Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
In yesterday’s Advisor, consultant Jeff Cortes said, “Fire the slugs.” Today, more of his timely retention and engagement tips, plus an introduction to the all-in-one HR website, HR.BLR.com. 6. Keep Your Door Open 80% of the Time [Go here for retention tips 1-5.] Let your people know you are accessible to them, says Cortes, author […]
Social media policies may seem like an odd choice for investigation by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). However, the two have become increasingly intertwined because the NLRB has become very aggressive with social media policies in recent years. The NLRB is particularly concerned with any policies and disciplinary actions that infringe on employees’ rights […]
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, has ruled that insurance adjusters for Farmers Insurance Exchange qualified for the administrative exemption from overtime, according to the standards under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. In so ruling, the appeals court threw out a $52.5 million judgment awarded by a federal trial court […]
Probationary periods allow employers to see whether a new hire is capable of successfully fulfilling the duties of the job he or she is being hired for, but they can also be used as tools to weaponize at-will employment—in which employees can be terminated or quit at any time—if they aren’t implemented correctly.
When devising a strategy on how to retain employees, one of the first considerations is top talent management. A recent survey by Manpower’s Right Management group found that more than 50 percent of U.S. employers are already having a tough time filling mission critical positions. That’s an increase of 14 percent from 2010. This underscores […]
Employees whose group health coverage terminates may have COBRA continuation rights to coverage in certain circumstances. Now the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released its final rules on notice requirements under COBRA, which covers employers with 50 or more employees. Because the final rules differ in some respects from the proposed rules, it’s a […]
Does an employee “assist in the running or servicing of the business” if he designs systems for a client rather than for the business itself? According to a recent ruling from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the answer is “yes,” thereby helping the employee satisfy one of the key requirements for the administrative […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor have announced plans to share information and resources in enforcing anti-discrimination laws. Among other things, staff in the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division will be trained to detect violations of equal pay laws and share their findings with the EEOC. The agencies tout the […]
I ran across a number of things this week that I thought were worthy of comment. Instead of choosing one, I thought I would try to get them all in. In the “It’s About Time” category, the board of BP negotiated the departure of Tony Hayward as CEO of the oil company and replaced him […]
The first step in tackling any problem is to understand it. Henry Neils, who heads an organization known as the International Assessment Network, has identified 13 signs of work-related burnout: 1. Chronic fatigue (exhaustion, tiredness, a sense of being physically run-down) 2. Anger at those making demands 2. Self-criticism for putting up with the demands […]