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HR Management

Recruit online or die: Web hiring hits new milestone

04/01/2006

For the first time, the Internet is producing more than half of all new hires. A Booz Allen Hamilton survey shows that 51 percent of all new hires in 2005 came via some form of Internet recruiting connection …

Labor Department to revise foreign worker certification rules

04/01/2006

The U.S. Labor Department is proposing changes to the way non-U.S. citizens are certified for permanent employment in the United States. Specifically, the government would prevent employers from shifting visas from one foreign worker to another …

Illegal workers’ presence continues to grow

04/01/2006

Undocumented immigrants now make up almost 5 percent of the U.S. work force, according to a new Pew Hispanic Center study. The number of people living illegally in the country rose by at least 400,000 last year …

More reason to beef up training: ‘Quit and sue’ becoming the norm

04/01/2006

Don’t assume that you can handle sexual harassment issues after they arrive on your desk as a complaint. The trend these days seems to be "quit and sue," rather than giving employers a chance to fix the problem. And, in many cases, employees are finding success in such tactics …

You’re not required to print handbook in Spanish

04/01/2006

Q. If an employee speaks Spanish and doesn’t understand English, am I required to have my handbooks and other policies translated into Spanish? Is the handbook valid if the employee signs but does not understand the content? —A.B., California

Design smoker surcharges to cut costs, preserve morale

04/01/2006

More employers are increasing health premiums for smokers as a way to cut health costs. Such surcharges can trim costs, but implementation mistakes can alienate employees and hurt morale. Use the following tips to design smoker surcharges that reduce the most costs with the least employee backlash …

Mandatory arbitration: 7 ways to make it stick in court

04/01/2006

More employers are requiring employees to solve employment disputes through arbitration. But courts are quick to invalidate mandatory arbitration agreements that don’t meet the letter of the law. Don’t back off mandatory arbitration because of legal uncertainties; just make sure to follow these seven rules …

Must You Pay Employees for ‘Encouraged’ Volunteer Work?

04/01/2006

A new Labor Department opinion letter says that you don’t need to pay nonexempt employees for time spent working on volunteer civic events, such as building Habitat for Humanity houses, even if your organization encourages such activities and links them to the organization’s incentive-pay plan …

Inject more oversight, responsibility into flex schedules

04/01/2006

With flexible schedules reaching near-entitlement status, some employers are pulling in the reins on this runaway perk.
A tighter and clearer flex-schedule policy can help you regain control over the benefit and increase productivity …

No need to announce reasons for firing

04/01/2006

Q. We fired a part-time employee for stealing a gift card out of the trash. We have a policy against taking anything of value out of the garbage. The next day, his supervisor announced to everyone that the employee had been fired for theft. I don’t think it was appropriate to tell others the reason. Was it? And what should we say if someone calls for a reference? —A.L., Arkansas