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HR Management

5 ways to celebrate the holidays despite the downturn

11/10/2008

Amid the layoffs and belt-tightening, the December holidays still can be a time for your organization to show its appreciation to employees. Your organization doesn’t have to cancel holiday festivities because of the weak economy. Here are five ways to add some holiday sparkle during financially dark times.

Is BlackBerry use compensable time?

11/10/2008

Q. We provide PDAs to virtually all our employees, some of whom are nonexempt. This enables them to send and respond to e-mails at all hours of the day and night. Does an employee’s time spent on his or her PDA outside of work count as hours worked?

‘Virtual’ job fairs save money, click with candidates

11/10/2008

When tax firm KPMG wanted to fill hundreds of positions worldwide, it held an enormous job fair that attracted 20,000 candidates. But nobody showed up in person. The two-day, round-the-clock fair was entirely online. More organizations are tapping the global reach of the Internet to recruit employees …

Strange bedfellows in Cincinnati PD lawsuit

11/10/2008

Cincinnati Police Officers Keith Fangman and Paul Graves Jr. filed a class-action lawsuit challenging city rules they say prevented them from supporting their chosen presidential candidates.

Use the calendar-year method to tame the intermittent FMLA leave beast

11/10/2008

Employees who take intermittent leave can wreak havoc with work schedules. Because their conditions can flare up at any time, their absences are by nature unpredictable. But there are ways you can legally curtail intermittent leave. One way is to use the calendar-year method to set FMLA leave eligibility.

Planning a holiday party? Make sure it’s off the clock … and alcohol-free

11/10/2008

December is the time for holiday parties. If you throw an employee bash that involves alcohol, make sure no one is on the clock or has to work on behalf of the organization. Better yet, don’t provide alcohol.

Cleveland NASA building gets clean bill of health

11/10/2008

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has released a survey indicating that two buildings at the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland did not cause cancer among employees. The union representing some NASA employees says it isn’t satisfied.

Wellness program covers food, fitness, families

11/10/2008

Glatfelter Insurance Group employees spend their breaks soaking in the company sauna and enjoying neck-and-shoulder massages. As part of its wellness program, the York, Pa., organization gives employees free access to a personal trainer and on-site tennis, volleyball and basketball courts.

What can we do if former employee might have taken info to competitor?

11/07/2008

Q. Recently, an employee left our company to join a competitor. When we took a look at his computer, we found deleted e-mails and files indicating he downloaded some valuable information about our customers. We suspect he transferred it to our competitor. He was an at-will employee and we had no employment agreement with him. Is there anything we can do about this?

Call security! But don’t micromanage them

11/07/2008

If you hire a security company to help keep your workplace safe for customers and employees, make sure your supervisors don’t wind up providing specific direction to the guards the company assigns to your company. If you and your staff resist the temptation to control their every move and give them just general instructions, the security company and its guards remain independent contractors. That’s important for liability reasons.