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Disaster Pay: What Happens When We Have to Close?

In the wake of recent disasters, we have realized that we don’t have good policies for dealing with pay during emergencies. For example, what if we have to close because of a power blackout? Also, the few times we’ve closed in the past, some people who lived close by came in anyway. The people who […]

HHS Auditions Benchmark Plans to Define Essential Health Benefits

How the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will identify benchmark plans that would set the standard for essential health benefits under health reform was described in a final rule issued July 23. This is important because policies sold on health insurance exchanges — for individuals and for small groups — must cover the […]

Stay Tuned!

The new season of The Office starts Thursday. The first episode is entitled “Weight Loss,” and the promo features Michael in some sort of fat suit. I can already see we’re going to have some issues. On the bright side, Michael and the new HR gal Holly are apparently going to continue developing their friendly […]

U.S. Appeals Court Permits Dunkin’ Donuts Managers’ Overtime Claims to Proceed

By Susan G. Fentin, Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C In another of what promises to be a long line of cases in which courts consider whether working managers have been properly classified as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit—which covers Maine, Massachusetts, […]

Happy Anniversary, Mr. President

Today marks the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s Inaugural, and my guess is that he’s not doing a lot of celebrating. That’s because yesterday, in a special Senate election to fill the late Ted Kennedy’s seat, Massachusetts voters elected a Republican to represent them. President Obama and Democrats across the country must be asking themselves […]

And the Survey Says . . . We Have a Problem

The results of a recent survey of our employees here at BLR are in and, frankly, I’m concerned. You see, our survey contained 27 statements about our work environment. The employees were asked whether they agreed with each statement and how strongly they agree or disagree with it. The statements covered individual, departmental, and company-wide […]

Employers on their own for compliance with health and safety orders

by Rosalind H. Cooper Employers in many Canadian provinces have often looked to Ministry of Labour inspectors to provide guidance to assist them in complying with their obligations under various occupational health and safety statutes and regulations. Employers often request such advice because they believe that Ministry of Labour inspectors, who visit multiple workplaces and […]

Hiring on Gut Alone? Get Data for Better Results

By Eric Herrenkohl, president, Herrenkohl Consulting Just My E-pinion When it comes to recruiting, most managers trust their gut, but they’d get better results if they gathered data to support their instincts, says consultant Eric Herrenkohl. Herrenkohl is founder and president of Herrenkohl Consulting, a firm that helps small and mid-sized businesses build “A” player […]