Back in 1949, psychologist George Kingsley Zipf discovered the
“Principle of Least Effort”: Most people, most of the time, are turned
back by modest...
Remind your managers: Contrary to popular belief, female employees don't need to be pregnant to earn legal protections under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act...
The best way to prevent employees from rallying support for a union in the workplace is to write and enforce a specific no-solicitation policy. To make sure it passes...
If you're like most small business owners, your spouse does odds and ends around the office and pitches in when you need help. This is particularly true in the summer...
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has been known to cause employer consternation. Below you'll find the answers to a pressing HIPAA ...
Whether they involve actual benefits or just the process itself, any promises made that impact an employee's expectations must be kept. If a retirement promise is...
Even when no one around you sees you as a leader, you can be one. That
was true of Sacagawea, the lone woman and only Native American on the
Lewis and Clark...
Most of us have had bosses so insecure that they could never let their employees succeed. Jack Winter was such a guy. Fresh out of college, he found himself in
Miami...
Buyer beware: If you don't probe deeply into job candidates' backgrounds, you're in the minority these days. In fact, 80 percent of employers polled in a new Society...
Managers may want to "get tough" on employees who have given them trouble in the past. But, as the following case shows, employees can sue for retaliation if they can...
Issue: You often need people to act or decide quickly, even if they don't report to you. Risk: When people avoid making decisions, it can slow you down and reflect ...
Job reviews shouldn’t be paper-moving programs that return zero value. Here are five symptoms that warn of trouble in a supervisor’s appraisal process,...
Rescinding job offers just got more legally dangerous. As incredible as it sounds, if you pull the rug out from a candidate's job offer, the person may be able to sue ...
Employee-referral programs have become one of the most successful and least expensive recruiting strategies. But even with their popularity, employee-referral programs...
Employee-referral programs can be a reliable, inexpensive way to find great talent. But you probably don’t realize that they carry a hidden legal risk, too.
Dan knew that in the long run, working with Andy was a better investment than starting over with a new hire. Here's the strategy he used to coach his promising but...
Issue: How to handle employees' vacation leave left over at year-end or when they leave your employ. Benefit: A clearly written policy can protect you from disputes and...
Issue: Legal problems that stem from inadvertent comments at the job-offer stage. Risk: Imprecise wording of an offer could lock you into an 'implied contract' with the...
