As Congress returns from its August recess, look for a renewed push to pass a compromise version of the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that’s been dubbed “the most sweeping pro-union legislation in the past 50 years.” The EFCA landscape is changing fast. Keep up with the latest by registering for our Aug. 27 webinar, Beyond EFCA: Preparing for the New Era of Union Organizing.

A recent study says that 40% of managers are considered “bad bosses” by their employees. Yet most managers assume that their relationships with their employees are running smoothly. Obviously, some of those bosses are wrong … and that can create major problems for a business. Here are seven common employee complaints about management, plus ways managers can silence them.

Consumers are hanging on tightly to every penny. One main cost they’re skimping on: their own health care—a move that experts say will lead to sicker Americans and higher health care costs down the road for U.S. employers. Here are three ways your organization can keep workers focused on their health even as they skimp on other expenses.

If you're relying solely on your memory to evaluate employee performance, you're making appraisals far more difficult than necessary. That's why it's best to institute a simple recording system to document employee performance. The most useful, easy-to-implement way is to create and maintain a log for each person. Follow these six steps:

When employees hunch over keyboards all day, all the motivational posters in all the break rooms of the world won’t improve their health. Solution: Deliver practical, actionable advice directly into employees’ e-mail in-boxes. Learn how one company did it with great results.

Leaders find business lessons every where, even from a shirtless guy at a music festival. See the Youtube video that went viral, and find out why two top business gurus believe that, when in doubt, good leaders just jump in with both feet.

If you develop a reasonable retention policy and follow through by regularly deleting information you don’t need, chances are an employee later won’t be able to say you intentionally interfered with the ability to present a legal case ...

It’s nowhere near a majority yet, but more employers—from Pfizer to Microsoft—have begun asking their employees to share hotel rooms when on the road. Beyond the obvious dollar savings, some organizations say it builds camaraderie.

If you notice that “summer stare” on employees’ faces as they gaze longingly out their office windows, it may be time for a morale-boosting seasonal schedule change. Here are some ideas working for the readers of the HR Specialist Forum:

If you’ve ever been caught up in an employment lawsuit, chances are you couldn’t wait for it to be over. Yet every case presents a valuable opportunity to prevent future problems and improve HR effectiveness by conducting an “autopsy” of the claim.

Whether they’re shooting off their own “tweets” or following others, workers using Twitter—the fastest-growing social networking site—are creating liability and PR risks with their 140-character rants, raves and company gossip. Advice: Draft a brief policy on  your organization’s expectations for employee’s use of Twitter and other social networking sites (plus video).

Want to know how to get under the skin of the lawyers who represent employees? Ask one. They won't all cop to what sinks their cases, but this one did. Learn what she fears most when staring down an employer in court.

Last year, U.S. employees filed a record number of legal complaints claiming they suffered discrimination at work. You know that U.S. anti-discrimination laws require managers to treat all applicants and employees equally. But what, specifically, do the laws require of supervisors and managers? Here’s a rundown:

Employers expect employees to get to work on time. Occasional problems with traffic or family issues sometimes make employees late. But chronic tardiness is another thing altogether. While most employers track tardiness occurrences, they should do more. How?

This month's collection of real-world quick tips from American business leaders, brought to you by members of The Alternative Board.

The Obama administration is stepping up efforts to audit employers it believes are violating federal employment eligibility verification laws. At the same time, it's ending "no-match" letters and requiring federal government contractors to use the E-Verify electronic verification system. Find out the latest on the ever-shifting issue of immigration and employment.

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.

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.

CEOs want their HR leaders to break outside the operational box and become more strategic players. But many HR pros are so bogged down by daily process, they have trouble lifting their heads out of the weeds. Here's a self-assessment to help you gauge the strategic value you bring to your organization.

A new Watson Wyatt survey found that 52% of employers have made layoffs (up from 39% two months earlier), but the percentage of companies planning layoffs fell from 23% to 13%.

Large organizations have long realized that HR interns contribute to the bottom line. They’re inexpensive, productive and eager to impress. Now, with budgets cut to the bone, HR departments can use all the talented, low-cost staffing they can get. That’s especially true for small and midsize HR departments. Here are the best ways to find HR interns:

We all know the “basics” when it comes to computers, right? Not necessarily. One person’s everyday shortcut may be another person’s “Cool! I didn’t know you could do that!” Try these nine keyboard and mouse tricks right now.

Whether they’re shooting off their own tweets or following others, employees using Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and personal blogs are creating liability and PR risks with their online rants, raves and company gossip. We’ve gathered the best of HR Specialist’s recent coverage of social media’s HR implications. You’ll find sound legal advice, and maybe a laugh or two.

“A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours are wasted.” This old saying may be true in many cases, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A bit of preparation, discipline and solid follow-up can help you conduct more productive and focused meetings. Here are 11 guidelines.