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Managing Workers With Mental Disabilities: ADA May Protect Anxiety-Ridden Employees Who Can’t Interact With Others; Practical Approaches To Take

How do you deal with an employee who’s disruptive and can’t get along with co-workers? The obvious answer may be a warning or other discipline. But the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal says employees like these may have a mental disability protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and that instead of disciplining […]

Spieth’s Masters win shows what young minds can bring to the workplace

by Dan Oswald I’m not a golfer, nor do I tend to watch golf on television, but I am aware that over the weekend, Jordan Spieth won the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. And with his victory came news of many of his other notable accomplishments: Spieth is just the fifth man, since the […]

Complaint on DOT Debit Card Program … , Part 2

(This is a continuation of the previous story)   Exactly what standard of protection is acceptable in a QTFB debit card is unsettled. Not all cards are created equal, and some types do a better job of restricting transactions than others. Swafford maintains that the debit card program the DOT has implemented is not only […]

The Top 5 Reasons Employers Should Offer an FSA

Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are a common feature of employee benefit plans. But why would an employer offer an FSA plan to its employees? Well, it’s extra money in your workers’ pockets that you and your employees probably don’t want to leave lying on the IRS’ table. Karen Kirkpatrick, senior compliance adviser for Infinisource, explained […]

Save money while improving employee morale

by Richard Reinhardt Unscheduled absenteeism costs American businesses billions of dollars every year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). There are myriad potential costs to take into account, including:  Overtime; Paid sick days; Use of temporary or “relief/reserve” employees; Reduced productivity; Poor quality of goods or services resulting from replacement workers’ inexperience […]

Supreme Court’s ERISA ruling a victory for self-insured employers

The U.S. Supreme Court’s March 1 ruling in a Vermont case relieves self-insured employers from the obligation to report claims data to state governments that have established databases reflecting healthcare use and costs for citizens. The reach of the ruling extends beyond Vermont to all self-insured plans. “It absolutely has national implications,” Linda J. Cohen, […]

Managing Sexual Harassment Backlash: Employer Dodges Alleged Harasser’s Suit; Four Practical Strategies

As employers are finding out all too often, getting tough and firing employees who harass other workers can bring on another big headache-a wrongful termination lawsuit. Although the California Supreme Court addressed this troublesome issue earlier this year, it’s been unclear exactly what steps you should take to protect yourself from being sued by an […]

IRS Formalizes One-year Delay in Reform’s Reporting and Penalty Rules for Employers

An official announcement on transition relief for employers from information reporting requirements under health care reform, as well as on the delay of key provisions of the employer play-or-pay mandate, was issued July 9 in Notice 2013-45 from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS. In unofficial announcements last week on the White House and U.S. […]

Use HR Metrics to improve new hire performance

There are three primary areas where you can use HR metrics to analyze and improve your hiring process. One are is improving administrative efficiency (by reducing cost per hire, time to fill, etc.). Another is reducing waste and rework– high turnover means wasted time and money in recruiting and training (It’s better to get the […]

Usability – a New/Old Way to Improve Even the Best Ideas

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR now has what many think is the finest HR website available (HR.BLR.com), but its origins are very humble. In today’s column, I’d like to write about how we got from A to the current version, 3.1—and about a concept you can use to improve your HR ideas […]