HR Management

Cost of misguided English-only rule: $50,000

07/06/2017

Most “English-only” policies violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. They are not strictly unlawful, but courts and the EEOC have regularly ruled that employers must be able to demonstrate a legitimate business reason for having such a policy.

Cal/OSHA proposes safety rules for hotel housekeepers

07/03/2017

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed a first-in-the-nation, industry-specific rule aimed at hotel housekeepers.

Just because handbook doesn’t address issue doesn’t mean employees can’t sue

07/03/2017

The fact that a handbook doesn’t address a particular subject does not mean that employees who believe there are pertinent unwritten rules can’t get class certification to sue over an allegedly informal policy.

The HR I.Q. Test: July ’17

06/30/2017

Here’s your monthly quiz on HR news and trends.

For the good of the group: Run meetings with social grace

06/30/2017

The etiquette of a meeting counts. Think of it as a performance with no faux pas. Follow these rules when leading your next meeting.

Check filing deadline on employee’s EEOC complaint

06/28/2017

When the EEOC dismisses a former employee’s complaint and then notifies you that it has issued a right-to-sue letter, be sure to note the employee’s deadline for filing a federal lawsuit. She has just 90 days to do so.

The law is enough: Handbook doesn’t create extraordinary right to sue for retaliation

06/28/2017

Many state and federal statutes make it unlawful for employers to retaliate against employees who file internal discrimination complaints or otherwise claim that some wrongdoing has occurred. These laws have specific, and limited, remedies.

Is what we wear to work up to [dress] code?

06/27/2017

Casual dress codes cause confusion for many workers, new research from staffing firm OfficeTeam shows.

Just do it … or just delegate it?

06/22/2017

“If you want something done right, you’d better do it yourself.” Managers who successfully used this philosophy to work their way up the career ladder may find it counterintuitive to let go of the reins and start delegating tasks to subordinates.

Document that you held anti-harassment training

06/19/2017

It’s easier to defeat sexual harassment lawsuits if you have a robust anti-harassment policy and let employees know exactly how to use it. The key is to prove that the worker knew about the policy but failed to use it.