• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

HR Management

HR certification: Is it worth it?

03/14/2011

Various organizations offer an alphabet soup of certifications. Which one is right for you? Here’s a breakdown of your certification options. HR pros attending the upcoming LEAP Symposium can earn 17 hours of PHR, SPHR or GPHR credit. Can’t make it to Las Vegas? Participate in LEAP via our new interactive webinar and you’ll still earn 12 hours of credit!

After Supreme Court decision, what you must do to prevent retaliation

03/14/2011
The Supreme Court’s decision in Thompson v. North American Stainless underscores the need for employers to take proactive and thoughtful measures to prevent retaliation claims. Follow these practices to help avoid retaliation claims—not only from employees who have engaged in protected activity, but from those closely associated with them.

Benchmark your web site’s recruiting page against the Top 25

03/14/2011

What are the best practices for the “careers” page on your web site? One good strategy for small and mid-size employers is to take a peek at what their big brothers are doing. Here are those top 25 companies and links to their careers pages …

How to work with GINA–the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

03/14/2011
In late 2010, the EEOC published GINA regulations that provide employers with specific guidance concerning what information they may gather about their employees, how GINA interacts with the FMLA medical certification process and how any genetic information the employer obtains is to be treated.

Firing meetings: Let workers talk; ‘zip it’ doesn’t work

03/11/2011

You’ve had it up to here. Now it’s time to fire a poorly performing employee. As you’re about to do so, the employee wants to tell you something. But you tell her to “zip it.” Nothing she says will change your mind. As this case shows, you better zip it yourself and listen. Here’s why …

How do we legally correct errors on I-9s?

03/10/2011
Q. I found some minor errors in our I-9 forms. For example, some have signatures on the wrong line. Is it legal to correct the errors or do I need to have the forms filled out again? If I do new forms, should I back-date them?

The top 10 ‘banned at work’ web sites

03/08/2011
New research by web security firm OpenDNS says U.S. employers are mostly concerned with blocking employees’ access to social media, online games and personal e-mail. Here are the top 10 banned sites:

Hug or a handshake: Which does your workplace embrace?

03/08/2011
Like people, some workplaces welcome huggers. Others prefer a smartly extended right hand. “To hug or not to hug” is the question … and here’s the answer.

Kasich takes gender identity out of Ohio’s bias policy

03/04/2011
Already under political assault for appointing an all-white cabinet, Gov. John Kasich raised hackles in Ohio’s gay community when he eliminated gender identity as a protected class for state workers.

Make sure employee handbook supports compliance with leave laws

03/04/2011
Employers are generally free to develop their own internal policies, but many laws require employers to notify employees of those policies. Consider the case of Jones v. City of Atlantic City in which an FMLA dispute revealed that Atlantic City hadn’t updated its handbook in 13 years. In fact, the last update happened two months before the FMLA was signed into law.