Most Popular

Managing the risks posed by distracted driving

by Carla Oliver We’ve all seen it. Maybe when looking around while stuck in stop-and-go traffic on a highway. Maybe when noticing that a car in front of us doesn’t move when the traffic light turns green. It’s the distracted driver—texting away on his or her handheld device instead of paying attention to the traffic […]

Something Special for HR in the Hurd/HP Fiasco

It may seem to be just another in a long line of missteps—or misleaps—by corporate bad boys, but in this week’s HP debacle, there’s a special twist for HR managers. HR is always trying to find a way to convince the board that training is worthwhile, but for the most part, to do that they’ve […]

South Carolina Court Says “No” To NLRB Posting Rule

By Richard J. Morgan For over 75 years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was one of a very few federal labor agencies that didn’t require employers to post a general notice of employee rights in the workplace. Yet, on December 22, 2010, the NLRB decided it would change its 75-year history. On that date, […]

The ‘D Word’

By Linda F. Willing Just My E-pinion Today’s guest columnist says that diversity training is not the same as harassment training, and it shouldn’t focus on the dire outcome of lawsuits. I recently did a presentation entitled “Leading Diverse Teams” as part of a large national conference. Following the session, one of the nearly 200 […]

March: Women’s History Month

On March 8, 1857, women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. In 1981, 124 years after that historic protest, Congress established National Women’s History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month. Here are some facts about American women from […]

DOL Releases Official Proposal to Raise Federal Contractor Minimum Wage to $10.10

U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez released a proposed rule to raise the minimum wage for federal contractor employees on new contracts to $10.10 on June 12. President Obama directed the U.S. Department of Labor to issue the rule in February. The rule provides guidance and sets standards for employers for contractor employees, and it […]

Most CFOs Say Minimum Wage Increases Would Cause Them to Reduce Current Workforce

The latest Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook survey concerned the minimum wage, with nearly 75% of minimum-wage paying firms in the United States saying they would reduce current or future employment if the minimum wage is raised to $15 per hour. At a $15 minimum wage, 41% would lay off current employees, while 66% would slow future hiring. […]

Hair Do = Don’t When Employee Violates Socmed Policy

A television meteorologist who took to social media to defend a comment on her hairstyle ended up trying to defend herself from termination for violation of the station’s social media policy. Or was it just “guidance”? According to media reports, the weatherperson for KTBX in Shreveport, Louisiana, who is a black woman, responded, albeit in […]

California’s High Court Puts the Kibosh on Noncompete Agreements

The California Supreme Court has issued an important decision that makes it clear that employers cannot restrain an employee’s ability to compete, regardless of how reasonable or narrow the restrictions. As a result of this ruling, employers should do a thorough review of their employment agreements to ensure they do not contain unlawful noncompetition provisions.