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Why Is There Still a Gender Pay Gap?

It surprises many that women still earn an estimated 20 percent less than men, on average. How come? Is it bias? Or are other factors at work? According to a new study, other factors are in play. Does the gender gap happen in the job market? Two researchers, Wharton Professors Matthew Bidwell and Roxana Barbulescu […]

Managing Medical Certifications: Authentication, Clarification, And Second Opinions

This article series covers managing medical certifications under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In the previous article, we covered the how to request a medical certification, here we’ll go over authentication, clarification, and second opinions surrounding medical certification. The FMLA regulations offer procedures for authenticating and clarifying medical certifications.

DOL’s Renewed Focus: Wage and Hour Enforcement

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report and congressional testimony concerning its investigation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The GAO concluded that the “WHD frequently responded inadequately to complaints, leaving low wage workers vulnerable to wage theft.” This article summarizes the GAO’s report, DOL Secretary Hilda […]

Hot List: BusinessWeek’s Best Seller List

BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 15 best selling hardcover and paperback business books in April 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 […]

Are You Resolved to Give Wellness Training in 2013?

This exercise is applicable for all employees and comes from one of BLR’s popular HR Training Presentations in PowerPoint® sessions on “Healthy Aging.” The objective of the exercise is to find out how well trainees are meeting the requirements of healthy aging. Instructions: Have trainees complete the worksheet below. (Let them know that this is […]

Facing Adversity

My 12-year-old is facing a challenging situation for one of the first times in his young life. And as any parent can tell you, it’s tough to watch your child suffer. Now I don’t want to blow things out of proportion, I’m not talking life or death here, but he’s facing adversity and struggling with […]

Health Insurance: New Health Savings Accounts–What They Are And How They May Impact Benefits Plan Choices

When the sweeping new Medicare law was recently signed into law, bundled within it was an unrelated but key provision for employers—the creation of tax-free Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). We’ll explain what HSAs are, who’s eligible, and what they could mean for you and your employees. We’ll also highlight a few potential downsides you should […]

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Alternative Employee Assessment Methods

In a previous post, we discussed some of the challenges inherent in traditional methods of employee assessment, specifically the fact that review of résumés and in-person interviews tend to focus too much on the objective skills of the employee rather than the subjective needs of the organization.