01/31/2012
The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed new FMLA rules that would formalize several statutory amendments that expanded military family-leave rights in 2008 and 2009. The new rules would officially incorporate into the FMLA amendments that were tacked onto the National Defense Authorization Act. If you're covered by the FMLA, these rules will apply to you.
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01/25/2012
Google, the king of search engines, recently set out on a search of its own—to identify the qualities that make the highest quality managers at Google Inc., and then to replicate those qualities across the entire company. The end result: a simple, yet elegant, list of eight management practices that the best Google managers consistently do.
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01/17/2012
Today’s tight economy has prompted many employers to try to reduce costs—including overtime—by classifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees. That hasn’t escaped the notice of the IRS and the U.S. Department of Labor, which have stepped up efforts to deter misclassification.
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01/10/2012
The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that employers can't require employees to sign arbitration agreements that ban class-action lawsuits. The decision—almost certain to be challenged in court—caps months of controversy at the NLRB, the government body that enforces the National Labor Relations Act.
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01/09/2012
Slower economies tend to reduce employers’ incentives to say “thank you,” either with pay, perks or actions. Still, a 3% dip in the percentage of companies using recognition programs since 2008 doesn’t suggest a permanent decline, according to a survey by WorldatWork. Eight tips to create a recognition program that drives performance:
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01/04/2012
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, compensation and benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz.
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12/31/2011
After weeks of wrangling, the House of Representatives and the Senate on Dec. 23, 2011 agreed to extend a 2 percentage point payroll tax cut for two months to buy time for talks on a full-year renewal. President Obama immediately signed the bill into law. The vote removes employer uncertainly about how to handle payroll withholding starting Jan. 1, 2012.
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12/14/2011
Employers may be surprised to learn there is a growing movement to add the unemployed to the list of people who belong to a protected class. If leaders in the U.S. Senate and the EEOC have their way, it may no longer be legal for employers to show a preference to hire only those who are currently employed.
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12/13/2011
HR pros spend a lot of their time ensuring that their companies comply with the law so they don’t wind up in court and lose big bucks to a jury verdict. But more and more, they find themselves defending not their employers’ bottom lines, but their own bank accounts. Here's how to protect your personal funds.
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12/13/2011
Let’s face it: It makes a manager’s job harder when employees are out on FMLA leave. That’s especially true with intermittent leave. Don’t let those hard feelings turn into an FMLA interference lawsuit. Instead, insist that managers honor approved intermittent leave without hassling the employee.
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12/06/2011
What have you learned and accomplished in the past five years? If you can't answer that question, you'll have a tougher time planning your career development ... and maybe making that next great career move. Use this template to create an annual report that can help collect your thoughts each year.
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12/02/2011
Test your knowledge of recent trends in employment law, compensation and benefits and other HR issues with our monthly mini-quiz.
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12/01/2011
In business writing, you don’t receive extra credit for slathering your sentences with fancy phrases, the way you did in college. Do that in a memo or e-mail, and you can expect eyes to glaze over. Here are five "less is more" tips for writing more effectively at work.
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11/29/2011
Employers can regulate what employees do away from work—but only within narrow limits. There are often good reasons to. Some off-duty acts reflect poorly on employers, raise insurance costs and create conflicts of interest. Here's how to make the call.
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11/28/2011
Before you toss that handwritten note into the employee’s file today, stop for a second and read it. Years from now, will you remember what that chicken-scratch meant? Many lawsuits have turned on one or two words scrawled by a manager or HR pro after employee meetings and conversations.
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