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

HR Management

Beware ID theft scam: Callers posing as the IRS

03/02/2010

While it’s true the IRS is now conducting its annual phone survey of small-business taxpayers, be alert: The IRS is warning that con artists are posing as IRS agents to extract personal financial data from unwary businesses.

5 common I-9 mistakes

03/02/2010

It is remarkable that a seemingly simple, one-page form—the Form I-9—can cause so many headaches. But who ever said a government form was easy, much less an immigration-related form. Here are the most common mistakes employers make.

Cinderella! March Madness! The Big Dance! Bracketology!

03/02/2010

Once again it’s time for "March Madness." If your workplace is like many, talk of NCAA tournament picks and the Final Four will be everywhere, as well as bets on the games. While office pools are a lot of fun, they also can present some risk for employers. Consider having a written policy regarding workplace gambling to prevent things from getting out of control.

Can we put attendance conditions on whether we will pay for paid holidays?

03/01/2010

Q. Our production manager heard that employers don’t have to pay holiday pay if an employee is absent the workday immediately before or after the paid holiday. Is this true?

Workplace deaths down across North Carolina

03/01/2010

The number of deaths on the job plummeted to its lowest level ever, in 2009, according to a report issued by the North Carolina Department of Labor. Although some of the decrease could be a result of the slow economy—fewer workers might mean fewer accidents—measures that adjust for the number of workers fell as well.

Should you ban workers from forwarding e-mails to personal accounts?

02/23/2010

Of course you have an electronic communications policy governing how employees use e-mail and the web at work. But have you considered what can happen when employees forward e-mails from a company computer to their private, personal e-mail accounts? The risks: bad publicity, lawsuits and exposure of trade secrets.

Being good at your job isn’t good enough — 4 smart ways to become indispensible

02/23/2010

It’s a myth that good work makes a good career—rather, good office politics makes a good career, says career columnist Penelope Trunk. Here’s are four common-sense rules to follow. They’ll make people want to work with you, and boost your credibility and influence in the process.

Unhappy campers: Job satisfaction lowest in decades

02/22/2010

Only 45% of the 5,000 working adults surveyed by The Conference Board say they are satisfied with their current jobs. That’s the lowest level recorded, down from 52% in 2005, 58% in 1995 and 61% in 1987, the year of the inaugural survey.

Form a benefits users group to help make better decisions

02/22/2010

Balancing the annual benefits budget is one of your most important tasks. Why go it alone? Get employees involved in the process of deciding which benefits to keep and which to ditch. Your best bet for engaging employees: Convene a team of workers to serve as a benefits users group. They can serve as a sounding board for employee concerns, and help you make benefits choices that will be widely accepted by other employees.

OSHA loses patience, Freehold executive loses car

02/22/2010

When OSHA said it had received an anonymous complaint about safety conditions at one of Brocon Petroleum’s work sites, executives there had a pretty good idea who made the call. So the Freehold-based company fired the employee. OSHA did not take it well …