Tips and Suggestions
Male Sex Stereotyping: Going Where No Man Has Gone Before
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The following guest post is by attorney Ellen Simon, who has been listed as one of The Best Lawyers in America for her landmark work representing individuals in precedent-setting cases. Ellen [...]
Expensive Trade Secret Protection Lesson for Employer — $17.5 Million Verdict in Lawsuit Over Employee’s Hard Drive
Trade Secret Protection Efforts Land Company in Losing Lawsuit
Earlier this month, after a seven-week trial, a California jury awarded $17.5 million to a former employee in his lawsuit against his former employer for breaking into a laptop owned by the employee.
The former employee is Dallen Trealoff, who founded an RV-related company with his wife in [...]
Cutting Costs Without Layoffs? 14 Tips for Employers Seeking Alternatives to Pink Slips
News of layoffs has been rampant since our economy began lagging in 2007. Recently, it seems impossible to turn on the news without hearing about more people losing their jobs.
After all — the country is in a recession, businesses need to manage costs more closely, and layoffs are the best cost management tool, aren’t they?
Not [...]
Charming the Stimulus Act COBRA:
New COBRA Rights and Employer Obligations
A federal subsidy of continued health coverage under COBRA is one of the main “ease-the-pain” provisions of the Stimulus Act enacted Tuesday, February 17, 2009 (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009).
This provision is intended to keep the recession from swelling the ranks of the uninsured, by making COBRA coverage more affordable for [...]
New Family And Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Regulations Address Wide Range of Issues
New FMLA Regulations Took Effect January 16, 2009, Significantly Impacting FMLA Law
On November 17, 2008, the US Department of Labor issued long-awaited updated regulations governing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), effective January 16, 2009.
The first post in this series covered the changes in employer and employee notification requirements under the new [...]
Overtime Pay, the FLSA & “Time Theft” — Part I (Introduction and White-Collar Exemptions)
Who “owns” an employee’s time? Are you stealing from your employer if you take a personal call at work? What about if you check your personal email, or take some time to send out resumes?
Does it matter whether you’re an hourly worker who is entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor [...]
HR Metrics and Strategic Human Resources Planning
Human Capital — Truly Your Company’s Greatest Asset
In this economy, measuring your bottom line or your company’s success on Wall Street isn’t enough.
Instead, says Denise Kingsmill, deputy chair of the United Kingdom’s Monopolies and Mergers Commission, “Directors need to transform the airy cliche about people being their greatest asset into a guiding principle of business [...]
Top 7 Mistakes Hiring Managers Make When Advertising Open Positions
This guest post is by Thomas Torresson, courtesy of Recruiting Blogswap.
There are plenty of reasons a particular job ad may not work well. Sometimes these mistakes are tough to recognize and even harder to learn to avoid.
Here are seven mistakes that can cause an ad to provide less bang for the buck than desired:
Not [...]
Is Workplace Bullying Cause for Concern?
When Bullies Grow Up
What happens to playground bullies who grow up to be workplace bullies? And what happens to the companies where they work?
This is the focus of an article entitled “Workplace Bullying Suits on the Horizon.”
Successful Bullying Lawsuit and Proposed Legislation
According to the article, a workplace bully was forced to pay $325,000 after [...]
Do’s and Don’ts of Hiring an Independent Contractor
Independent Contractor Agreements – A Match Made in Heaven?
Today’s employers are watching their bottom line more closely than ever before, including examining the costs associated with maintaining a full time workforce.
At the same time, workers are looking for ways to increase their independence, decrease their commutes and overall to increase their quality of life. [...]
“Blind Hiring” to Avoid Bias: Wave of the HR Future, or “Blind Alley”?
Is a hiring manager named “David” more likely to give an edge to a job candidate also named “David”?
Recent academic research suggests that the answer is “yes,” even for other names with similar sounds, like “Dan” or “Dustin.”
What does this say about a company’s ability to develop a merit-based, non-discriminatory hiring model?
Bulletproofing Employment Investigations
This post on workplace investigations that hold up to scrutiny emphasizes the importance of vertical and horizontal consistency and reasonableness in the investigation of allegations of workplace misconduct, such as harassment.
Love in the Workplace: Dreamy or Dangerous?
In this special guest post, Cynthia Shapiro, career expert and best selling author, says that, contrary to conventional wisdom, you CAN have an office romance without hurting your career if you know (and heed) a few “insider secrets.”
He’s got those electric blue eyes and that winning smile. You find yourself drawn to him, which [...]
Transgender Employees: What’s an Employer to Do?
The following is a guest post provided by Dr. Jillian Todd Weiss, Associate Professor of Law and Society at Ramapo College, who researches this area, as well as consults with corporations and writes a popular blog on the subject, Transgender Workplace Diversity. She has now authored the new book described below, Transgender Workplace Diversity: Policy [...]
How to Write a Great Reference Letter
Being asked to write a reference letter for a former or departing employee may be a source of undue stress, time demand, and hassle, depending on how naturally writing comes to you — or not.
Today, while poking around a bit using StumbleUpon, I found an answer to this problem: a “Letter of Recommendation Guide” [...]
