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HR Management

U.S. Workplace Becoming More Gay-Friendly

11/01/2006

This year, 138 major corporations earned a perfect 100-percent score in the Corporate Equity Index, a measure created by the gay-rights Human Rights Campaign to track employers’ policies toward homosexuals …

Rethink noncompete contracts after big Supreme Court ruling

11/01/2006

A significant Texas Supreme Court decision handed down last month makes it easier for employers to write and enforce noncompete agreements in Texas. The ruling, ASM v. Johnson and Strunk & Associates, provides important protection for businesses that want to use noncompete agreements to limit unfair competition from former employees …

N.J. supervisors can be held personally liable for job bias

11/01/2006

Want to scare your organization’s supervisors into complying with your employment policies? Point out that, under New Jersey law, they can be sued personally for their discriminatory actions. That means one on-the-job misstep can cost managers their homes, savings accounts and other personal assets to satisfy a court judgment …

Is your pension consultant biased? 10 questions to ask

11/01/2006

It’s getting harder to find a good pension consultant: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is warning employers that some consultants fail to disclose their conflicts of interest, and that can cloud the objectivity of advice they give you and your employees …

Retailers’ lower drug prices may stem soaring premiums

11/01/2006

Employers may end up the unintended victors in a potential prescription-drug price war in Florida. When Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, announced recently that it would sell generic drugs for just $4 per prescription, it didn’t take long for Target, the second-largest retailer, to follow suit …

Employer-Provided Health Coverage Declines in Pennsylvania

11/01/2006

The number of Pennsylvania employees under age 65 who are covered by an employer-sponsored health insurance plan declined by 5.1 percent between 1999 and 2005. In the same years, employer-provided coverage for families with children under age 18 declined by 8 percent …

9 ways to celebrate National Work & Family Month

10/01/2006

October marks the fourth annual National Work & Family Month, an honor that Congress commissioned in 2003 because, it said, "supporting a balance between work and personal life is in the best interest of national worker productivity" …

Urge Senior Managers to ‘Detach’

10/01/2006

Nearly two-thirds of senior executives admit they can’t stop thinking about work even while they’re on vacation, according to a survey from NFI Research. The study’s advice: Encourage the top brass to take a real break to recharge their batteries …

Gear up for minimum wage hike: Notify workers, check budget

10/01/2006

Make sure you’re ready for the state’s minimum wage increase, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2007, and will affect about 430,000 Pennsylvania workers …

Can you tell an HR assistant whom to socialize with?

10/01/2006

Q. I’m the HR director of a 45-employee company and have one assistant. Due to the firm’s growth, I’m considering giving my assistant more responsibility. My concern: The assistant is very friendly with about 10 other employees. Two are her roommates. What’s to stop her from divulging information to her friends? I have said nothing to her about my concerns yet. What can I express to her without overstepping her legal rights? —M.I., New York