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By J. Robert Brame Social critics routinely criticize Western culture as being racist, sexist, xenophobic, and more recently, ageist and “lookist,” the latter being the widely asserted preference within our society for the more attractive over the less attractive, especially regarding women. Some of these “problems,” including racism, xenophobia, and ageism, have been enshrined in […]
Days after President Barack Obama released his own health care reform proposal, he presided over a health care reform summit on Thursday that both Democrats and Republicans attended. The summit was supposed to help the parties find common ground on the issue of health care reform and allow them to discuss their views. Although the […]
No one needs training to feel emotions around the Thanksgiving table, but how about around the conference table? Has the time come for emotional intelligence testing and training? “I wish I had a decoder for each relationship at the office.” “When one of my direct reports starts talking to me about her medical problems, I […]
A new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruling highlights recordkeeping requirements for employee benefit plans under ERISA, the federal law regulating benefit plans, and the con-sequences for employers who don’t follow these rules.
The following is a list of the bestselling paperback business books as ranked by the New York Times on November 9. 1. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.) by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. A maverick scholar and a journalist apply economic theory to everything from cheating sumo […]
by Jamie Brabston As employers prepare to comply with the upcoming information-reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which remain in place after the Supreme Court’s decision in King v. Burwell, Congress snuck higher penalties for failing to meet those requirements into a trade bill. House Resolution (HR) 1295, known as the Trade Preferences […]
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.
Research shows that workers come on the job already motivated, and common business practices rob them of it. The researchers offer some tools to reverse this process. “Most companies have it all wrong. They don’t have to motivate their employees. They have to stop de-motivating them.” With this one attention-getting statement, three researchers recently demolished […]
Yesterday’s Advisor looked at a tragic—but all too frequent—case of an employee using a cell phone while driving and causing an accident with serious injuries. The employer settled for millions of dollars. Today we look at how an appropriate policy can reduce that liability. Wouldn’t a ban on cell phone use while driving be a […]
Personal Leave Days: What is the number of paid personal leave days granted by your organization per year (exclude paid holidays)? None 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 5+ days Exempt Employees 535 (65.1%) 34 (4.1%) 50 (6.1%) 47 (5.7%) 17 (2.1%) 128 (15.6%) Nonexempt Employees 537 (65.3%) 34 (4.1%) 51 (6.2%) […]