‘Emotional caregivers’ win FMLA coverage

  • May 01, 2002

Truck driver Joseph Scamihorn Jr. saw his 73-year-old father fall into a deep depression soon after his daughter, Joseph's sister, was murdered. After notifying his...

‘Hybrid’ pay plan can kill exempt status

  • April 01, 2002

A full-time home health care nurse in Cleveland was required to complete at least 25 patient visits per week, for which she was paid on a per-visit fee basis. She also...

FMLA and HOLIDAY PAY

  • January 01, 2002

Q Our policy says an employee must work the workday before and after a holiday to receive holiday pay. If an employee is on Family and Medical Leave Act leave, is he...

Dale Carnegie’s legacy

  • December 01, 2001

Remember Dale Carnegie? Today, he’d make a great career coach with advice such as, “Become genuinely interested in others,” and, “Get others to...

You can correct FMLA mistakes

  • December 01, 2001

In golf, they call it a mulligan. Kids call it a "do-over." And in the world of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) administration, it can be legal to do an ...

Liability doesn’t stop at company door

  • December 01, 2001

The president of Windermere Relocation Services really wanted to win the Starbucks account. He told Maureen Little, the firm's top corporate services manager, that he...

Upgrade your persuasive power

  • November 01, 2001

More than 2,300 years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle gave us a blueprint to speak persuasively.

Convey displeasure, not disgust

  • November 01, 2001

Neil Patterson lost it. Fed up with his employees’ poor effort, the CEO of Cerner Corp. wrote an e-mail to senior managers that read, in part, “Hell will...

Promise discretion, not confidentiality

  • November 01, 2001

An employee wants to confess wrongdoing or alert you to sensitive personnel or safety matters. But before opening up, the worker asks, “Can you keep this...

Notify staff how you count FMLA year

  • October 01, 2001

Managers at America West warned Penny Bachelder that her attendance was a problem. She had taken lots of time off in the previous two years under the Family and Medical...

Silence a nagging boss

  • September 01, 2001

My boss constantly pesters me. He calls or visits my office every few hours, asking, “Is it done yet?” That distracts me and slows me down. How can I shut...

Tame an intrusive boss

  • September 01, 2001

I’m a good manager—when I’m left alone. But I have a new boss who’s always contradicting me in front of my employees and generally butting in.