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HR Management

New law brings oversight to outsourced HR

10/07/2008

Gov. Bill Ritter recently signed into law the 2008 Professional Employer Organizations Modernization Act, which promises greater security for small businesses that rely on PEOs to provide outsourced HR management, employee benefits, payroll and workers’ compensation services …

Must we comply with a former employee’s request for thousands of e-mails?

10/06/2008

Q. A former employee wants copies of 18-months’ worth of e-mails. That would be an enormous undertaking. Do we have to honor the request? …

Policy not enough: Stamp out co-worker harassment or prepare for court

10/06/2008

It takes more than having a written policy to avoid liability for sexual harassment. If you back up your policy with regular training and quickly fix any harassment problems that come to your attention, chances are you won’t be liable unless the harasser was a supervisor and the employee suffered an adverse employment action …

Work rules can regulate some employee political advocacy

10/06/2008

On July 22, 2008, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Office of the General Counsel issued a guidance memorandum addressing unfair labor practice (ULP) charges involving political advocacy. The impetus for the general counsel’s memorandum stemmed from a series of ULP charges filed in late 2006 involving employers that allegedly disciplined employees for participating in nationwide and local demonstrations …

Reason prevails: No need to warn of obvious hazards

10/06/2008

Employers who don’t sign up for the Texas workers’ compensation system can be sued directly by employees who are injured on the job. But that doesn’t mean every workplace accident will result in a damaging lawsuit judgment …

OSHA cites Austin linen firm, proposes $149,100 in fines

10/06/2008

OSHA announced in August that it proposed a fine of $149,100 against an Austin linen company for violating federal workplace safety rules. It cited Texas Linen Co. for one willful violation—failing to provide employees with a hepatitis B vaccination within 10 days of being assigned to handle soiled health-care linens …

Time to pay attention: the next work/life benefit?

10/03/2008

The average worker spends about two hours every day dealing with unnecessary interruptions, which cost businesses $590 billion a year in lost productivity. HR professionals can help solve this problem. In fact, it could be the latest work/life benefit: time to pay attention.

New site helps small businesses set up HSAs

10/03/2008

If you’re unable to provide your employees with health insurance, you can still help them cover their medical bills by offering Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). A new government web site walks small business owners through the benefits and set-up process.

State pension data available online

10/03/2008

Here’s a new resource for HR pros who work for state and local governments: You’ll find detailed, defined-contribution data for the 20 primary plans operated by state governments at http://tinyurl.com/SLGEstatepensiondata.

SSA unveils online calculator

10/03/2008

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has unveiled a new online calculator that allows people to estimate their monthly Social Security benefit checks based on their retirement dates. Go to www.socialsecurity/gov.estimator.