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HR Management

Scheduling tricks for multiple time zones

09/17/2013
If you conduct virtual interviews or meetings with people around the country (or globe), it’s hard to correctly schedule meetings across various time zones. One tool to consider: EveryTimeZone.com.

What are the pros and cons of prohibiting workplace photography?

09/16/2013
Q. We recently saw a news report that an AOL employee was fired for taking a photograph during a meeting. Now we’re wondering: Should we include anything in our employee handbook prohibiting the taking of photographs or videos at work?

Multiple locations? Handle FMLA with care

09/16/2013
Employers with 50 or more employees within 75 miles must provide FMLA leave. If they have multiple locations, they must often provide leave to some em­­ployees but not others. If that’s your situation, beware making blanket handbook statements about FMLA leave eligibility.

America’s Big 10: Companies with the most employees

09/13/2013
With more than two million employees worldwide, Walmart dwarfs all other private-sector U.S. employers.

Workplace lexicon: BYOD

09/12/2013
Bring Your Own Device: The term refers to the practice of allowing employees to freely use their own mobile phones, tablets and laptops to perform work tasks. One new survey found that Millennial employees consider BYOD a right—not a privilege.

Sometimes it’s best to settle drawn-out cases

09/10/2013
Some lawsuits seem to drag on forever, especially when an em­­ployee’s lawyers endlessly demand access to company documents. Settling those cases for a modest sum may be the best approach if l­itigation is taking over and HR is so busy responding to discovery requests it can’t get other work done.

Your best bet for beating false allegations: Good records, consistently fair practices

09/10/2013
You can never predict which employee will sue and over what alleged wrong. That’s why the best approach is to focus on treating every employee fairly and consistently, applying your rules even-handedly.

Steps you should take to derail the FMLA leave abuse train

09/09/2013
Employers face several common struggles when employees take FMLA leave, but there are ways to combat FMLA abuse in the workplace.

Behind the wheel: Why you need an anti-distracted driving policy

09/06/2013
Many states have laws against texting or talking on cellphones while driving. Absent a clear, tough, enforced policy against distracted driving, employers risk losing millions of dollars in jury verdicts—and contribute to crippling and fatal carnage on the road. You need a clear policy: Employees may not use mobile devices while driving on company business.

Make arbitration agreements stick–even if there’s no employee signature

09/06/2013
If you use arbitration as a way to resolve employment disputes, you no doubt realize that you need the employee’s signature on that agreement in order to make it a binding contract. But what happens if that signature isn’t there or perhaps was faked?