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HR Management

How to take control of your workday

12/21/2010
How can you succeed at work, stay sane and still get home on time? By seizing control over your day, you’ll boost your value to the organization and advance  your career in the process. Follow these five steps to adjust your attitude and priorities.

New tax law delivers savings–and benefits changes–that affect HR

12/21/2010
The contentious tax law signed by President Obama last week brings tax savings to workers nationwide—and contains several provisions that will affect HR. Here’s a round-up of various elements—from Social Security withholding to tuition reimbursement to on-site child care—that you’ll have to deal with when the law takes effect on Jan. 1.

Scrooges on staff? 8 ways to turn ’em around

12/21/2010

As another year winds down, the economy isn’t the only thing that’s in a slump. Plenty of workers are in the doldrums, too. They feel stuck in their jobs because new ones are hard to come by. They can’t afford to retire. So they’re not performing as well as employees who look at their jobs as labors of love. Here’s how HR can help get them back on track.

N.J. Supreme Court backs former HR exec who copied documents

12/21/2010

The New Jersey Supreme Court has handed disgruntled employees a big weapon to use against their employers. The court ruled that Joyce Quinlan was within her rights to photocopy company documents—some of which were confidential—to use in a lawsuit against Curtiss-Wright, the aerospace company where she once served as executive director of human resources.

Pennsylvania’s business climate rated largely favorable

12/21/2010

Pennsylvania has the third-best business climate north of the Mason-Dixon Line and the 12th best in the nation, according to Site Selection magazine. Only Ohio and Indiana ranked higher among Northern states.

L.A. postal facility gets shocking message from OSHA

12/21/2010
OSHA delivered a harsh message to the U.S. Postal Service’s International Service Center in Los Angeles in the form of 18 citations for unsafe working conditions. The problem: Mail processing equipment could cause fatal electrical shocks.

Here’s the right way to recoup training costs

12/21/2010
It’s expensive to train employees, especially if the content is highly specialized. Smart employers protect their investments by getting employees to agree to repay training costs if they leave soon after receiving the valuable benefit. Just don’t mess with the employee’s final paycheck.

Lessons learned from the big WikiLeaks breach

12/21/2010
“If the recent WikiLeaks release of more than a quarter-million sensitive government files is not a wake-up call to companies about the need to proactively protect confidential information, nothing is,” says Michael Greco, a partner at Fisher & Phillips LLP.

The pain truth: Prescription drug abuse on the rise at work

12/17/2010

Employee drug abuse continues to be the trend that just won’t go away. And it’s not just illegal drugs causing problems these days. Quest Diagnostics estimates that the use of prescription painkillers by American workers and job applicants has increased by 40% since 2005. More than 70% of prescription drug abusers hold jobs, upping the risk of work-related injuries.

New IT system helps Barilla cut down turnover

12/16/2010
Pasta maker Barilla America scored a big “zero” with employees last year: zero work stoppages due to faulty processes, plus overall employee turnover decreased to 8.1%. Reason: A $50 million overhaul of the organization’s 18-year-old IT systems and work processes gave employees the tools they needed to increase speed and improve efficiency.