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When HR Risks Multiply, Training Is Essential

By Patricia M. Trainor, J.D.BLR Legal Editor In yesterday’s Advisor, we began our look at the 12 biggest risks for HR in a down economy, as seen by attorney Allison West. Today, we’ll look at the final six of those risks and see how training is the key to avoiding them. West’s suggestions came during […]

Incentive Packages Must Comply with OWBPA

by Susan Hartmus Hiser Q: Our company is downsizing its operations, and we would like to offer an incentive package to certain employees as an inducement to leave voluntarily. If we do, can we obtain a release of all claims from the employees who accept the incentive package? HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical […]

Train Without the Pain!

Readers: See special survey invitation at bottom. To train supervisors in HR, you need a well-prepared, tightly structured prepared program. We’ve found one … and it’s got time codes! Several recent Advisor articles have pointed to the line supervisor as the key link in your HR compliance chain. Unfortunately, that same supervisor may also be […]

Hot List: New York Times Bestselling Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times on December 17. 1. The World Is Flat, by Thomas L. Friedman. (Picador, $16.) A columnist for the New York Times analyzes 21st-century economics and foreign policy and presents an overview of globalization trends. 2. The Tipping […]

Employment Law Tip: Administrative Exemption Quick Checklist

Here’s a quick checklist to help you determine if an employee qualifies under the administrative exemption to the overtime laws. Your administrative employee is probably exempt in California only if you answer yes to all of the following: Does the employee perform office or nonmanual work directly related to management policies or to the general […]

Are You Ready to Train for a Nontraditional Business Model?

Sometimes it’s necessary to strip away all the preconceived notions about how to succeed in an industry, reshuffle roles, and take an untraditional approach to change things for the better. That’s even true—maybe especially true—in industries as steeped in tradition as winemaking. Typically, there are three groups involved in winemaking: The winemakers, The distributors, and […]

Does Your Organization “GET IT”? How To Make Your Company “Cool”!

By Dr. Jan Ferri-Reed All we seem to hear in the news is the doom and gloom of unemployment and the continuation of the economic downturn in housing, industrial expansion and job growth.  On the other hand, there are still good news stories out there of companies that are expanding, hiring and growing.  And, even […]

News Notes: Daily Overtime Rule Suspended In Flooded Counties

After declaring a state of emergency in 44 counties because of this winter’s storms, Governor Wilson signed an executive order suspending daily overtime requirements for private, non-union employers in the counties affected. The goal is to help businesses recover from the disaster by allowing the use of flexible work schedules. Employees can work more than […]

Health Benefits: New COBRA Rules Announced

After a 13-year wait, the Internal Revenue Service has just released its comprehensive regulations covering COBRA health benefits continuation coverage. The new regulations-which are a complex mix of final and so-called proposed rules-clarify several gray areas of the law but don’t change the basic COBRA mandates, including the detailed notice requirements. Even though the rules […]