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HR Management

Free online training for managers and HR

02/16/2011

Smaller organizations often have little or no budget to train their management teams. But no budget doesn’t have to mean no training. Here is a list of some of the best free online training for managers and HR professionals offered by colleges and reputable organizations …

Can workers use FMLA and sick leave back-to-back?

02/16/2011
Q. One of our employees thinks she will need about five months off for medical treatment. She wants to use her accumulated vacation and sick time and then go on FMLA leave. Do I have to allow this?

UBS amends its much-mocked 44-page dress code

02/16/2011
Swiss banking firm UBS attracted worldwide ridicule last month after media attention focused on its super-specific 44-page dress code. The company now says it will revise its standards with a pared-down list of priorities focused on “what is important to us.”

Make training for managers an essential part of your sexual harassment policy

02/15/2011
It does no good to have a sexual har­assment policy if managers don’t know how to enforce it. Without regular manager training on how to respond to complaints, you might as well not have a policy.

Office romance: Don’t ban it; manage it

02/15/2011

Valentine’s Day may have come and gone, but love might still linger in the air at your workplace. If so, watch out! When office romances sour, scorned lovers often turn to the courts to allege that a former lover was a sexual harasser. Here are three tips to help make sure Cupid’s arrow doesn’t harm your organization.

Employee out on FMLA leave? You can still insist on calling in

02/14/2011

Some employees think that once they are approved for FMLA leave, they don’t have to follow the same rules as other employees when they’re away from work. That’s not necessarily true. In fact, employers are free to create call-in policies that require employees who are going to be absent to phone daily—and they can include employees on FMLA leave in that policy.

How to push ideas past naysayers

02/14/2011
Nearly every office has a person who shoots down ideas before they even get off the ground: the naysayer who always pinpoints the reason your idea won’t work. The only way to defeat a naysayer is to be ready for her. Know how to respond to every one of the blockades she puts in your way.

Develop, implement and publicize policies that encourage employees to report harassment

02/14/2011

Here’s a big benefit to having a strong anti-harassment policy: The policy’s very existence helps protect employers against false claims. That’s because employees won’t be able to say they endured years of harassment and didn’t know how or to whom to report it. The key is making sure employees know about your policy.

Prep for firing with honest investigation

02/11/2011

Courts don’t like it when employees are treated unfairly. On the other hand, judges don’t want to serve as HR courts, either. That’s why they generally defer to management decisions that seem fair and honest. Judges prefer it when employers investigate allegations of employee wrongdoing before they fire someone—but they don’t require that the investigation be perfect.

The HR I.Q. Test: February ’11

02/11/2011
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, comp & benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz …