HR Management

Benefits: Should we put details in the employee handbook or the Summary Plan Description?

11/27/2014

Q. Should a small business employee handbook include a safe-harbor clause under the benefits section for their 401k plan? In the past, the benefits information in the handbook has been limited because it can change so often. Instead, the handbook just points the employee to the summary plan documents.

Where time gets wasted at work

11/26/2014

Today’s knowledge workers spend only 45% of their time on primary job duties. The other 55% is squandered on meetings, email and administrivia. Here’s what workers say causes lost productivity.

What do kids want to be when they grow up?

11/25/2014

Good luck trying to recruit the kids these days. A new survey found that they most want to be superheroes and celebrities.

Bring Your Own Disaster? Delete legal risks with a smart BYOD policy

11/24/2014

Surveys consistently show that employees who work in a flexible workplace are happier and more productive. As a result, BYOD programs have taken off. BYOD programs do, however, come with greater information security concerns and legal risks.

Mandatory morning stretching reduces stress-related injuries

11/21/2014

With hard hats on, Skanska Construction Group crews all over the country start their day by stretching in 15-minute group exercise classes right on their job sites.

Curb your impatience with teams you lead

11/21/2014

Good intentions to spur people to action can often achieve the opposite effect. Team members may buckle under the pressure, rushing through their work and making mistakes. This only makes a bad situation worse.

Beat the chill of an ICE inspection: How to survive an I-9 audit

11/20/2014

Could you put your hands on all the necessary records if the auditor came for them today?

How to weather winter, HR’s busiest season

11/19/2014

From establishing inclement weather policies to rethinking year-end bonuses, check out our guide to surviving the cold and the unexpected.

Unwritten rules: Flex benefits depend on informal policies

11/19/2014

Most employers allow some kind of flexible working arrangement. However, that’s often due to casual agreements between bosses and workers. Informal flex deals are more common than formal policies.

HIPAA: Compliance Rules

11/15/2014

HR Law 101: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 made changes to three areas of the continuing-coverage rules that apply to group health plans under COBRA …