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Training

Poor worker training cited in case involving heat death

02/26/2009

In 2004, two men were fixing a pump at a plant when one of them complained of being hot and not feeling well. The other man took him to his car and returned to work on the pump. When he checked on the ill man 45 minutes later, he found him slumped over the wheel. He had died.

20 tips for motivating your employees

02/24/2009

In addition to setting goals and tracking progress, it’s the manager’s job to help motivate their workers toward excellent performance. Here are 20 simple motivational tools to keep in your bag.

The safest way to handle calls for references and recommendations

02/17/2009

As the economy shrinks, unemployment is growing in New York and throughout the country. If your organization plans to lay off workers or already has, brace yourself. Lots of former employees are going to list you and your managers as references when they seek new jobs. That means it’s time to make sure you have policies in place on how to handle reference-check calls.

Stamp out harassing behavior across the company

02/12/2009

When it comes to hateful and discriminatory speech and behavior, it makes no difference whether the conduct happens in the boardroom or on the factory floor. That’s why you should train everyone—from those in the executive suite to those working in the field—on your harassment policy.

Preach zero tolerance for any harassment

02/12/2009

Employers are responsible if they know or have reason to know about a hostile work environment created by employees and do nothing to fix it. As a practical matter, what employers hear and see may be just the tip of the iceberg. Smart employers immediately attempt to get the whole picture and then correct the harassing behavior.

OSHA fines WBG Construction

02/12/2009

OSHA has fined WBG Construction, based in Wesley Chapel, for seven safety violations at two of the company’s locations. The agency said the violations exposed employees to potential injury or even death. The fines total $119,000.

Stillwater schools settle age discrimination lawsuit

02/12/2009

The Stillwater School District has agreed to pay a part-time teacher and athletics coach $137,000 to settle age discrimination claims in a lawsuit filed by the EEOC.

Remind supervisors to immediately report offensive graffiti, and then remove it

02/12/2009

Graffiti usually appears where the author is least likely to be caught creating it. Popular workplace spots are lavatories and work site portable toilets. And offensive graffiti can create an almost instantly hostile work environment. That’s why HR should remind supervisors to immediately report any graffiti—no matter where they find it.

Long-past lost training can’t make a lawsuit—for now

02/12/2009

Employees who long ago were denied training opportunities because of their race can’t wait decades to sue their employers for later lost promotion opportunities, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled.

Survival-mode comp strategies could be good for business

02/11/2009

Smart compensation pros can use this recession as an opportunity to re-evaluate how they pay employees. Here are four recession-smart compensation strategies that you might decide to continue even after the economy rebounds.