• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly

Communication

Career mentors help colleagues who are attending school

01/05/2009

Mercy Health System in Janesville, Wis., pays up to $3,000 per employee for college tuition, and $1,000 more if the employee works with an in-house mentor for up to three years.

Consumer-driven health plans keep growing

01/05/2009

In their efforts to control health care costs, 45% of organizations have consumer-driven health (CDH) plans, up from 37% in 2007. Among them, 16% offer CDH programs to employees as their only option for a health plan …

Promote civility, but watch for discrimination

01/05/2009

How much effort should the HR office put into getting everyone to get along? The best approach is to let employees handle most social conflicts among themselves—as long as there are no overt signs of discrimination.

Are you prepared to follow the new FMLA regulations?

01/05/2009

On Jan. 16, the U.S. Department of Labor’s new FMLA regulations became effective. The most significant changes were to the regulatory scheme for handling employee leave certifications and medical documentation.

What happens if we fail to provide COBRA notice upon termination?

12/24/2008

Q. What kinds of penalties or liability does an employer face if it fails to provide notice of COBRA coverage upon termination of an employee?

When does ‘I quit’ mean ‘Help, I’m disabled’?

12/18/2008

If you know an employee is suffering from depression, don’t be so quick to accept his or her hasty resignation, a new court ruling shows. Instead, you may need to identify this person as “disabled” under the ADA and, therefore, engage in an interactive process to find a work accommodation.

Tactics for tough times: 5 techniques for managing part-time employees

12/16/2008

As U.S. companies struggle to weather the recession, many are cutting back employee hours. In fact, part-timers now make up 5% of the workforce. Using part-timers may make economic sense, but it can give supervisors fits. Here are five ways to get the most out of part-time workers.

You don’t have to guarantee absolutely cordial treatment

12/11/2008

Although we all might wish for perfect harmony at work, that isn’t realistic. As long as there’s no obvious or thinly veiled race, sex or other underlying discrimination at work, it doesn’t matter if a supervisor isn’t very friendly with some employees.

Communicating during tough times: 7 common employee gripes (and how to respond)

12/09/2008

The global financial meltdown has workers fearful and downright angry. If you plan on surviving the recession, your managers must acknowledge the fear and anger employees may feel. Don’t let these seven gripes pollute your workplace.

Understand, prepare to follow the new revised FMLA regulations

12/09/2008

The long-awaited revised and updated final rules of the U.S. Department of Labor interpreting the FMLA will go into effect on Jan.16. HR specialists should read the new regulations and then review them with an employment attorney. Also, they should promptly develop special training on new rules and procedures for supervisors and employees alike.