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HR Management

7 tips for reducing your workers’ comp costs

12/14/2010
You can significantly reduce the cost of your organization’s workers’ compensation premiums by following a program of accident prevention, better claims management and prevention of fraud and abuse. Seven steps you should take:

Highland County settles whistle-blower retaliation suit

12/13/2010
A Highland County government employee who was fired after complaining about unsafe working conditions and wage-and-hour violations is $18,000 richer, following a settlement with the county.

Florida’s business climate a relatively sunny 14th best

12/13/2010
Florida has the nation’s 14th best business climate, according to Site Selection magazine. Florida finished sixth in the executive survey of overall business climate and 11th in 2010 new plant rankings. The state finished 31st in overall competitiveness, and 40th in new plants per million residents.

11 for ’11: Big trends shaping comp & benefits

12/13/2010
Pay-for-performance and higher employee health care contributions look like they’ll remain fixtures of the post-recession comp and benefits landscape. Here are 11 other trends that could take a firm hold in 2011:

What are the rules on personnel files? An employee keeps asking for access

12/09/2010
Q. We have an employee who frequently asks to review his personnel file. How often are we required to allow an employee to review his personnel file? How often do we have to make sure it is up-to-date?

Can we prohibit texting at work based on the Supreme Court’s recent Quon decision?

12/09/2010
Q. What lessons should employers take from the Supreme Court’s decision in City of Ontario v. Quon? That’s the case about the texting police officer. We want to ban personal texting at work.

Can arbitration agreements include clause waiving employees’ statutory claims?

12/09/2010
Q. I am wondering if we can contract with employees to resolve employment-related disputes, including statutory claims, with binding arbitration. Are there any problems with this?

Porn at work is misconduct, even without a rule against it

12/09/2010

Give some employees an inch and they’ll take a mile. They stubbornly insist on pushing the rules and argue that if the handbook doesn’t say something is prohibited, then it must be OK. Fortunately, courts don’t often agree.

Leave disciplinary wiggle room in handbook

12/09/2010

Here’s a tip if you are revising your employee handbook: When it comes to discipline, make sure you give yourself some flexibility to deal with unusual circumstances. For example, if you want to use progressive discipline, be sure to account for the rare situations that may warrant immediate suspension or discharge.

GINA’s effect on wellness programs

12/09/2010
To help you better understand your obligations under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), we’ve assembled these resources: