Category: HR Management & Compliance

There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.

English-Only Policies: Our Readers Talk Back

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Two Fridays ago, I devoted this column to charges of discrimination brought by the EEOC against, of all people, the Salvation Army. The cause was the Army’s Framingham, Massachusetts, branch’s firing of two Hispanic workers for speaking their native language in the workplace. The Army has a policy […]

Wage and Hour: Wal-Mart to Pay $3.9 Million to California Workers

The California Labor Commissioner has reached an agreement with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., resolving charges that the retail giant underpaid overtime and other wages. Under the terms of the settlement, Wal-Mart will pay $3.9 million in overtime, waiting time penalties, and interest to approximately 50,000 current and former Wal-Mart workers in California. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart […]

Immigration: I-9 Form Changes on the Way

In other immigration news, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also recently announced that it is drafting a rule that will reduce the number of documents that can be used establish identity and work eligibility in the I-9 process.

Immigration: Government Issues No-Match Rules

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a new rule describing the steps an employer must take when it receives a “no-match” letter from DHS or the Social Security Administration (SSA). The rule takes effect on Sept. 14, 2007.

Workplace Investigation: Essential Do’s and Don’ts

When harassment or other complaints are filed, you need to do an investigation. Here are some tips … and a “must-listen” audio conference … to help do it right. The note on your desk is handwritten, folded shut, and marked “Confidential.” When you open it, here’s what it says: My two co-workers are hitting on […]

Does Harassment Training Actually Provoke Lawsuits?

Some managers believe that if they train in how to recognize harassment, unaware employees will start to see it and sue. A new study tells if they’re right. Are you a graduate of the “Ostrich School of Management?” It’s easy to figure out which managers are. They’re the ones who think that if they take […]

An HR Daily Advisor News Extra: New Rule on No-Match Letters Announced

By BLR Editor Sean Dean In light of important new rules on social security no-match letters the federal government announced last Friday, we’re forgoing our usual column to bring you this News Extra from our sister web site, HR.BLR.com. It details what you need to know about this tough new regulation, which takes effect on […]

Discrimination: Measure Would Eliminate EEO Suit Damages Caps

A new measure introduced in the U.S. Senate would remove existing caps on compensatory and punitive damages an individual can recover in an employment discrimination lawsuit. The new legislation, titled the Equal Remedies Act of 2007 and authored by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., is aimed at eliminating damages caps that were implemented a decade and […]

The Salvation Army … Discriminatory? Say It Isn’t So!

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Yes, Virginia (well, Massachusetts in this case), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says that the red kettle brigade is guilty of violating Title VII. The Issue: Speaking English-Only.  Few organizations have the moral stature of the Salvation Army, yet the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently sued […]