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The Wage-Hour Risks of an Electronic Leash

  Many of our employees carry company-issued cell phones, PDAs, and laptop computers. And, unfortunately, some of our managers have made full use of this technology by calling and e-mailing their subordinates at all hours of the day and even on weekends. I’ve become concerned that we could have a wage and hour problem on […]

Labor secretary nominee Acosta advances to full Senate

President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of labor has been approved by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Alexander Acosta now advances to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote. Acosta, a former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member, generally has been praised by the employer community. He has a deep […]

Colorado voters OK minimum wage hikes

by Mark Wiletsky On November 8, Colorado voters decided to raise the state’s minimum wage to $12 per hour over the next four years. By about a 54-46 margin, voters passed Amendment 70, which changes the Colorado Constitution to gradually raise the minimum wage. Gradual increases in minimum wage Amendment 70 will raise Colorado’s hourly […]

Hot List: BusinessWeek’s Best Seller List

BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 10 best selling hardcover and paperback business books for September 2009 and gives a short summary. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. As you’d expect with Gladwell, there are lots of surprises in his explanation of why some people succeed fantastically. Pluck and smarts get less play here […]

Encouraging New Managers to Express Emotions

The descriptor “emotional” often has a negative connotation, especially in the workplace. It can conjure up images of someone who lacks control, loses his or her temper, and lacks sound judgment. But Kristi Hedges, in an article for Harvard Business Review, notes that this association—and the corresponding reluctance to show emotion in the workplace—can actually […]

‘HR Cred’–How to Build It and How to Lose It

Credibility–it’s hard to establish and it’s easy to lose. Yet, it’s critical for HR success. Today, one expert’s take on how to lose it. The respected HR Competency Study, conducted by the University of Michigan Business School and its partners, has identified six core competency domains for HR managers:At the basic “relationships” level:          Credible Activist […]

Hot List: Bestselling “Women and Business” books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, this Monday morning, February 1, in the “Women and Business” section of the “Business and Investing” category. 1. Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a […]

Job Descriptions … Without the Work

When job descriptions are needed … at an average cost of less than 66 cents each … here’s the program thousands have turned to—BLR’s Job Descriptions Encyclopedia. Yesterday’s Daily Advisor noted that one term HR professionals often search on Google™ and other search engines is “job descriptions.” Each month, some of you want to know […]