HR Briefing articles from February 2003

HR Briefing archives from February 2003

Supreme Court to weigh scope of federal leave law. (FMLA).(Family and Medical Leave Act and state employees )
February 15, 2003... The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects a Nevada welfare-office worker and, perhaps, millions of other state workers across the country. The case, Nevada Department of Human...

NLRB permits e-filing of documents.(National Labor Relations Board )(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... * National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regulations were amended to allow the public to file NLRB forms electronically. The NLRB's rules on filing and services previously didn't offer electronic-filing as an option. This omission led to a...

Now is the time to review military-leave rules. (USERRA).
February 15, 2003... As the possibility of war between the United States and Iraq grows, thousands of employees could start leaving the civilian workforce at any time. The Pentagon called up 50,755 reservists for active duty after the September 11 attacks....

Corporate training survives--despite the economy. (Training and Development).
February 15, 2003... Job losses and budget cuts were significant during the past 24 months, but organizations managed to maintain respectable levels of training in spite of the current economic downturn, according to the American Society for Training &...

Class-action suit allowed in cash-balance dispute.(against CIGNA Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... * A U.S. district court judge has given former and current employees of CIGNA Corp. the go-ahead to lodge a class-action suit against the insurance company. The employees filed an age-discrimination claim, following the company's...

Join HRFlash.
February 15, 2003... * Sign up now for a free e-mail update--HRFlash. This weekly bulletin will alert you to late-breaking changes in employment laws and regulations, compensation and benefits, HR policy and best practices, and labor news. Send an e-mail to:...

You be the judge.(Ada Forbes, multiple sclerosis victim sues former employer for discrimination under the Americans with Disability Act )
February 15, 2003... ADA Ada Forbes, a customer service representative, was sure she had written down a customer's e-mail address during their phone conversation. I know it's here somewhere, she thought. After a half-hour search, Forbes gave up. Just as...

Business groups seek to change overtime laws.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... * For nearly a decade, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, along with other business groups, have introduced bills in Congress that would allow employers to replace overtime pay with time off, or compensatory time. These legislative proposals would...

Leave-donation systems rare, despite benefits.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... * Few employers have leave-donation or "catastrophic leave" policies, whereby workers are allowed to donate their own sick leave and personal time to help co-workers facing a major illness, accident, trauma, or hardship. This generosity can...

Bush still pushing for stiffer welfare work rules.(President Bush)(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... * President Bush wants to see more former welfare recipients meet the 40-hour workweek requirement, as his welfare-to-work plan mandates. The President claims that welfare rolls have decreased by 50 percent since 1996, which he says is...

Technology can improve--not just measure--performance. (Performance Management).
February 15, 2003... Performance management is the best, single illustration of strategic partnering between HR and line management. It can generate a sophisticated source of information on the quality and strengths of the workplace that helps employers make the...

Nonprofit privacy group to charge for online job postings.(Privacy & American Business)(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... * Privacy & American Business' P-JOBs (www.pjobs.org), the first online job board geared toward corporations, federal and state government agencies, and other entities looking to fill privacy and privacy-related positions, says it will begin...

Health care industry facing hiring, retention crisis. (Recruitment and Retention).
February 15, 2003... The U.S. Labor Department predicts that health services, including hospitals, home health care services, and offices of health practitioners, will add 2.8 million new jobs to the labor market by 2010. The explosion in health care jobs is the...

HR must take lead in handling critical skills shortage.(Brief Article)
February 15, 2003... * Roger Herman, a futurist and co-author with Joyce Gioia and Tom Olivo of Impending Crisis: Too Many Jobs, Too Few People (Oakhill Press, December 2002), says that this country is heading for a serious labor shortage and that most employers...

Retiree sues company, directors, and 401(k) plan committee. (In the courts).
February 15, 2003... A retired employee took his former employer, its board of directors, and its retirement-investment committee to court over his 401(k) plan [Crowley v. Corning, Inc., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXUS 24699 (W.D.N.Y. 2002)]. The retiree charged each...

