Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
It’s that time of year when vacations are in full swing, and maybe all the overlapping vacation requests and questions about how vacation works have exposed some gaps in your vacation policy? If so, it’s time to review your policy. Here are the key areas a comprehensive vacation policy should address: Who is entitled to […]
Several food-processing plants across the country have been in the news as they grapple with the requests of increasing numbers of Muslim workers seeking religious accommodations. Three disputes — all at meatpacking plants — centered on prayer breaks, especially important at Ramadan. During that month (which varies from year to year because it’s set on […]
What are the chances that you can ever erase an e-mail? No chance, says Attorney Matthew Effland. When you send e-mail, it’s saved in many places, most of which you can’t access. For example, Effland says, your e-mail is likely stored in: Your computer’s cache and e-mail outbox, Your e-mail service provider’s computers and/or corporate […]
Just because a disaster affects your organization doesn’t mean your legal obligations in the workplace are put on hold. With (1) Hurricane Earl barreling toward the East Coast and at least two more hurricanes behind it, (2) another oil rig accident in the Gulf of Mexico, and (3) a terrible hostage situation at the Discovery […]
In response to the highly publicized corporate accounting scandals involving Enron, WorldCom and a host of other companies, President Bush recently signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, creating tougher new rules for auditing and financial disclosures at publicly traded companies and for protecting shareholders’ interests. The new law also has some serious implications—including both civil […]
A federal appeals court has ruled that a pre-employment strength test administered to applicants for jobs at Dial Corporation’s Armour Star sausage-making plant in Fort Madison, Iowa, discriminated against women. The decision upholds a lower court ruling last year ordering Dial to pay $3 million to a group of women who were rejected for hire […]
To defend yourself against a lawsuit by an employee terminated for sexual harassment or other misconduct, it’s essential to thoroughly investigate the accuser’s complaint, as the accompanying story illustrates. Here are the key steps Lucky Stores took which led the court to find it had acted properly before discharging the employee accused of harassment:
Just a few years ago, it would have been almost unheard of for someone to list the ability to grow, identify, or recommend different strains of cannabis as a job qualification, but the times are a changin’!
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced two sizable overtime settlements with Southern California employers. VCI Telecom Inc., an Upland telecommunications company, has agreed to pay $1,074,375 to settle charges levied by the DOL for not paying overtime to 227 employees. And flooring and tile company Lambard Inc., based in Ontario, will fork over $228,156 […]
The Internal Revenue Service has increased the standard mileage rate commonly used to reimburse employees for business use of a car to 50.5 cents per mile, up from 48.5 cents in 2007. The new rate will apply to miles driven beginning Jan. 1, 2008. Employers who use the IRS standard mileage rate to reimburse employees […]