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HR Management

Office romance: Don’t ban it; manage it

02/15/2011

Valentine’s Day may have come and gone, but love might still linger in the air at your workplace. If so, watch out! When office romances sour, scorned lovers often turn to the courts to allege that a former lover was a sexual harasser. Here are three tips to help make sure Cupid’s arrow doesn’t harm your organization.

Employee out on FMLA leave? You can still insist on calling in

02/14/2011

Some employees think that once they are approved for FMLA leave, they don’t have to follow the same rules as other employees when they’re away from work. That’s not necessarily true. In fact, employers are free to create call-in policies that require employees who are going to be absent to phone daily—and they can include employees on FMLA leave in that policy.

How to push ideas past naysayers

02/14/2011
Nearly every office has a person who shoots down ideas before they even get off the ground: the naysayer who always pinpoints the reason your idea won’t work. The only way to defeat a naysayer is to be ready for her. Know how to respond to every one of the blockades she puts in your way.

Develop, implement and publicize policies that encourage employees to report harassment

02/14/2011

Here’s a big benefit to having a strong anti-harassment policy: The policy’s very existence helps protect employers against false claims. That’s because employees won’t be able to say they endured years of harassment and didn’t know how or to whom to report it. The key is making sure employees know about your policy.

Prep for firing with honest investigation

02/11/2011

Courts don’t like it when employees are treated unfairly. On the other hand, judges don’t want to serve as HR courts, either. That’s why they generally defer to management decisions that seem fair and honest. Judges prefer it when employers investigate allegations of employee wrongdoing before they fire someone—but they don’t require that the investigation be perfect.

The HR I.Q. Test: February ’11

02/11/2011
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …

Should we forbid supervisors from becoming their subordinates’ friend on Facebook?

02/09/2011
Q. A supervisor recently asked if he was allowed to accept a subordinate’s “friend” request on Facebook. How should we advise our supervisors?

How to legally make the digital leap to electronic HR records

02/09/2011
Given the low cost and the easy accessibility of electronic records storage, many employers are making the digital leap to “paperless” HR. But despite the many benefits of going paperless, a host of legal problems could derail even the best-intentioned digital records plan. Carefully consider these legal issues when transitioning to an electronic personnel records system.

Nobel learns the hard way: ADA violations are costly

02/09/2011
For-profit education company Nobel Learning Centers (NLC), has agreed to settle charges it excluded disabled children from its programs in violation of the ADA. Although the settlement involves ADA public-access issues, it has important implications for employers.

10 ways to rev up training for the recovery

02/09/2011
Training budgets are back. Many organizations that made double-digit cuts in training funding in 2008 and 2009 increased spending on employee development last year. If your organization is ready to reinvest in training, follow these 10 principles: