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News Notes: Electronic Surveillance Common In The Workplace

A new American Management Association survey reveals that 63% of mid- and large-sized U.S. firms monitor their employees. Financial sector employers utilize electronic observation the most, and manufacturing companies use it the least. According to the report, 35% of the employers surveyed record employees’ phone calls, review voice mail, check computer files and e-mail, or […]

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How to Find Future Entrepreneurs

Perhaps your organization is looking for someone with the entrepreneurial spirit? You probably have an idea of what that candidate might look like. However, things are not always as they seem. A new investigation by Hiscox explores the true source of entrepreneurs, so you can better spot them when they are sitting in the candidate […]

How the Senate Health Care Bill Could Bury Employers in Paperwork

Employers may need to prepare for an avalanche of paperwork if the U.S. Senate’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) passes Congress in its current form (or a similar form). The comprehensive 2,074-page health care reform bill, if passed, would impose many additional burdens on employers. Changes to Health Plans Employers would be […]

Consider the Big Picture Before Terminating Pregnant Employees

An employee takes pregnancy-related medical leave. While she’s out, you discover that she falsified certain time sheets and billing records. On the day she’s set to return from leave, you instead tell her that she’s being terminated. The employee sues for pregnancy discrimination. Should you be worried? You should think long and hard before terminating […]

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 […]

The Smarter Way to Write HR Policies

For issues such as discrimination … and virtually anything else that’s compliance-related … leave the HR policy writing to the experts. If you read yesterday’s Advisor article on “unconscious discrimination,” it may have raised the same question in your mind as it did in ours. Assuming that recent social research is correct—that managers of good […]

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 […]

Legal Dangers of Online Reference Checking, Video Résumés

In Yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Terry Solomon delved into the issue of Web 2.0 privacy. Today she covers legal dangers associated with online reference checking and video résumés. The main legal pitfall around online reference checking is discrimination, says Solomon. (Solomon and colleague Philip L. Gordon, shareholders in the Littler law firm, gave their suggestions at […]