John Wilcox is senior editor of 15 HR Specialist newsletters covering employment law, compensation and benefits, as well as theHRSpecialist.com. A journalist who has covered HR, training, organization development and business management for more than 15 years, John keeps his finger on the pulse of what’s working in HR through daily contact with some of the nation’s top HR pros, business people and employment law attorneys.
If you have a progressive discipline system that gives poor performers or rule breakers a chance to reform, be sure your policy includes an escape hatch that lets you...
There’s a lot for employers to like about the U.S. Department of Labor’s new Payroll Audit Independent Determination program—known as PAID. Some state officials...
Join The HR Specialist (a Business Management Daily publication) in celebrating the third annual “HR Professionals Week,” a five-day tribute to all that...
As part of my new job, I was told that I would be responsible for handing out payroll checks to the entire staff—hundreds of employees! Some of them are live...
There’s a guy in our shop who whistles almost nonstop at an ear-piercing level. His co-workers have asked him to stop, and then they asked me to ask him to stop....
We’re updating our employee handbook and we would like to include a policy limiting employees’ use of the phones for personal business. We want to allow...
In my view, the term "other duties as assigned" means duties not in the position description, but within the usual framework of the position, such as type of job, one's...
We're reviewing tons of applications for the few positions we're seeking to fill. What's the best practice for notifying applicants who aren't hired? How do other...
An employee asked for bereavement leave when his cousin died. I turned it down and made him take vacation time instead. I felt bad about doing so, but I believe our...
“Last winter we went through a six-week stretch when it seemed like
everyone in the office was just passing around the same cold and flu
bugs. I think I had the...
Question: “A member of our staff recently came to HR and said she was worried
that a co-worker is in such poor health that he might have a heart
attack on the...
Question: We have an employee whose desk looks like she has a picnic on it every
day—and she leaves it that way when she goes home at night. Apple
cores, juice...
Question: How many cigarette breaks are too many cigarette breaks in an
eight-hour workday? I think we need a smoke break policy of some kind,
if only to keep...
Question: “One of our employees is going through a divorce. Although she says she
is doing OK, lately she is making more and more mistakes on tasks that
she used...
Question: Tricky situation here: We have a great supervisor with a wonderful
track record and excellent evaluations. But recently he missed some
clear warning signs...
Question: “We're going to be incredibly busy this summer, and I'm already worried
about employees' vacations interfering with our delivery schedules. I
want a...
Question: “We've
always been pretty informal about how we deal with comp time for exempt
employees. Naturally, a couple of people have started abusing...
Question: “Recently an employee had chest pains at work and was taken to the
hospital. To respect his privacy, we did not make an all-staff
announcement about...
