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Wal-Mart Settles Sex Discrimination Suit for $11.7 Million

Megaretailer Wal-Mart, called the country’s largest private employer, has agreed to pay $11.7 million to settle a class-action sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In addition to the money, the settlement announced on March 1 requires Wal-Mart to provide jobs to class members as they become available. The EEOC’s suit […]

Wage and Hour: Paycheck Deductions to Compensate for Cash Shortage Found Illegal; When You Can and Can’t Dock Wages

At Earl Scheib Inc. of California, an automotive paint shop chain, most sales transactions are in cash, and only shop managers are authorized to handle cash. If there’s an unresolved discrepancy between the shop’s bank deposit records and cash transactions, the manager is asked to sign an “acknowledgment of reimbursement” agreeing to reimburse the company […]

If Feedback Is All Positive, Results Can Be Negative

“How good am I?” is a question we all ask ourselves. We want to know how good we are at most things in our lives. We want to know how we’re doing in our relationships. Are you a good friend, spouse, or parent? We want to know how good we are at our hobbies. Are […]

Whistleblowers: Legislation Targets Corporate Accountability; New Whistleblower Protections, Posting Requirement, and Penalties Take Effect January 1

Gov. Davis has approved legislation taking aim at corporate corruption. The new laws, modeled on the federal Sarbanes-Oxley Act, protect employees who blow the whistle on possible corporate transgressions, create steep new fines for not disclosing corporate financial fraud, and add an important new workplace posting requirement. Here’s an overview of what you need to […]

Crime Doesn’t Pay—and Neither Does Publicity—When You Are on WC

By: Elaine Quayle When you are on workers’ compensation (WC) but also working on the sly, you might be afraid the WC bureau will catch you for fraud. But it’s a sure bet if you have your picture in an ad for your new employer in the Sunday newspaper! According to a press release from […]

Note from Boss Saved 50 Years: Little Things Do Matter

By Elaine Quayle, BLR EditorJust My E-pinion We may think that small tokens of appreciation don’t matter to workers, but here’s the story of a boss’s congratulatory letter that was treasured for 50 years. My mother put only her most valuable things in her white leather jewelry box. And since her jewelry collection was meager, […]

Labor Day 2011: September 5

Labor Day “an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers” according to the Department of Labor (DOL). Some historians contend that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first to a day to honor those “who […]

Communicating Culture During Recruitment

Ensuring a job applicant is a good cultural fit is one of the main tasks employers are seeking to accomplish during the interview process. It is often seen as being just as important, if not more important, than having the right skill set and experience. After all, many things can be taught, but if someone’s […]

‘Too Much time Wasted on Manure,’ Says Reader

By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Editor, HR Daily Advisor Our recent e-pinion from Dan Oswald about “what to do with employees who hate each other’ sparked considerable interest from readers, so much so that now there’s a second wave of comments to share. Most of the comments react to the question of whether it makes […]