Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
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.
The number of wage and hour lawsuits continued to increase and hit a new high in 2012, according to data released on July 20 by law firm Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago. More than 7,000 Fair Labor Standards Act cases were filed in federal court during the 12 months ending March 31, a slight increase over […]
A California trial court recently held that a partner doesn’t have the right to file a claim for retaliation for reporting sexual harassment of employees under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). That decision was appealed. But a California appeals court reinstated the case; read on to find out more.
A Midwestern farm company that fired a manager on the day he was due to return from FMLA leave has withstood the ex-employee’s allegations of FMLA retaliation and interference in a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling affirming a district court decision. The case is Winterhalter v. Dykhuis Farms, Inc., No. 11-1743 (July 23, […]
Are all your employees accurately classified as exempt or nonexempt? Are you sure? The costs of misclassification can add up quickly, and the DOL estimates that nearly 70 percent of employers are not in compliance. You shouldn’t risk it. By learning how to conduct an internal payroll self-audit that evaluates your current policies and practices, […]
Does this scenario look uncomfortably familiar? If so, here are several actions you can take to get your safety committee excited, involved—and committed—to complementing and strengthening workplace safety and training. Safety Planning If you don’t already have a safety program, or you have one but need to update it, you can use your safety committee […]
Dan Oswald’s recent epinion, “Bell Curve, or Everyone’s Excellent?” garnered a wide variety of interesting responses from our readers. One reader found that performance appraisals are a “revenge tool,” while others agreed that managers have to be tougher in grading performance. Oswald, who is CEO of BLR, blogs on business and leadership in the The […]
Allowing an employee to sit for half of her shift, thereby eliminating several job duties, is “per se” unreasonable, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has found. The case, EEOC v. Eckerd Corp. (d/b/a Rite Aid) (No. 1:10-CV-2816-JEC (N.D. Ga., July 9, 2012)), involved Fern Strickland, a drugstore cashier with osteoarthritis […]
A nursing assistant who requested intermittent leave because of her son’s serious health condition says that her employer fired her for taking the leave after it had mistakenly told her that she could take it — and a Pennsylvania district court judge has permitted the retaliation claim to move forward. The case is Medley v. […]
The real core of the daily log is the grid. The grid is divided into 15-minute increments, with midnight, noon, and each hour labeled. Make sure that your CMV drivers know that they must note: Each change of duty status on the grid. The name of the town and state for each change of duty […]
Employee expense reimbursement policies should be clearly outlined and should be legally compliant. Employees have a right to be reimbursed for their work-related expenses, including business travel, training, equipment, materials—and sometimes even legal expenses. Most companies typically maintain their own deadlines, rules, special forms, and other procedural requirements that must be followed to request and […]