HR Management

Go ahead and hold holiday celebrations–just be sure to hold the religion, too

11/09/2012

The winter holiday season is approaching and with it, perhaps some excessively cheerful holiday glee. That may offend some religious individuals from a wide variety of faiths. But as long as employers don’t go overboard on the religious aspects of the season and don’t punish those who want to play Scrooge, a little merriment is fine.

Surveillance video law: How do we comply?

11/08/2012

Q. We have surveillance cameras in several locations in our workplace that record activity, but no sound. The images can be viewed over the Internet by supervisors and HR personnel who have the password to the site. What should our privacy and electronic communications policy say about access to the camera feed?

Lawsuit-proof your promotion process: Post all openings, require formal application

11/05/2012

If an employee sues and claims he didn’t earn a promotion because of some sort of discrimination, you have one bulletproof defense: proving that you posted the job but the employee never applied. How do you prove that?

Tout your successes in an annual HR report

11/02/2012

Midsize employers can benefit by following the lead of large HR departments, colleges and government agencies that create annual reports detailing HR’s goals and accomplishments. Use these seven tips to produce reports that increase HR’s influence.

DOL stats: Workplace fatalities fell in 2011

11/01/2012

The number of workplace fatalities fell by 81 last year, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics. In 2011, 4,609 U.S. employees died on the job, compared to 4,690 in 2010.

The HR I.Q. Test: November ’12

11/01/2012

Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Cross-training helps trades understand one another

10/31/2012

One of the biggest problems for an organization that employs contractors with specialties ranging from drywall to masonry is making sure they all get along. So Manganaro Midatlantic, a subcontracting company, is cross-training its tradesmen so each one understands the challenges the others have on the job.

Lesson of Hurricane Sandy: It’s time to update your crisis-management plan

10/30/2012

Hurricane Sandy is a powerful reminder: Natural (and man-made) disasters can threaten at any time. Smart employers make contingency plans so they can stay up and running even when normal work operations are disrupted. Here are eight key pieces to a crisis-management plan, which you can coordinate with the appropriate departments.

Employee needs help: What can we do?

10/27/2012

Q. Can we suggest psychiatric help for an employee we suspect may be having trouble with substance abuse? And can we require a random drug test?

Cyber Monday is looming: Recirculate your online policy

10/26/2012

Cyber Monday, the online version of deal-hunting Black Friday, is Nov. 26. Last holiday season, 50% of people said they spent time shopping online at work. Clarify your expectations and company policy with employees before the holidays begin.