HR Management

Back to school … with your office supplies?

07/12/2013

Anecdotal evidence points to a great migration of pens, pencils, binders, folders and other office supplies from America’s workplaces to America’s classrooms as summer break ends.

Insta-liability: Online risks go beyond Facebook

07/12/2013

Most of the legal cautionary tales about social media involve misguided posting on Facebook and Twitter. Here’s proof that lack of common sense can be found in all corners of the Internet:

What darkness lurks inside your employee handbook?

07/11/2013

When was the last time you took a red pen to your employee handbook? One court recently warned you better fix the problems or your handbook could be held against you as “Exhibit A” in court …

Worker hinting at harassment? Provide policy

07/10/2013

You probably make sure all your employees have read your sexual harassment policy. That doesn’t mean they always follow it. If an employee is hinting that she’s being harassed, your best approach may be to hand her another copy and urge her to report any problems right away.

Random wisdom from SHRM 2013

07/10/2013

The HR Specialist hit the road in June for the annual Society for Human Resource Management conference in Chicago. Here are some lessons learned …

DOMA overturned, launching HR overhaul

07/09/2013

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 26 ruled the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional, a decision that set in motion a sweeping rewrite of federal rules affecting benefits administration and payroll operations.

Add civility code to prevent avoidable lawsuits

07/09/2013

Do you have a comprehensive civility code? If not, consider adding one. A work environment contaminated by yelling, cursing and other uncivil behavior could lead to discrimination and retaliation lawsuits.

Can we ban moonlighting?

07/08/2013

Q. We have an employee who recently started working a second job. We currently don’t have a rule against moonlighting, but now he frequently comes in late and tired. It’s really affecting his work. Are we legally entitled to ban second jobs?

Well, there’s your problem: Not enough idiots!

07/08/2013

It’s smart for a business to keep a loyal cadre of stupid people at work, according to two Swedish researchers. They contend that “functional stupidity” is actually essential to getting things done in plenty of organizations.

Does employee use of DOL ‘timesheet’ app mean we can’t ban cellphones?

07/05/2013

Q. To curb wasted time and keep workers on task, we are banning cellphones at work. Now one of our employees has told us that she has the Department of Labor’s wage-and-hour app on her iPhone. She says she uses it to track her hours worked, and that we are illegally preventing her from using it. Will our ban hold up legally?