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Take control of your time in five minutes or less

by Dan Oswald We live in a world where everything moves fast and is interconnected. There was a time when 20 miles may have represented an entire day’s journey. Now we can travel that distance in less than 20 minutes. And information moves even faster. We learn about things that are occurring halfway around the […]

Pandemic Create New Threats and Exacerbate Old Ones

The workplace has never been immune from human problems, including disagreements among employees, arguments, physical threats, drug abuse, and violence. Safety and HR professionals work hard to minimize and mitigate such threats. Whenever the landscape of humanity changes, such as during a pandemic, novel threats arise that require, above all else, novel awareness.

background checks

Criminal Background Checks: A Matter of Risk, Reputation, and Requirements for Employers

The process of commissioning a pre-employment criminal background search has tripped up many an employer, and for good reason. Criminal background checks can include many data points—arrest records, conviction orders, sentencing, appeals, inmate records and activities logged in sex offender or state abuse registries to name a few—stored in a wide array of locations ranging […]

Is Your Check Culture Light On?

There is a lot of talk surrounding company culture, which is important. A company’s culture is the revving engine behind any successful organization. Keeping with the motor metaphor, companies like to discuss what type of “engine” they want powering their car. They carefully craft and tinker these “engines,” and once they’re done, they shut the […]

The End of Non-Competes? What HR Professionals Need to Know About the FTC’s Latest Ruling

Non-compete agreements, often used to protect business interests by restricting the ability of employees to enter into competition with their former employers, have been a staple in employment contracts for years. As detailed in our previous discussion on non-compete agreements published on March 4, 2024, these agreements are designed to safeguard trade secrets and investments […]

How Can I Avoid Suits Related to Hiring Practices?

West, principal of Employment Practices Specialists in Pacifica, CA, offered her tips at SHRM’s Employment Law and Legislative Conference, held recently in Washington, DC. Here are West’s tips for avoiding hiring lawsuits: Use application forms Ask about felony convictions READ the completed application Look for and ask about gaps in employment, missing information Check references […]

How to stay off the DOL’s naughty list during the holiday season

by Julie A. Moore Even without the eggnog fog and the distracting visions of sugar plums dancing through everyone’s heads at this time of year, the holidays can be a tricky time for complying with employment laws related to wage and hour and leave issues. Here are some FAQs we typically see from HR professionals […]

Is Your Ethics and Compliance Training Reaching the Right People?

According to a recent survey, many organizations are falling short when it comes to training executives and board members on ethics and compliance issues. This is a huge oversight, as these are possibly the people in your company who need this training the most! Is your company overlooking these key stakeholders?

Teach Workers to Celebrate Diversity on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. According to BLR’s 2015 Holiday Practices Survey, 32.6% of employers provide Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a paid holiday. According to the survey, this percentage has grown slightly over the past few years (30.1% of employers offered it as a paid holiday in the 2012 survey).