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Domestic Violence—Should Employers Get Involved?

In recent years some employers have seen a connection between domestic violence and the workplace. After all, where the victim works is the one place the abuser can find her on a regular schedule. And, if a violent confrontation does occur at work, coworkers may be endangered as well. There are other, more subtle negative […]

News Notes: New EEOC Fact Sheets Address Workplace Backlash Against Muslims And Arabs

Responding to a surge of discrimination complaints from employees of Middle-Eastern descent following the events of Sept. 11, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released two new fact sheets to answer questions about the employment of Muslims, Arabs, South Asians and Sikhs. One fact sheet is geared toward employers, the other for employees. The […]

If You Need Job Descriptions, I’ve Got Something Really New for You

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady For anyone needing job description help, our CEO announces something that’s not quite the Ultimate Answer to Life’s Questions … but it’s close. Longtime readers of this column know I like to use it to communicate to all 130,000 of you out there. Most of the time, it’s […]

News Bulletin: New Overtime Regulations May Be Short-lived

Federal rules governing overtime, which went into effect just a few weeks ago, are facing another challenge: the U.S. House of Representatives has moved to block the Department of Labor from enforcing them. The central point at issue is the number of workers who will lose overtime eligibility. Opponents claim as many as 6 million […]

Conciliate First, Court Tells EEOC as it Tosses out Lawsuit

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may not sue an employer unless it has engaged in pre-litigation conciliation — even for pattern or practice claims — a federal district court has held. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Oct. 7 dismissed an EEOC suit alleging that CVS Pharmacy’s separation agreement violated […]

Why Are Women Paid Less? Our Readers Talk Back

HRDA readers respond to our CEO’s suggestion that the gender pay gap isn’t  decreasing faster because women simply often don’t know how to ask for more. A few Fridays ago, our CEO, Bob Brady, ignited a bit of a firestorm in this space with his column on why … and to what degree … women […]

Employee Attitude Survey Can Get You the Inside Story–For Free

Ever wonder what your employees are thinking about their jobs, supervisors, promotion opportunities, teamwork, and other important workplace issues? Now you can find out, through the complimentary National Employee Attitude Survey. Employers can sign up to participate in the survey program that will benchmark their employees’ responses to a written questionnaire to answers from employees […]

Amazon Go Stores Show Future of Automation

Fears of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation taking people’s jobs are increasingly common as new technologies emerge that seem to make many aspects of certain jobs—especially routine, low-skilled labor jobs—potentially obsolete. We’ve written a lot about how these fears are often overblown.

‘Competition’ from ‘Exchange’ Plans Won’t Incite Employers to ‘Desert’ Health Benefits, Optimists Say

As the government fulfills its promise to create an essential benefit package, employers can be forgiven for thinking the government’s putting a competitor plan out there to lure plan members away from employer-sponsored plans. And it is tempting for them to just say: “Fine! You asked for it; no more funding health benefits!” But paradoxically […]

Wal-Mart in the Hot Seat for Internal Memo on Health Care Savings

Wal-Mart’s executive vice president of benefits recently drafted a memo to the board of directors proposing ways for the company to save on health care costs by attracting a “healthier, more productive workforce.” Among other things, the memo suggested that all jobs at Wal-Mart be redefined to include some level of physical activity–such as requiring […]