Health screenings rate high among wellness programs. (Best benefits).
February 15, 2003... If you're wondering what employee health care program would be a worthwhile investment, you might consider offering health screenings. Employee health screenings are among the best-attended wellness programs, according to a recent...

Minimum wage, patients' rights among employment bills to watch. (Legislative Update).
February 1, 2003... Homeland security is the top priority for Congress this session, but there are also key employment-related proposals that could change the way you compensate, manage, screen, and administer benefits to employees. Those bills from both the...

NAM calls for limits on punitive damages. (Legislative Update).(National Association of Manufacturers)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), the high-profile membership organization and one of the country's strongest advocates for business, is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to place reasonable limits on punitive damages in employee...

Prescreening strategies can curb hiring errors. (Employment Screening).
February 1, 2003... More than 30 percent of resumes contain material inaccuracies. As many as 10 percent of job applicants have a criminal history. The traits of an ideal employee--dispensable, likeable, and competent--also are common traits of an embezzler. ...

Business leaders form ethics coalition. (Employment Screening).(Open Compliance and Ethics Group Project)
February 1, 2003... * A coalition of some of the nation's most recognized businesses has established the Open Compliance & Ethics Group Project (OCEG) to help U.S. businesses reduce corporate and investor risk. "In light of increased regulation, heightened...

You be the judge. (Discrimination).
February 1, 2003... Nate Calderon had been a counselor and recreation director at a local Boys' Club for 12 years before becoming a probation officer at a group home for preteen male offenders. He was proud of his success at the Boys' Club, where he had helped...

Leadership is key to retention.(prevention of employee turnover)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Competitive pay, better health care, or other benefits may not be the key to retaining employees, says Craig R. Taylor, owner of TalentKeepers, retention specialists. In his article "Focus on Talent" in the December issue of T+D...

Check list for safe hiring (AIR process). (Employment Screening).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Check List For Safe Hiring (AIR Process) Applicant:-- Position:-- Yes/ Date/ Task No/ Initials Notes/Follow-up ...

Modest pay increases expected, say employment experts.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * In spite of what the economy does, a recent survey shows that average pay increases are likely to be modest in 2003. The Conference Board's 2003 survey of 75 major employers' pay plans shows that average wage increases will likely be...

Businesses is still a noble calling, says professor.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Last year was marked by corporate scandals involving such companies as Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom. But Edward Younkins, professor of accounting at Wheeling Jesuit University (Wheeling, W. Va.), says that despite the seemingly endless stream...

Are you paying nonexempts for at-home work? (Compensation and Benefits).
February 1, 2003... Are your employees actually being compensated for all the work they perform? Nearly half of the employees in the United States take their work home with them, according to a recent survey commissioned by the Employment Law Alliance (ELA). ...

Equal pay day is time to check policies. (Pay Equity).
February 1, 2003... April may be known as income-tax-deadline time, but it's also Equal Pay Day month, a national observance sponsored by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE). This year's day of observation is April 16, says the NCPE, a coalition...

Read financial statements to avoid ID theft.(identity theft)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * "One way to help prevent identity theft is to develop the practice of reading all your statements--bank, credit card, and investment--every month as soon as they arrive," says Leland Hevner, president of the National Association of Online...

Our readers ask ...(question and answers on age discrimination, business only e-mail policies, )
February 1, 2003... Q A 20-year veteran employee is suing our company for age discrimination following a recent reduction-in-force (RIF). Although the RIF affected employees from various age brackets, the employee says that the company singled her out because...

Prepare for productivity losses during tough winter.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Snowstorms and blizzards are crippling employees' ability to travel to and from work this winter. This can mean grave financial and productivity losses for companies, as employees struggle to get to work or end up staying home. ...

Fire bad customers?(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... * Maybe it's not the employee that should be fired when a business transaction goes wrong. "In some cases, firing a customer can be the best thing for your business," says Jim Cathcart, a speaker on sales strategies and author of The Eight...