a street closure at the corner of 16th and I Streets, N.W., in Washington, D.C., a block from the White House and, as luck would have it, a block — in the other direction — from the editorial offices of Thompson Publishing Group. I grabbed […]

New year brings changes to New Hampshire employer safety programs

by Jeanine Poole New Hampshire’s requirements for employer safety programs are changing. Passed in June, House Bill 1587 goes into effect on January 1, 2013. The new law provides: Employers with 15 or more employees (formerly 10 or more employees) must have a written safety program filed with the New Hampshire Department of Labor (NHDOL). […]

What if You Could Reduce Employee Turnover?

On Friday, we heard from Author Donna Cutting on how to keep employee morale up and, therefore, reduce the amount of recruiting you need to do because of turnover. Today, we present more from Cutting.

Paid leave among priorities in DOL budget proposal

A $2 billion paid leave initiative as well as millions for enforcement of laws on equal opportunity, wage and hour issues, safety, whistleblowing, and retirement security are among the priorities outlined in President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2016 budget for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). On February 2, the DOL announced that the budget […]

Don’t Be Rude to Job Applicants

In yesterday’s Advisor, we discussed the fact that many job applicants walk away from the process frustrated, often because of a perceived lack of information or follow through from employers. There are many ways the process can be improved. Here are a few more ways to treat applicants better:

This Decision May Not Make the Grade

By Jeanine Poole It may seem that requiring a high-school diploma for a job is a correct answer. However, a recent “informal discussion letter” from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) indicates that you may need to do more studying before making that choice. Background In October 2011, the state of Tennessee wrote the EEOC, […]