Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
I’m so uncomfortable when I have to fire someone.Do you have any suggestions of phrases or techniques I can use to “soften the blow”? Here’s what you had to say: “Softening the blow” can seem like a thoughtful and considerate act, but it’s actually quite dangerous from a legal standpoint, as we found […]
A brief from the U.S. Solicitor General recommending that the U.S. Supreme Court hear a “stock-drop” class-action case could make it the most important ERISA litigation of the High Court’s current term. Employee benefits attorneys watching the case’s progress say a High Court decision could deter employers from offering employer stock as a 401(k) plan […]
Slow wage growth continues to impact many U.S. workers, with 89% of moonlighters planning to keep their part-time second jobs in 2016 either fully or in part, and over 50% doing so to keep up with “cost of living,” according to a new survey by Indeed.com.
Bank of America recently learned the perils of terminating workers over age 40. One of its managers offhandedly suggested that a laid-off older employee retire, then later promised to help her get an interview for another bank job. However, he never followed through. Unfortunately for the bank, a jury believed that these incidents, along with […]
What legal right do bosses have to monitor their workers’ communications, especially when sent through new technologies? The answer (as usual) is: It depends. Yesterday’s Advisor briefed you on the subject of electronic surveillance of your employees. We summarized the pros and cons of looking at your employees’ e-mails, instant messages (IMs), and other communications, […]
By Jeffrey Phillips and Alex Verjovsky You’ve heard the saying “fighting the last war”. It refers to preparing to compete using familiar techniques, against competitors you’ve faced before, in the same markets or industries, only to discover that the rules have changed. Modern business competition is changing rapidly, and to compete effectively, you need to […]
HRHero’s Compensation 2010 survey results shows that wage and benefit issues continue to be a pressing problem for many companies and new issues are arising as employers try to deal with doing business in a vastly changed economy from two years ago. Here are some of the results 35% of survey respondents say their organization […]
Following a massive $250 million punitive damages verdict from a Manhattan jury, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis has agreed to settle the remaining claims in a recent gender bias suit. Pending final approval by the district judge, the settlement would be more than $152 million and would cover the remainder of the 5,600 claims filed in […]
By Kate McGovern Tornone, Editor Many employers are not prepared for new overtime regulations that take effect later this year, according to a recent report.
Last issue we covered guidelines for developing English-only policies. Today’s issue gives implementation tips and introduces a new audio conference that will answer all your English- only questions. Have you reviewed the obstacles and decided to require employees to speak English at work? Here are some tips for implementing such policies taken from BLR’s popular […]