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HR Management

Harness payroll metrics to gain valuable data points

09/04/2024
Payroll is awash in data—taxes withheld, hours worked and overtime due are just three measurable items. You can use these metrics to identify trends, find patterns and project the future. Or you can stumble around in the dark, hoping things line up and coming up short on explanations when they don’t.

Maintain a peaceful workplace following the presidential debate

09/03/2024
With the first Harris-Trump debate scheduled for Sept. 10, smart managers already have moved staff meetings scheduled for the following day in order to reduce interactions. What else can leaders do to keep the atmosphere civil? Try these strategies.

New Illinois law highlights AI traps for employers

09/03/2024
On Aug. 9, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to limit how employers can use AI in hiring, promotion, retention and discipline. Any AI use that discriminates on the basis of protected status is now illegal.

Counter refusal to participate in diversity training

08/30/2024
Recently, we have seen an increase in lawsuits from workers who believe that being forced to participate in any kind of diversity training violates their Title VII rights. Now a federal appeals court has tossed out one such case. The court concluded that the worker’s refusal was unreasonable and his claims meritless.

Can you make access to drugs contingent on meeting health goals?

08/22/2024
According to a recent survey, one of the biggest headaches for HR professionals in charge of planning employee compensation and benefits is dealing with the increasing cost of new drugs designed to treat common medical problems like diabetes and obesity. According to the report, 44% of those surveyed ranked specialty drugs as their top health-care management challenges.

Rules mean nothing without enforcement

08/22/2024
Rules that aren’t enforced may get you in bigger legal trouble than none at all because a jury can point to your rules as evidence you knew your legal obligations but chose to ignore them.

AI ethics: Use our sample policy

08/22/2024
Artificial intelligence in the workplace is here to stay. Without some ethical guideposts on its use, however, you may have just let a monster into your workplace. The EEOC and the Department of Labor have already dealt with some of the issues as legal compliance matters. But there’s more, because you can be legally compliant but still use AI in an unethical way.

BE HEARD Act may signal big employment-law changes

08/19/2024
With polling showing a neck-and-neck race to win the presidential election, employers should start paying attention to what the HR landscape may look like after a new president is sworn in next January. Congressional Democrats have begun introducing bills that spotlight policy priorities that may affect employers.

By the numbers: Workers’ comp claim causes and effects

08/19/2024
The most common workplace accidents account for the most expensive workers’ compensation claims, according to a new report by Travelers, the nation’s largest workers’ comp insurer.

Here’s what the EEOC’s lawyers are focusing on this year

08/12/2024
Despite the looming election and Supreme Court decisions that could eventually curtail the influence of federal agencies, the EEOC continues to push an aggressively pro-employee agenda, and it’s committed to filing lawsuits against employers that violate anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws.