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HR Management

Minnesota’s unemployment rate well below national number

01/18/2018

In news that may spell trouble in 2018 for Minnesota employers, it appears that the state’s unemployment rate is steadily declining to lows not seen in decades.

Using GPS to monitor staff? Know legal risks and 5 best practices

01/18/2018

With the rise in GPS technology, employers have unprecedented access to their employees’ whereabouts. However, before an employer begins using GPS to monitor employees, it should consider the related legal ramifications and employee privacy issues.

Workplace deaths reach highest total since 2008

01/18/2018

The number of workers killed on the job reached 5,190 in 2016, the third straight year of increases and the highest number since 2008, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Pass along flu prevention tips to employees

01/17/2018

This year’s flu season is suddenly shaping up to be worse than public health officials expected. To keep your employees healthy and keep your business running smoothly despite the influenza outbreak, it pays to launch an impromptu flu awareness campaign.

OSHA whistleblower awarded more than $173,000

01/09/2018

An employee who was fired for reporting improper asbestos removal procedures at a Gloverville, N.Y. school worksite in 2010 has been awarded $173,794 in damages.

Training may be nonexempt even for exempt staff

01/03/2018

Do you offer an extended training period for newly hired workers who will be performing high-skill, exempt administrative jobs? If so, you may have to treat them as hourly workers during the training period when they are not actually performing work, but learning how to do their new jobs.

Court: Drug testing is not an inherent invasion of employee privacy

01/02/2018

Employers can drug test employees as part of a safety program. The mere existence of a properly designed testing program does not invade a worker’s right to privacy.

Beware firing safety whistleblowers

01/02/2018

The Trump administration’s Department of Labor is aggressively going after employers that fire workers who report alleged workplace safety violations. It’s one reason to seek expert legal advice before disciplining any potential whistleblower—even for behavior or poor work performance that seems unrelated to any safety report.

Enforce rules fairly and even-handedly, document any differences in discipline

01/02/2018

Good employers discipline everyone who violates work rules, without regard for protected characteristics. That may seem obvious, but sometimes supervisors get sloppy and decide that a particular employee should be punished for a violation another employee got away with.

The HR I.Q. Test: January ’18

01/01/2018

Here’s your monthly quiz on HR news and trends.