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HR Management

Will your organization add employees in 2012?

12/27/2011
More than 60% of poll respondents say their organizations will add staff this year.

Politics around the watercooler: Can you discipline ‘overly political’ workers?

12/26/2011

While today’s Iowa caucuses feel like the end of a long campaign season, it’s really just the beginning of a heated political year … one that could spill over into your workplace. Follow these tips for handling political activity in your workplace and employees’ political advocacy outside of work.

Alert bosses: Email can and will be used against you in court

12/23/2011

You’ve told managers before, now tell ’em again: Email may seem like private communication, but it really isn’t. Anything a manager says in an email may become evidence in a lawsuit.

10 HR mistakes your employee’s lawyer will try to exploit

12/21/2011
If you’re ever hauled into court to testify in a lawsuit against your organization, what you say, and how you say it, can sink your defense—or help you win. Here are the 10 weaknesses you must be prepared to defend:

Settlement reached in deaths at Mount Carroll grain elevator

12/21/2011
The operator of a Mount Carroll grain elevator has settled U.S. Department of Labor charges it that broke federal child labor laws when it allowed a 14-year-old to work in a hazardous job that proved fatal.

The FMLA calendar: 4 methods to counting an ‘FMLA year’

12/20/2011
The DOL’s FMLA regu­­la­­tions provide employers with several options for calculating how much leave employees are entitled to at any given time. According to the regulations, employers are permitted to choose any one of the following methods for measuring the “12-month period” in which the 12 weeks of leave entitlement occurs.

OK to fire for insubordination, even if employee has filed discrimination complaint

12/20/2011
Employees who intentionally don’t follow directions are in­­sub­­ordinate. That means you can fire them—even if they recently filed discrimination charges. Just be sure you can justify your action.

Start new year with thorough review of your sexual harassment policies and practices

12/20/2011
More than a decade after creating their first sexual harassment policies, some employers may be getting lax. That might be especially true if they haven’t received any complaints. If that rosy scenario sounds like your organization, you might be courting trouble.

‘Voluntary’ training time: To pay or not?

12/20/2011

Do you offer extra off-duty training for employees that, while technically voluntary, is strongly recommended? If training participants are hourly employees, chances are you will have to pay them for this time.

Defend against hidden bias: Follow policies

12/19/2011
HR can and should serve as a check on overzealous supervisors who want to mete out discipline to those they don’t like while ignoring problems with those they favor. Insist that no final termination or disciplinary actions go through without clear documentation that supervisors followed all the rules.