Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Currently, as per federal law, employers are required to pay employees at least $7.25 per hour, although many state laws (and some cities and counties) have different minimum wage requirements. However, many federal lawmakers and citizens want to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour because they claim that workers making less than […]
In the state of California, if an hourly associate works 6.5 hours without a meal period, what does the company owe them? I have an associate claiming she should be receiving an hour of extra pay for any shift where she did not receive a meal period before her 5th hour. She is also asking […]
I recently interviewed a very poised, confident, and soon-to-graduate college candidate for a technology position. When I asked him what he was looking for in a position, he answered, “The Three Ps.” I was familiar with the Four Ps so was intrigued with this rather clever response, which for him stood for “People, Progress, and […]
The long-awaited COVID-19 vaccines are apparently close to mass distribution across the country. It’s a welcome development but also one that may put employers in a quandary: Should they require employees to be vaccinated, and, if not, what should they do to keep workers safe?
Everyone experiences moments where they feel ill at the thought of speaking up. Managers and bosses are no exception. Harvard Business Review and other research firms have reported that up to 69% of managers are uncomfortable communicating with employees. This includes not just when it comes to having conversations they think an employee might react […]
Yesterday’s Advisor began our coverage of BLR’s 2014–2015 Pay Budget Survey results. Today, the rest of the results, including 2015 compensation planning. [Go here for 2014 data and the rest of the survey results] 2015 Merit Increases A mere 13.8% (down from 14.1% in 2013) of survey participants have decided and/or approved their pay budgets […]
Question: If we create an employee recognition program that awards points to employees that can be used to purchase company-branded items from an online store, does the value of the items “purchased” by the employees have to be added to their gross income for tax purposes?
With unemployment at lows not seen in years, employers are struggling to find enough candidates for any given vacancy. There are a lot of ways to branch out in the hiring process, including expanding geographic scope, offering remote options, considering those with a criminal history, and more. One avenue more employers are exploring is hiring […]
In order to compete effectively in the marketplace, companies have to invest time, money, and effort into training their staff members. Unfortunately, there is a persistent skills gap across virtually all industries in the United States. But the problem isn’t that companies aren’t trying to train their staff. In fact, in the aggregate, the problem […]
Most Massachusetts employers are required by law to provide “meal breaks” for their employees. However, in many industries, it isn’t always feasible for employees to leave the premises during lunch or even to stop working while they’re eating. If employees work through their meal breaks, must they be paid for that time? What if they […]