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Should You Strive to Know Less About Your Employees?

In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Joseph L. Beachboard talked about the increasing threat of retaliations lawsuits.  Today, steps you might have to take, plus an introduction to the other great lawsuit preventer, the HR audit. Eric had Standing First, back to Eric from yesterday’s Advisor. The Supreme Court found that Eric, who was fired because of […]

Who is GINA and Why Do I Care If She’s on Facebook?

GINA is, of course, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, says attorney Peter Lowe, and you do care about GINA and Facebook, because Facebook pages are likely to reveal prohibited genetic information. What is GINA: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act prohibits employers from collecting genetic information or discriminating based on genetic information. Genetic information includes information […]

What Are Competitors in Your State Offering in Benefits? Survey Says …

BLR’s annual survey of benefits shows a slowing in healthcare cost increases, rising deductibles, and a quarter of employers paying their workers serving in the military. The results of BLR’s annual survey of benefits paid by U.S. companies are in. Here’s what they show. And here’s how to get the report sent to you every […]

HOT LIST: Bestselling Business Books

What are you colleagues reading? These books are at the top of the SHRM’s bestseller list. 1. 151 Quick Ideas to Manage Your Time by Robert E. Dittmer. Do more in less time, take control of your schedule, and create a new balance between your work and your family life. 2. Effective Phrases for Performance […]

News Notes: Big Child Labor Settlement

Sears Roebuck & Co. has agreed to pay a $325,000 fine to settle allegations that it violated federal child labor laws. Investigators allegedly found violations involving a total of 227 minors at over 60% of the Sears stores that were investigated. The violations included allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to operate power-driven equipment and letting teens […]

News Notes: Alternative Workweek Reporting Requirements Announced

The Industrial Welfare Commission has clarified how to report alternative workweek election results under California’s new overtime law. Within 30 days of the election, you should send in your company name, the date of the election, the final election counts, the alternative workweek schedule adopted or repealed, and a statement of compliance. This statement can […]

Accommodating Employees: Employer Agrees To Settle Suit By Hearing-Impaired Employee

A hearing-impaired worker in Los Angeles who requested a sign language interpreter for meetings–and instead was allegedly told by her supervisors to read lips and try harder–will receive $100,000 to settle her claim that her employer failed to accommodate her under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a confidential settlement, the government employer also agreed […]

New DOL Rules Require More Disclosure to Workers with 401(k) Retirement Plans

Forty years ago, very few U.S. employees were personally affected by what happened on Wall Street. Six in 10 Americans were covered by a pension that they could count on regardless of the stock market. Today less than 2 in 10 workers in the private sector have a pension and most workers only option is […]

Washington, D.C., closer to $11.50-per-hour minimum wage

The Washington, D.C., City Council on December 17 unanimously approved raising the city’s minimum wage to $11.50 an hour by 2016. The minimum wage then would be indexed for inflation. The current minimum wage for hourly workers in Washington, D.C., is $8.25 an hour, a dollar higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an […]

5 Business Books to Read in 2011

Here is the Wall Street Journal’s Kyle Stock’s list of 5 books to read in 2011 to help improve your work life. 1. Getting More: How to Negotiate to Achieve Your Goals in the Real World by Stuart Diamond. Practitioner, professor, and Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Diamond uses his 40 years of experience as an […]