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HR Management

Beware boss who undermines anti-harassment rules

01/24/2014
Here’s a novel situation: What do you do if you learn that someone is undermining a manager or HR director’s efforts to stop sexual harassment by enforcing company rules? If you ignore the manager’s complaint, she may sue the company for allowing sexual harassment to flourish.

Be alert for health, safety whistle-blowing

01/24/2014
Here’s a warning for federal government employers: Just about any internal complaint about agency wrongdoing may be protected activity under the Whistleblower Pro­­tec­­tion Act (WPA).

Want staff loyalty? Get a company dog! … and include loyalty in employee training

01/23/2014

You may think that employees understand their obligations when they sign noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements designed to prevent them from jumping ship and stealing your clients. Don’t make that assumption. Instead, include loyalty training in your orientation programs.

OSHA launches online whistle-blower complaint form

01/22/2014
OSHA now offers whistle-blowers an online complaint form. Until now, whistle-blowers had to either write or call OSHA. The online form is designed to provide workers who have been retaliated against an additional way to reach out for OSHA assistance.

Cellphone usage at work: What’s acceptable?

01/21/2014
A new Howard University study finds that 76% of people say checking texts or emails is unacceptable behavior in business meetings.

Progressive Discipline

01/18/2014

HR Law 101: The most reliable way to protect your organization from charges of wrongful discharge is to establish and enforce a system of progressive discipline. Make it clear to all your supervisors that they’re expected to abide by your policy …

File it under ‘Bad HR ideas’

01/17/2014
The Institute for Integrative Nutrition took career planning a bit too far when its HR department created a chart listing every female staff member, her marital status and whether or not she had children. Then HR asked managers to predict if and when each woman might be expected to become pregnant and have to take maternity leave. You’ll never guess what happened.

Is it time to rethink an open-space office?

01/17/2014
You’ve probably heard the argument that if you want to im­­prove employee communication and foster collaboration, tear down the walls and create an open-plan environment. But a new study based on a survey of over 42,000 office workers in 303 office buildings finds those assumptions may not be true.

Constructive Discharge

01/17/2014

HR Law 101: Some supervisors try to skirt the whole issue of firing someone by resorting to constructive discharge. Their logic: If we make an employee’s time at work so intolerable, he or she will choose to resign. That’s an unwise strategy …

Free college HR courses: No cost, no credit, just wisdom

01/16/2014

You don’t need to enroll in college to take undergraduate and graduate HR courses that enhance your knowledge and career. Universities and other sources offer free online courses through OpenCourseWare websites. Here’s a rundown of some sources and HR courses: