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HR Management

New CDC resources help you plan for potential flu pandemic

02/01/2006

If the avian flu currently circulating in chicken flocks in Asia mutates into a highly contagious human form, the consequences could be catastrophic. The Centers for Disease Control is urging private businesses to establish contingency plans …

Turn your paper HR forms into electronic versions

02/01/2006

Issue: You can use Adobe Acrobat’s PDF Creator to convert old typewritten forms to digital ones.
Benefit: Save time (for you, employees and applicants), save paper and impress the boss …

Study multiple reviews to identify best HR tech products

02/01/2006

Each year, several respected organizations rate the top HR technology, software and Web-based products. But it’s difficult to know which products are best because no two rating systems are the same, and they’re often contradictory …

State law decides if workers can see personnel file

02/01/2006

Q. Are we required to let terminated employees come in and view their actual personnel files, or can we copy the information and send it via mail? One of our fired employees has hired an attorney and wants to see her file. —T.M. California

EEOC Targeting Cases of Years-Old Discrimination

02/01/2006

Don’t think that an employee who quietly suffers name-calling for years can’t sue. Courts and the EEOC won’t be swayed by your argument that "he put up with it for 20 years, so how bad could it have been?" …

Beware false promises in handbooks; explain ‘what,’ not ‘why’

02/01/2006

Just the facts, ma’am. Your employee handbooks should clearly state your organization’s rules and benefits without including any excess or superfluous language. If you embellish the document with needless explanations, you may end up eating your words …

Use-It-or-Lose-It Sick Leave Pushes Absence Costs Higher

02/01/2006

Employers’ costs for last-minute no-show employees continue to climb. A recent CCH survey found that the average per-employee cost of unscheduled absences rose to $660 per employee in 2005, up from $610 in 2004 …

Interpret Military Leave Law in Most Employee-Friendly Way

02/01/2006

Due to widespread confusion over the federal military leave law, the Labor Department issued its first regulations that try to clarify the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act …

Office romance: Don’t ban it; manage it the right way

02/01/2006

Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on a person’s sex. When office romances sour, scorned lovers often use this law to allege that their former lover was a sexual harasser …

Set a clear policy on confidential talks with employees

02/01/2006

Should you guarantee employees confidentiality when they voice complaints to you or to supervisors? Blanket promises of confidentiality could blow up in your face; some laws require you to report illegal or unethical conduct …