Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.
On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) adopted a new standard for evaluating the legality of workplace rules under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Employers in both unionized and nonunionized settings should review their employee handbooks and policies to ensure compliance with the new standard. Review of the Old Standard As […]
Companies routinely use separation agreements with departing employees. Through those agreements, the employee receives some type of separation benefit (typically a payment or severance) in exchange for waiving and releasing any potential claims against the company. The goal is to avoid an existing or potential dispute, claim, or lawsuit. But if companies don’t routinely review […]
If you run a business, you’ve probably encountered arbitration clauses. These contractual provisions require parties to resolve disputes in private proceedings instead of court and are celebrated as a cost-effective alternative to in-court litigation. But arbitration might not always be a beneficial proposition for business disputes. Those who have arbitrated cases know the process features […]
When an employer directs an employee to create a work that would trigger copyright protection, who owns the copyright? What if an employer has engaged the services of an independent contractor, who creates the work for the business? Although employers may not run into this situation very often, it has the potential to create big […]
Employee burnout is an epidemic in today’s workforce with important implications for organizations. Burnout often simply boils down to excessive workload—too much work for too long and not enough resources to do the work properly. During the pandemic, roles shifted, and workers complained of job creep, taking on increased responsibilities. The result: a fundamental imbalance […]
Cybersecurity and the crucial role HR professionals play are more urgent topics than ever in today’s digital landscape. You may think cybersecurity is solely an information technology (IT) department concern, but think again. While IT handles the technical aspects, HR can make or break the human element by educating staff, enforcing policies, and communicating effectively. […]
Last year, President Joe Biden signed into law far-reaching retirement plan legislation known as the SECURE 2.0 Act that includes many new rules for employers and their qualified requirement plans. In late August 2023, the IRS issued a notice delaying for two years the implementation of one of the Act’s rules—about deferrals known as catch-up […]
It’s hard to think of a more important contributor to an organization’s long-term success than the cultivation of new leaders. Developing internal talent is almost always the most effective HR strategy—you can’t necessarily rely on outside hires to fit your company’s culture, mindset, and staffing needs. Succession planning is a business strategy companies use to […]
Employers thoughtfully create employment policies to set clear expectations for their employees. These policies should be drafted with an additional audience in mind: an increasingly interested National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). On August 3, 2023, the NLRB reversed its own 2017 decision and created a new framework for evaluating whether a written employment policy constitutes […]
Employers throughout the country are facing new challenges because of many states’ efforts to legalize conduct previously prohibited by criminal law. While this conduct has long been illegal, the changes to state law mean employers must now confront the intersection of what is now legal and permissible behavior with impacts on work performance. No, we […]