Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
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 […]
The following is a list of the bestselling paperback business books as ranked by the New York Times on January 18. 1. The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The evolving business of football, viewed through the rise of the left tackle Michael Oher. 2. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden […]
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Two computer programmers sharing a single keyboard? Hey, it works, says our CEO as he reports on a novel form of job sharing. Computer programmers have the reputation of being loners who sit in their cubicles, hunched over their keyboards, headphones on their ears, silent and oblivious to […]
It’s a common situation. You send some employees to required continuing education courses after work. Others attend classes simply to learn more about your business or industry. Are the employees entitled to pay for the time they spend in class? Probably not, according to a recent U.S. Depart- ment of Labor opinion. But you might […]
We suspect an employee has stolen proprietary data from us using his iPod. We have suspicions but no hard facts. Can we confiscate the iPod? What do we do from here to protect our information? — H.F. in South Gate
The IRS recently issued Notice 2007-100, which gives employers an opportunity to correct unintentional operational mistakes concerning nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Internal Revenue Code Section 409A, which covers these plans, specifies the manner in which they must be reported to avoid premature taxation. The notice gives employers the opportunity to self-correct unintentional operational errors—the failure […]
Recently, Lynn Noyes, a permanent software developer at temp agency Kelly Services in Nevada City (near Sacramento) won a massive $6.5 million verdict when a jury found that Noyes’ manager failed to select Noyes for promotion because she lacked certain religious beliefs held by that manager. Evidence in the case showed that the manager also […]
The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) has issued a new section in its compliance manual on religious discrimination in the workplace. The agency concluded that the sharp rise in the number of religious discrimination charges, the growing religious diversity in the United States, and requests for guidance from stakeholders warranted the new compliance manual section. […]
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 […]
By Stephen D. Bruce, PHR Editor, HR Daily Advisor Over 70% of companies allow employees to use sick leave to care for a sick spouse, parent or child, and over 60% of companies offer elder care responsibility assistance to employees. These are just two of the findings of a recent HR Daily Advisor Survey of […]