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HR Management

Interviewing: Sharpen skills to stamp out hiring bias

06/01/2004
THE LAW. Job interviews are a legal minefield for HR people and managers. Your questions must avoid stepping on federal and state equal employment laws that ban discrimination on the basis …

Preserve at-will rights by ditching your employee probation period

06/01/2004
If your employee handbook or job-offer letters say new hires will face a 60- or 90-day probation period, you should consider dropping that policy or, at the very least, referring to …

Don’t write wishy-washy policies that make it hard for staff to comply

06/01/2004
Your employment policies should never leave employees guessing about how they must comply.
That’s why it’s vital to use concrete terms in your
policies that discuss employee behaviors and …

Your probation period: a lawsuit waiting to happen

06/01/2004

If your employee handbook or job-offer letters say new hires will face a probation period of, say 60 or 90 days, you should consider dropping that policy.

Court: Employee ‘on-duty errands’ broaden your legal risk

06/01/2004
Issue: Are you liable for employees’ actions when they run personal errands while on company business? Risk: A new court ruling says “Yes,” raising your legal risks with people who …

Silence pay-related complaints with wise words

06/01/2004
How do the employees at your organization feel about their compensation? If the answer is “Not good,” a bit of explanation from you can calm those troubled waters. Fact: Only 45 …

Passing the ‘duties test’: new exemption definitions

06/01/2004
Under the new overtime rules, white-collar employees who earn less than $455 per week ($23,660 annually) are automatically eligible for overtime. Those who earn more than $100,000 and perform just one …

Here’s more reason to police supervisors’ compliance

06/01/2004
Issue: How much oversight should your organization exert on supervisors who handle potentially violent situations? Risk: Letting one misguided supervisor call the shots …

Don’t wait for a complaint to punish misbehaving staff

06/01/2004
Issue: Some supervisors believe in a “No complaints, no problem” motto. Risk: By ignoring blatant harassment or discrimination, supervisors open the organization to “negligent supervision” lawsuits. Action: Educate supervisors …

How to disagree with your boss–productively

05/01/2004
Disagree with the boss? Some managers say they can’t do it. Some won’t. Some wish they could. And some say it’s not necessary. But in our experience, the boss isn’t always right—and sometimes needs feedback to tell him so.