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.

stress

4 Ways to Reduce Employee Stress in the Workplace

It doesn’t take an MIT engineering whiz to tell you that stress is a serious problem. But it might open your eyes to learn that even MIT brings puppy therapy onto its campus to reduce students’ anxiety and the negative, sometimes nonobvious consequences of stress.

EEOC

What to Do When the EEOC Files Charges and an RFI with Your Company

Q I am an HR manager. My company just received notice of a charge of discrimination from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) along with a request for information (RFI) seeking sensitive personnel data about several other employees at the company. Can you advise me about the best way to respond?

Is the NLRB Sinking in Place?

If it wasn’t for broader, more serious organizational and ethical breaches swirling around a variety of Trump appointees and agencies, the disarray at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) might attract some attention. The situation at the NLRB is an all-but-perfect example of a “Washington dilemma,” made up of equal parts of political posturing, self-interest, […]

Should You Be Making Training Harder for Your Staff?

Employee training is often at risk of being seen by managers, and employees, as a somewhat “fluffy” activity—a time-waster. When that’s the case, it may be a signal that your training isn’t tough enough! While low-key, low-stress training can have benefits and may be more useful than no training at all, some argue that training […]

Toxic Impact of Rude Bosses Part II: Role of the Leader

In yesterday’s post, we discussed the significant and negative impacts a toxic boss can have on an organization. From bringing down department and company morale and productivity to increasing turnover to setting a bad example for other employees and other leaders, toxic bosses are bad news for any organization, and they can’t simply be tolerated. […]

How a Flexible Approach Boosts Talent Development

Talent development is—or at least should be—a key aspect of any organization’s long-term goal and succession planning. It’s also one of the most challenging. Top leaders and top talent don’t fit neatly into predefined molds. What works for some will fall short with others. This means that organizations should be taking a pragmatic approach to […]

Recruiting and Hiring Employees with Autism

Most employers and HR professionals are familiar with the basics of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including the workplace, and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for disabled individuals.

Toxic Impact of Rude Bosses Part I: Negative Impact

Most of us have had to deal with rude, toxic, or just unpleasant employees or coworkers at some point in our careers. But what happens when unpleasant employees aren’t just our coworkers—they’re our bosses? This is, unfortunately, not an uncommon situation for many workers.

Age Bias—It's Easy to Step into a Discrimination Claim

In an article for ProPublica by Peter Gosselin and Ariana Tobin, the authors use IBM as a case study for the dangers of organizations leaving themselves open to claims of age discrimination. IBM was one of the original “tech” companies—so original that it seems old school compared with names like Facebook, Amazon, and even Microsoft.