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

HR Management

Housing problems overtake child care as No. 1 EAP request

11/22/2010
For the first time, troubles related to housing and moving are the most popular subject of employees’ calls to employee assistance programs, says EAP provider ComPsych.

Firing worker for Facebook rant: Is it illegal?

11/22/2010

In what could be a groundbreaking case, the National Labor Relations Board filed an unfair labor practice complaint last month against a Connecticut company that fired a worker who complained about her supervisor on Facebook. This is the first case in which the NLRB has argued that workers’ criticisms on social networking sites are protected activity.

Can our harassment policy penalize false claims?

11/19/2010
Q. Can we implement a provision on our sexual harassment policy that imposes discipline on employees who bring false harassment claims?

Cal/OSHA fires back at federal OSHA critique

11/19/2010
The federal OSHA says California’s occupational safety and health program is deficient. The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) disagrees—although officials admit there’s always room for improvement.

Conducting online background checks? Beware the pitfalls

11/16/2010
Online tools can be highly valuable in recruiting and selecting the best candidates and screening out bad hires. Despite the potential advantages, those activities come with potential employment law risks that are still evolving due to the relatively recent emergence and growth of social media. Some of the obvious and not-so-obvious legal risks:

Is it really a policy if it’s not in your handbook?

11/16/2010
One reason employers have handbooks is to protect themselves from surprise allegations of harassment. Without a handbook, they are left with having to show that employees knew how to complain. That’s tough if there’s no documentation that you told them how.

Help wanted: Benefits experts to demystify health law

11/16/2010
If you fancy yourself an expert on implementing the new health care law, now may be the time to test the employment waters. As Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, noted last month: “People are dying to get talent that can deal with this health care law.”

11 steps help make flexible work a success

11/15/2010
The DOL’s Women’s Bureau has started what it calls “a national dialogue on workplace flexibility,” and the agency is pushing employers to focus more on the work/life benefits of flex. Here are 11 steps you can take to make flex programs more successful—making work/life balance easier for your employees and improving your overall business operations:

Set up systems to prevent employee sabotage

11/12/2010

Employees often have legitimate reasons for accusing their employers of retaliation. But sometimes, employees themselves retaliate against a company, either out of malice, or to head off being fired. That’s one reason it pays to try to anticipate employee misfeasance and guard against sabotage.

Illinois ranks high in magazine’s business climate ratings

11/11/2010

Illinois has the nation’s 16th best business climate, according to Site Selection magazine. Each year, the magazine rates the states by tallying up manufacturing plant openings and new expansions of other corporate facilities. It also surveys site selectors—the people who help companies decide where to locate—to get their take on state business climates.