Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
An employee who requests family leave for a serious illness can be asked to submit medical verification of the need for the leave. But what if you don’t believe the person is medically entitled to the leave? Can youseek a second opinion? A new ruling from a federal appeals courtconfirms that you have the right […]
A new ruling from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, which covers California, focuses on when small employers may have to comply with the WARN Act—which requires advance notice to employees of plant closings or mass layoffs. We’ll take a look at what happened. Big Layoff Darby Lumber Inc. (DLI) operated a lumber mill and […]
Managers often hire people who mirror them behaviorally; when they don’t, they tend to get frustrated and criticize the employee because of his or her work style. Performance-based concerns are valid, but if the employee is “getting the job done,” it’s a different matter. Diverse work styles and thought processes, say experts, can offer a […]
By Lorene Novakowski Employers are often tasked with creating systems to reduce employee theft or fraud. Such systems can include many things including credit checks on potential employees. Recently, Mark’s Work Wearhouse in Alberta was stunned to learn that such credit checks weren’t permissible in the circumstances — even when a number of other measures […]
You can impose height or weight restrictions for certain jobs as long as they’re necessary to the normal operation of your business and don’t burden one sex more heavily than the other. And it’s OK to set standards governing appearance and dress if they’re applied fairly to both men and women.
Satisfying customers is the secret of business success. And the secret of satisfying customers is for you and your co-workers to do high-quality work and provide excellent service that gives customers their money’s worth. That builds sales, profits, and job security. The key to treating customers like royalty is for you to remember that your […]
Yesterday’s Advisor outlined the advantages to internal hiring (including saving on training costs). Today we’ll discuss ways to avoid inevitable downsides of internal hiring.
To fill in the knowledge gaps on how many individuals enrolled in the COBRA premium subsidy program — data that will be helpful in determining the program’s cost-effectiveness, who best benefited from the subsidy and how to target similar programs — the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) plans to sponsor a study sometime in 2012. […]
Postcards are designed to provide a brief message, but it will be interesting to learn if such brevity is sufficient to adequately notify an individual of COBRA continuation coverage rights — particularly when the law identifies at least 14 content requirements for COBRA election notices. In a recent court case, an employer/plan administrator faced with […]
By Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR Just My E-pinion LOGO Our ongoing BLR/HR Daily Advisor Employee Fringe Benefit Survey Series recently queried readers about disability and group insurance. Seventy-seven percent of respondents offer short-term disability, and 82 percent offer long-term disability. Meanwhile, 5 percent offer group auto insurance, 5 percent offer group homeowners’ insurance, and 13 […]