Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Kyle Emshwiller Is your job harmful to your health? According to recent reports, if you sit at a desk all day, yes. A recent article in the New York Times , fittingly called “Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?” looked at several studies on the health effects of leading a sedentary lifestyle. One study cited […]
I’ve read about the new 401(k) Supreme Court case. How far back can employees sue us if they claim we mishandled their retirement accounts? And how can we protect ourselves now for something that might have already happened? — Anonymous
A white male employee has a confrontation with a Hispanic female co-worker in a deserted corridor. He grabs her by the lapel, shakes her, and tells her he is ‘tired of this Hispanic s—: us white guys are tired of being looked over.’ Clear grounds for termination? His employer thought so. But in a surprising […]
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 16 percent of all workplace violence is a result of firings. Employers who are adept at preventing such incidents know that steps must be taken long before the termination occurs. In other words, a firing should never be a surprise to the employee. A regular performance review […]
by Jeffrey A. Gruen New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has signed the state’s “ban the box” legislation, meaning that most employers will be prohibited from asking applicants about their criminal histories until the conclusion of the first job interview. The legislature passed the Opportunity to Compete Act in June, and Christie signed it on August […]
by Brad Cave Q: Will I be in violation of federal discrimination laws if I provide an “English as a second language” (ESL) employee English language training at the company’s expense? A Any possible discrimination charge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would be based on national origin. The Equal Employment […]
When President Barack Obama’s aides recently showed new openness toward taxing health care benefits to help cover the uninsured, they suggested an area of possible compromise on health reform. The President had opposed taxing the benefits as a candidate. More recently, the mantra of aides has been that although the tax isn’t Obama’s idea, all […]
The Obama administration has delayed another Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision. The administration has postponed a consumer protection provision that limits out-of-pocket costs until 2015. Under the provision, the limit on out-of-pocket costs was not to exceed $6,350 for an individual and $12,700 for a family. According to the New York Times, the one-year grace […]
According to research released by The Conference Board (a global, independent business membership and research association), the median total compensation of CEOs of U.S. public companies in the Russell 3000 index soared 11.9% in 2014 over the previous year and as much as 34.7% over 2010. Equity awards (excluding stock options) represent 34.7% of the […]
In HR, sometimes the dullest jobs are the most important—like updating job descriptions. This specific task is probably not the reason you were drawn to a career in HR, to say the least … but it’s time to bite the bullet.