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HR Management

Post promotion opportunities to avoid needless litigation

02/13/2012
Here’s a good way to cut your litigation risk: Make sure you post all promotion opportunities along with the minimum job requirements. That way, employees can’t sue over lost opportunities for which they failed to apply.

Timing is everything when it comes to workplace romances gone bad and terminations

02/13/2012

When you terminate an emp­loyee for a good, obvious and well-documented reason, you seldom have to worry about a surprise harassment complaint. Former employees file them fairly frequently, but courts tend to view them with suspicion. The obvious question: Why didn’t the employee complain about harassment before?

HR salaries: It pays to specialize

02/13/2012
Compensation for employees in HR specialties (benefits, training, etc.) is about 20% higher than for HR general positions, says a report by Culpepper and Associates.

Excessive bathroom use: a real disability?

02/13/2012
Q. We have a couple of employees who get tardies for being late and their excuses have been that they’re in the bathroom due to a disability. So I follow them to the bathroom because I know they are lying. Am I breaking the law by following them? Is this considered harassment? It’s getting out of hand.

Employee compensation: 12 trends for 2012

02/10/2012
Compensation experts are predicting modest but steady wage growth over the next few years as employers shake off the salary freezes, layoffs and low profits brought on by the recession. Still, a recent Forbes story says 2012 could be The Year of the Employee Back­­lash, as workers look for greener pastures.

Jennie-O Turkey cited for amputation incident

02/09/2012
Willmar-based Jennie-O Turkey Stores faces 11 safety violations after a machine at its Barron, Wisc., slaughterhouse cut off an employee’s arm.

Use harassment hotline? Keep detailed records

02/09/2012
Chances are, you have a sexual harassment policy that gives em­­ployees several ways to report har­­ass­­ment—maybe including a hotline for phoning in problems. But beware: An employee may file an EEOC complaint before you even have a chance to investigate alleged harassment. If that happens, your hotline records may play a crucial role in your defense.

What’s the biggest challenge you face as you try to make HR more effective this year?

02/07/2012
Too much to do, too little management support are holding back HR.

HR’s loose lips can sink your company’s defense

02/07/2012
Sometimes in HR, you know more than you want to know. But as this new court ruling shows, sharing in­­side information with an employee isn’t a smart move … for your em­­ployer or your career.

Focus now on insurance renewal for 2013

02/06/2012
For most employers, open enrollment for health insurance benefits in 2012 has come and gone. So now’s the time for comp and benefits professionals to start planning for the next health insurance renewal go-round. An early start will give you a fighting chance to keep costs under control in 2013.