Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Email is a major form of communication, and employers need to teach their employees how to be effective users of email, including when not to use it. Here are the Big 5: five rules everyone should follow when sending and receiving emails to be effective and professional. 1: Always Respond If you send an email […]
by Jeff Hurt On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the health care reform bill ― officially known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Part of the Act that didn’t get much media attention affects nursing mothers in the workplace. Specifically, the Act requires a covered employer to provide an employee who […]
By David M. Stevens During its 2011 legislative session, the Maryland Legislature passed the Job Applicant Fairness Act, which was signed into law by Governor Martin O’Malley on April 12. The law imposes significant restrictions on employers’ ability to perform credit checks on job applicants and employees. It goes into effect October 1. For many […]
By Kelley E. Kaufman, Esq. These days, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is on the lookout for both inflexible leave of absence policies and no-fault attendance policies. While few employers welcome news of a targeted enforcement initiative, the best defense is a good offense. According to the EEOC, the Americans With Disabilities Act requires […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Just My E-Pinion In today’s E-pinion, BLR founder and CEO Bob Brady admits to some humbling moments after receiving 360-degree review results, but recommends using the technique for all managers, especially for CEOs who may be more susceptible than most to self-delusion. Years ago, when BLR was first […]
by Peyton Irby, Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, P.A. Mississippi voters had only congressional races to consider. As a result, where the state’s delegation was once comprised of three Democrats and one Republican, the opposite is now true. Two Democrats — both “Blue Dogs” — lost to Republicans. Apparently, their conservative voting patterns didn’t save […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady My recent column “Software Police: Best Way to Curb Webslackers?” generated interesting opinions. Most agreed that webslacking is an insidious problem, but two said to hold off on that monitoring—it’s no good for morale. Here’s a sampling of readers’ reactions: It is akin to an addiction “The problem […]
by David S. Fortney President Barack Obama will be sworn in for his second term Monday. The 113th Congress met for the first time on January 3 with its slightly revised composition. With those players in place, the main question for employers and HR professionals is, how will the 2012 election results affect the federal […]
I had a conversation about Christmas the other day with my 15-year-old son. We were talking about the gifts he might like to get when our conversation turned to things he’d like to do. Might he prefer tickets to a concert or a ballgame instead of a new iPod or video game? The idea seemed […]
Eliminating a participant option to switch to a defined benefit plan from a defined contribution offering does not violate ERISA anti-cutback provisions, even if participants’ accrued — but unclaimed — benefits are reduced. The recent ruling in Andersen v. DHL Retirement Pension Plan (Case No. 2:12-cv-00439-MJP WL 5389141, U.S. Dist., Western District of Washington Nov. […]