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HR Management

Train managers to adopt poker face when facing complaint

06/01/2007

To avoid triggering retaliation lawsuits, train managers and supervisors on how to react to a complaint. First and foremost, explain that all complaints should be received professionally and without any apparent display of disappointment or emotion. Remind them: No comment allowed …

FCRA Is the Ticket to a Jury Trial for HIV-Positive Employees

06/01/2007

Florida’s courts have expanded protection for HIV-positive employees under the Florida Civil Rights Act. At first glance, the law appears to be a state version of Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act and the ADA all rolled into one. But state court interpretation of the act may grant Florida employees protections they don’t have under federal law …

Pay for training time

06/01/2007

Q. If our organization offers voluntary training to our employees and the training takes place during their lunch hour, do we have to pay the employees for the time spent attending the training? 

Train managers and supervisors: No humiliation allowed

06/01/2007

While some may think it’s all in good fun, no employee should be the butt of bad jokes or other potentially embarrassing and humiliating conduct. Once started, such behavior often takes on a life of its own. It then becomes difficult to stop …

What to expect from New York’s new Workers’ Comp Reform law

06/01/2007

Although the Workers’ Compensation Reform bill recently signed into law provides just a skeletal outline of what New York’s workers’ comp program will one day look like, both business and labor groups are cautiously optimistic …

Georgia State Health Benefits Plan battles with program vendor

06/01/2007

Two-and-a-half years and $7.2 million into its contract with New York-based Vitech Systems Group, an employee benefits system provider, the state of Georgia is looking for a refund …

Clients must repay taxes after payroll company commits fraud

06/01/2007

Stephen Taylor of Canton, co-owner of Marietta-based 20/20 Payroll Solutions, pleaded guilty to stealing $4 million in employee taxes from more than 100 clients during the past two years …

Cigna fined for steering employers wrong on HMO changes

06/01/2007

The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance has fined Cigna HealthCare of New Jersey and Connecticut General Life $2.1 million for deceiving employers, and ordered Cigna to restore better coverage to 2,123 small businesses …

Big ruling: Supreme Court limits scope of pay-discrimination lawsuits

05/29/2007

The U.S. Supreme Court handed employers a major victory this week by clarifying that workers who claim pay discrimination must file their complaints within 180 days of the alleged offense. But this ruling could, in the short run, lead to a spike in pay-bias claims.

Remind employees: As Coke verdict shows, stealing secrets can earn jail time

05/25/2007

The recent sentencing of a Coca-Cola employee who tried to steal (and sell) the secret formula serves as a cautionary tale for your employees about the confidentiality of trade secrets. Here’s a five-step strategy for shoring up your trade-secret walls and making sure confidential info stays in-house.