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

HR Management

Brave desk jockeys of America, we salute you!

05/23/2013
Sure, fishermen and loggers have jobs so dangerous that they warrant their own reality TV shows. That doesn’t mean office work is without peril. Among the most common workers’ comp-worthy maladies:

10 ways to increase use of your employee assistance plan

05/21/2013

Is your organization reaping the full financial benefits of having an employee assistance program? If your employees aren’t using it, probably not.

Leave arbitration agreement out of handbook

05/20/2013

Like most employers, your em­­ployee handbook probably in­­cludes a disclaimer informing employees that nothing in the document creates a contract. But what if your handbook also includes a clause that says employee disputes must go to arbitration instead of state or federal court, where a run­­away jury might bankrupt the company? Bad idea.

Spell out your company’s total compensation commitment

05/20/2013

Employees too often see their base salary as their only compensation. They forget how much other benefits are worth. Illuminate those compensation blind spots by preparing an annual total compensation statement for each employee.

Multistate employer: Can we centralize our I-9s?

05/20/2013

Q. We are headquartered in Oklahoma and have offices in another state that do their own hiring. Must I maintain a copy of I-9s at our headquarters from that other office? 

Is gossip clogging up your email inboxes?

05/16/2013
About 15% of email at work is considered gossip—defined as “the absence of a third party from a conversation”—according to a Georgia Institute of Technology study.

Employee gets ticket in company car: Who pays?

05/16/2013
Q. We give certain employees company cars to drive. If they get traffic tickets, are we responsible for paying the fine? Or can we hold the employee liable? We don’t have a company policy on this. I was wondering if there are any sample policies.

Set boundaries when employees get personal

05/15/2013
How deeply do you want to get involved with employees’ personal lives? Becoming a sounding board for every personal problem will eat up your workday (and drain you emotionally). It’s up to you to set boundaries.

Beware hidden downsides of overtime

05/13/2013
An increase in overtime hours can mean an increase in accidents and production errors. Consider these overtime policies and practices that can help reduce the likelihood of safety and production problems.

Vacuum company sucks it up, agrees to settle bias suit

05/10/2013
Waconia-based Applied Vacuum Technologies (AVT) has settled a disability discrimination suit with the EEOC. A former employee had filed the complaint after the company terminated him.