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HR Management

In Brookville, if you’re going commando, you’re going home

07/13/2009

The Brookville, Fla., City Council has approved a new dress code for municipal employees, requiring them to observe “strict personal hygiene,” including the use of deodorant. An “observable lack of undergarments” is explicitly forbidden.

OSHA clears Choate in Jacksonville garage collapse

07/13/2009

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has concluded its investigation into the December 2007 collapse of the Berkman Plaza II parking garage and found Atlanta-based Choate Construction not to have been at fault.

Cover retaliation in all supervisory training

07/13/2009

Punishing an employee for complaining about discrimination is retaliation even if it turns out that whatever the employee was complaining about wasn’t discrimination. That’s why you should include information on avoiding any form of retaliation in all your training programs.

Investigate bias claims to declaw ‘cat’s paw’

07/08/2009

A legal theory often referred to as the “cat’s paw” holds that an employer can be liable for hidden bias if it merely rubber stamps a subordinate’s discriminatory decision. By conducting an independent evaluation of the situation, you can cut off that liability.

Under Texas law, do fired employees have a legal right to see their personnel files?

07/08/2009

Q. I recently fired an employee for performance problems. At the end of the termination meeting, he asked for a copy of his personnel file. Do I have to give discharged employees copies of their personnel files?

EEOC offers new guidance to avoid bias against employee/caregivers

07/08/2009

In 2007, the EEOC released a set of guidelines advising employers on issues related to caregiver bias. Following up on that issue, the commission has supplemented those guidelines with recommendations designed to help employers “reduce the chance of EEO violations against caregivers.” It’s imperative that companies begin to train managers and supervisors on the content of this most recent guidance.

New law: Safe haven when hiring people with criminal histories

07/08/2009

The Minnesota Legislature recently enacted a law designed to protect employers from some of the legal risks that may accompany hiring people with criminal backgrounds. The law is designed to help those who have served their sentences re-enter society as productive citizens.

10 keys to negotiating your HR budget

07/07/2009

Ever had the C-Suite rubber-stamp your HR budget with nary a question or challenge? Neither has Valerie Grubb, who spent most of her career building and justifying budgets in large manufacturing and entertainment companies, most recently NBC Universal. Here are her 10 tips for negotiating with those who make the final budget decisions.

4 tips: Don’t let slackers leave you doing all the work

07/07/2009

It’s late, and you’re chained to your desk finishing work your boss needs first thing in the morning. The two colleagues who were helping with the project? Long gone. Don’t get stuck going it alone like that again. These four tips will help you manage co-workers who drop the ball.

12 tips to help employees handle the stress of tough times

07/06/2009

Layoffs, pay cuts and an uncertain economy have left many organizations with fewer employees to do the work—often for the same or less money. Not all of those employees are handling it well. Here are a dozen ways you can deal with economy-induced employee stress and help your employees focus on their work: