Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Yesterday, we discussed two of the big employee handbooks mistakes employers tend to make, according to attorney Elaina Smiley. Today, a look at the final mistake she sees too often, and an introduction to a valuable handbook drafting tool — specifically for California employers.
A San Fernando jury has awarded $576,000 to an Auto Club of Southern California employee who claimed she was repeatedly groped and subjected to unwanted attention for two years by a co-worker who was so persistent that he followed her into the women’s restroom. Cheryl Parker said she reported the problem in writing to a […]
Our city has a living wage ordinance in effect. Our operations are outside the city limits, but part of our business involves providing services to city agencies. Even though those services represent only a portion of our business, the city wants us to pay the higher living wage rate to all our employees since we […]
Alas, repeats. My able colleague, Jaclyn West, wrote about this week’s episode — The Chump — in her excellent post of May 14. But fear not. There is big news this week that demands its own post. NBC has confirmed that Steve Carell will leave The Office when his contract expires in 2011. Michael Scott’s seven-year reign as Scranton […]
Amazon.com updates it’s bestselling business book hourly. Here is a snapshot of what books were hot this morning — Monday, May 12. 1.The Post-American World. “This is not a book about the decline of America, but rather about the rise of everyone else.” So begins Fareed Zakaria’s important new work on the era we are […]
The federal government lowered the rates used by employers to calculate how much to add to the taxable wages of employees who use a corporate jet for non-business use, for the first half of 2015. The rates — known as the standard industry fare level, or SIFL rates — get an inflation adjustment every six […]
A new publication from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health includes recommendations for limiting the negative effects of shift work. Among the strategies covered are scheduling heavy or demanding work when employees are most alert, avoiding quick shift changes and eliminating permanent night shifts. A free copy of the publication “Plain Language About […]
Are there any HR mistakes as aggravating, time-consuming, money-losing, and lawsuit-threatening as making a bad hire? It can mean wasted training and coaching, disgruntled colleagues, work undone, angry customers, and a likely lawsuit when you are forced to let the person go. The best prevention? Meaningful background checks. The best way to avoid bad hires […]
Most employers know they can wind up with a bias lawsuit on their hands if they’re not careful about the language they use when placing a help-wanted ad in the newspaper or online. Here’s a quick checklist you can use to evaluate your ad to help ensure it won’t be a ticking time bomb. A […]
The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) is warning employers about recent incidents in which a man has allegedly impersonated a Cal/OSHA inspector and defrauded restaurant owners. The incidents have occurred in Southern California and in Roseville (near Sacramento).