Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
One of our employees who has recently returned to work after giving birth says that we have to give her a special room and special breaks to express milk. This would hurt our productivity. Do we have to allow this? —Rachel W., HR Manager in San Francisco
A recent Gallup study shows the higher the compensation, the happier the employee. Happy employees build business success. But where’s the limit? A classic resource may help you find it. Everyone wants happy employees, right? Happy employees are productive, inventive, and supportive of all you do. Yesterday, we gave you one tool to make them […]
President Clinton’s sweeping $21.7 billion child care initiative includes $500 million in tax incentives to encourage employers to provide more employer-sponsored child care. Under the plan, which is still subject to Congressional approval, employers would get a 25% tax credit for building or expanding child care facilities. Several other bills are pending in Congress which […]
Francisco Vasquez, a Los Angeles County probation officer, sued the county for discrimination and retaliation after he was involuntarily transferred and a warning letter was placed in his personnel file. The federal Ninth Circuit threw out Vasquez’s lawsuit, however, finding neither act was an adverse employment action. The transfer wasn’t adverse simply because Vasquez preferred […]
Although many employers don’t realize it, you can be sued for wrongful termination even if the person quit instead of being fired. That’s because employees can claim they were ‘constructively discharged’ when working conditions become so intolerable that a reasonable person would be compelled to quit. In one recent case, a 56-year-old country club secretary, […]
Employer Survey: Most Employers Have A Workplace Violence Policy But Few Provide Training
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the number of workers with injuries and illnesses requiring time away from work edged down in 2000, continuing a steady decline since 1992. Approximately 1.7 million injuries and illnesses occurred in 2000, a drop of about 2.3% from 1999. Some workers, however, continue to have high […]
A federal appeals court has ruled that an AT&T account representative who suffered from a bad case of the flu was entitled to FMLA leave because she was unable to work for more than three days and was treated twice. Kimberly Miller sued after she was disciplined and ultimately fired for excessive absenteeism. Although […]
In April 2003, comprehensive new privacy rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act went into effect for large group health plans. Now, on April 14, 2004, the rules will also apply to small group health plans—which includes insured plans with total annual premiums of less than $5 million or self-insured plans with total […]