HRIS / Technology

What’s an employer’s responsibility to provide notification of a data security breach?

08/08/2008

Q. We maintain employee personnel information in an HR software program. We have discovered that a former employee hacked into the database and copied 100 employees’ first and last names, addresses, Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. Do we have to notify the employees? Some of them live and work in Ohio …

E-mail gets employee axed; she sues recipient

08/01/2008

Menorah Park, a senior living center in Beachwood, found itself in the midst of an Internet war after one of its employees slung cyber-mud at self-proclaimed media maven Perez Hilton …

IT workers said the surfing was better at work

07/25/2008

Two employees at North Carolina Central University and one at North Carolina State University have been fired for downloading pornography. The workers also downloaded movies, music, games and software. One of the workers allowed a friend to use his university-owned computer to download music …

The 5 rules for documenting HR decision-making

07/24/2008

The best way to prevent lawsuits is to carefully document every employment decision. HR professionals and supervisors should be able to show exactly when a decision was made, who made it and what the basis for the decision was …

Set—And enforce—Text messaging and paging privacy policy

07/18/2008

Public employers may have to revise their cell phone, e-mail and text messaging policies in light of a recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision. If you handle HR for a government agency, make sure you have a strong privacy policy that spells out your right to read text messages transmitted over employer-paid services …

New hands-Free phone law carries employer risk

07/18/2008

California’s hands-free cell phone legislation went into effect on July 1. Employers that don’t yet have a policy addressing driving while using a cell phone should create one now. Here’s why: If an employee is involved in an accident while breaking the law—by driving and using a cell phone without a hands-free device—the employer may be liable for any damages …

Must you pay hourly staff for BlackBerry time?

07/17/2008

The answer isn’t clear, as ABC News recently learned. The media company said nonexempt writers wouldn’t be paid for those minutes spent checking their office-issued BlackBerry devices after regular work hours. But their union objected …

Panthers employee sent to penalty box over critical e-Mail

07/14/2008

After the Florida Panthers traded team captain Olli Jokinen to the Phoenix Coyotes, some season ticket holders sent the National Hockey League team irate e-mails questioning the move. One Panthers employee tried to rationalize the decision with an e-mail that described Jokinen as a skater who played “with little heart or passion” …

Drugmaker catches disco fever

07/11/2008

Allegan–based drugmaker Perrigo Corp. is reaching out to potential hires with the “Perrigo Dancing Scientists,” a slick YouTube music video of scientists in lab coats busting moves. The video is designed to show job hunters that Perrigo is a hip, fun place to work …

Add state-of-the-art equipment to list of Gen Y benefits

07/03/2008

You expect colleges and universities to prepare your youngest workers for their new jobs. But are you prepared for them? Twentysomething employees expect the workplace to greet them with technology that is no less cutting edge than the tools they use in their personal lives and on campus. Here are seven ways to use technology to retain Gen Y’ers …