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Top 10 Benefits Trends in 2011

In a time of economic uncertainty, employers are looking for innovative ways to balance the needs of their workforce with the realities of the post-Healthcare Reform era. Kristen Allison, president of Burnham Benefits Insurance Services, a leading employee benefits consulting and brokerage firm based in Orange County, offers insight into today’s hottest trends set to […]

News Notes: New Ruling Clarifies ADA Light Duty Obligations

Several injured prison guards who lost their jobs after their doctors prohibited them from having direct contact with inmates were not discriminated against under the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a new ruling by the federal appeals court that covers California. The King County Department of Adult Detention initially accommodated the guards’ injuries by […]

Trucking Company Must Pay $2.4 Million for Discrimination

An interstate trucking firm has agreed to pay $2.4 million and provide other remedial relief to a class of women to settle a major sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). According to the EEOC, beginning in 1997, PittOhio Express, Inc., denied a class of qualified female applicants employment as truck […]

You Need a Social Networking Policy Now

By Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR Just My E-pinion Creating a policy about blogging and social networking offers a chance to minimize the risks for employers, says attorney Thomas Deer. It makes employees aware of their employers’ position on the use of social media, and it provides a reference point if it is necessary to take […]

Dan Ryan Talks Social Media, Technology, and AEIS 2011

Recently, we had a chance to talk with Dan Ryan, social media expert and president of Ryan Search & Consulting. A featured speaker at this year’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, Dan let’s us in on his best social media strategies, and what this year’s AEIS attendees can expect from this year’s “Social Media in the […]

Traveling with coworkers

Hit the Road to a Better Understanding of Your Colleagues

Have you ever noticed how traveling with someone helps you really get to know them? In 1976, my mother, two siblings, and I embarked on a trip across the country with my grandparents. My father, what a wise man he was, somehow avoided this particular trip. The six of us spent two weeks together “on […]

Are You the ‘Employer of Choice’ for Drug and Alcohol Abusers?

A recent study shows that most illicit drug users and heavy alcohol users are employed. That means they’re possibly working for you. If you are not testing, you’re likely an “employer of choice” for all the wrong reasons. Ah, the joys of drug testing. Nothing quite like trying to ferret out users of the Whizzinator […]

California minimum wage will hit $9 on July 1

by Michael Futterman and Jaime Touchstone As fast-food and other low-wage workers protest for pay raises and President Barack Obama pushes for a higher federal minimum wage, California employers need to prepare for a $1 increase in the state’s minimum wage. California’s minimum wage will rise to $9 an hour on July 1 before hitting […]

Hallelujah! Help Arrives for the Small HR Department

If you (or just you and a couple of assistants) have to do it all in human resources at your company, you need all the help you can get. We’ve got some help just for you. The hit Broadway musical, “A Chorus Line” kicks off with a song called “One.” It celebrates a young dancer, […]

Electronic Communications: Why Employer’s Unauthorized Monitoring Of An Employee’s Private Web Site Spelled Trouble

Current and former employees are increasingly bad-mouthing their companies by posting negative and possibly defamatory comments about their employers on the Internet. And some employers have gone to great lengths to find out who is responsible. With layoffs on the upswing, employer-bashing is likely to grow as the number of disgruntled workers increases. Now a […]