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HR Management

Remind bosses: Ignoring safety may mean direct liability

09/24/2010
Employees who are hurt—or families of those killed on the job—generally must be content with the payments they’re eligible to receive under the New Jersey workers’ compensation law. There is an exception, however. If an employer knows that a safety hazard exists that will injure or kill an employee and harm results, the harmed parties may go after the employer.

Employees post online reviews? They must disclose relationship

09/24/2010
Be careful if your employees are spreading the word about your company’s products and services online. Last year, the FTC issued new Enforcement Guidelines that require employees to disclose their relationships with their employer whenever they post comments or positive reviews about their employer’s product on a social media site.

How employers can respond to increasingly stressed workers

09/24/2010

Today’s economic climate has caused employers to cut budgets and workforces—and expect workers to do more with less. As they see colleagues laid off and their employers cutting back, employees are more concerned than ever about their own job security. It makes sense for employers to address stress issues in their workforces, since increased stress affects not only employees, but employers’ bottom lines.

Workers posting great reviews of products online? Make sure they identify themselves as employees

09/24/2010
Be careful if your employees are spreading the word online about your company’s products and services. Last year, the FTC issued new Enforcement Guidelines that require employees to disclose their relationships with their employer whenever they post comments or positive reviews about their employer’s product on a social media site.

SeaWorld fined $75,000 in orca trainer’s death

09/23/2010
OSHA has cited SeaWorld Orlando for three safety violations following the death of marine mammal trainer Dawn Brancheau earlier this year.

In-house university helps tax pros keep current

09/23/2010
It’s not easy keeping up with the ever-changing U.S. tax code. So TaxMasters, a “tax relief” firm that represents taxpayers who have problems with the IRS, started its own university to help employees stay on top of it. Training focuses on improving customer service, process efficiency and professional development—as well as on the complexities of the tax code and the IRS.

Revised heat-illness rules may increase your responsibilities

09/22/2010

If your employees work outdoors or in other hot environments, get ready for tougher rules governing the measures you must take to prevent heat-related illness and injury. The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has unanimously voted to revise California’s already stringent heat-illness prevention regulations, formalizing temporary, emergency rules that have been in place since 2005.

Loose lips lead to lawsuits: Consult lawyer before releasing personal info

09/22/2010
Privacy laws are confusing. If you are unsure about whether you can release any employee information, check with your attorney. That may help you avoid the kind of drawn-out litigation one employer recently endured.

OSHA takes aim at Miami shooting range’s lead hazards

09/21/2010

OSHA has cited Miami shooting range E.N. Range for willfully exposing its employees to lead contamination. The potential fines total more than $2 million. The shooting range pays workers to clean expended bullets off the range. OSHA alleged the company provided insufficient protection against lead poisoning for those workers.

When petty office squabbles boil over, take solace in one thing: It’s probably not a federal case

09/21/2010
No workplaces are perfect. Co-workers, supervisors and subordinates don’t always have others’ best interests at heart. When it comes to interoffice feuds, employees won’t find much help in federal anti-discrimination laws. Those laws don’t guarantee a workplace free of friction and ambition—just one that’s free of illegal bias.