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Productivity / Performance

LAD: ‘Reasonable’ accommodation does not mean ‘Permanent’

09/01/2007

Many employees have some type of medical condition or disability that affects their ability to perform their jobs. Employers need to understand their obligations to disabled employees and the rights granted to disabled employees under New Jersey law. A decision recently handed down by the New Jersey Supreme Court clarifies exactly what obligation employers have to accommodate disabled employees under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination …

Use performance evaluation to bolster exempt status

09/01/2007

Employers have the burden of proving that exempt employees meet one of the exemptions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). That means you must be prepared to show that the actual job the employee performs meets an exemption. Regular performance appraisals provide a convenient and effective way to do that …

Make sure job skills tests measure what prospective employees actually will do

09/01/2007

You’ve just created a new position and a job description to go with it. That description includes essential job functions, as well as education and training requirements. Now you want to create a skills test to make sure applicants can do the job. Not so fast! Before you have the first applicant take the test, double-check that your test measures the attributes related to the essential functions you specified in the job description …

Get employee buy-in on job descriptions

09/01/2007
Do you have current job descriptions for every position on your team? If they’re more than six months old, you may have a lot to gain by updating them.

Raises to remain flat in ’08, but bonuses gain favor

08/21/2007

A trio of closely watched national salary surveys say that employers plan to dole out annual pay raises of about 3.8% in 2008. The biggest trend: Employers are devoting an increasing amount of their salary budgets to bonuses. Here’s how to keep your bonus programs fair and legal…

4 ways HR can shut down the workplace rumor mill

08/07/2007

The average employee spends 65 hours a year gossiping about work, according to a survey by Equisys. Fortunately, HR is ideally positioned to head off misinformation that comes out of the office rumor mill. These four tips will help you stay ahead of office gossip.

Encourage vacation days to discourage unpaid absences

08/01/2007

High gas prices and worries over job security have convinced more employees to take their vacations in short spurts this summer—a trend that might not be so good for your organization.

Black Enterprise magazine honors diversity efforts of three Georgia firms

08/01/2007

Georgia-based Coca-Cola, UPS, and Aflac insurance made Black Enterprise magazine’s list of the 40 companies that do the best job of fostering corporate diversity …

No employer duty to provide ‘Perfect’ accommodation

08/01/2007

Do you have a difficult disabled employee who seems to need constant care and attention and whose accommodations requests border on the ridiculous? Maybe it’s time to decide those requests are unreasonable. Here’s how to handle the situation …

Prison guard not entitled to indefinite light duty

08/01/2007

Employers are not required to provide a light-duty position indefinitely, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled, overturning an Appellate Division decision. A Gloucester County corrections officer was diagnosed with Graves’ disease, which gave him double vision and prevented him from working in contact with inmates …