Day: July 17, 2013

Dirty Rats and Crazy Ants: Here’s Your Workplace Vermin Update

As you know, your HRSBT editors love animal stories. So here is one that’s not about dogs, goats, or monkeys (our usual favorites), but about what OSHA calls “vermin.” Yes, in order to be compliant with federal law, workplaces must be constructed and maintained to prevent rodents, insects, and other vermin from entering. So we […]

New Info Security Weapons—Paper and Ink

It’s like going from spaceships back to the horse and buggy or smartphones back to the telegraph. Is the world actually on the brink of going back to saving documents as hard copies? The recent Wiki leaks, the Snowden disclosures, and reported snooping at the recent G6 have the Russian government examining ways to protect […]

More Employers Finding Reasons Not to Hire Candidates on Social Media, Finds CareerBuilder Survey

More than two in five (43 percent) hiring managers who currently research candidates via social media said they have found information that has caused them not to hire a candidate, according to a recent CareerBuilder survey. This is up 9 percentage points from last year! There was also a slight rise in the number of […]

Key Differences in US and Canada Employment Laws

Canada employment laws can be quite different to their counterparts in the United States. US employers with operations in Canada need to be well-versed in these differences to stay in legal compliance on both sides of the border. Here are some of the big-picture differences of which to be aware. Canada Employment Laws: Minimum Employment […]

There’s No Two Ways About It: Two-Way Video Training Is Here!

“Video training has been around in some way for a very, very long time,” says David Stubenvoll, CEO and cofounder of Wowza Media Systems (www.wowza.com), a provider of media server and media workflow software. However, two-way video—a relatively new technology—is becoming increasingly popular in corporate training settings, he says. “With the Internet and with high-speed […]

Cigna’s $35M Settlement on 401(k) Fees Includes Investment Review

Cigna has agreed to settle for $35 million a class-action lawsuit brought by current and former employee participants in the health insurance company’s 401(k) plan, alleging they were charged excessive fees. As part of the settlement Cigna pledged to hire an independent consultant to monitor and suggest changes for the 401(k)’s stable value fund and its overall investment management. […]

Are You Creating “Thirsty” Learners Who Are Engaged in Training?

“There’s an age-old saying that ‘you can bring a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” says AmyK Hutchens, CEO of amyk inc. (www.amyk.com), a business strategy firm. Similarly, “you can’t force people to learn, but you can get them excited about it. You can get them thirsty. When they’re thirsty, they’ll drink.” […]

Special from Chicago—SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition – ‘Hey, That Violates My Free Speech Rights!’ (Sorry.)

For companies in the private sector, the employer determines whether there is an expectation of privacy, says Attorney Jonathan Segal, and unwary employers may create the right to privacy if they are not careful. (Government employees generally have a constitutional right to a higher level of privacy than those in the private sector.) Employers can […]

Potential deal in works to fill NLRB seats

by Tammy Binford With the clock ticking on the term of the only confirmed member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), reports are circulating that President Barack Obama will send two new nominees to the Senate and abandon his two previous appointees, who face opposition because of their disputed recess appointment status. On July […]

Look out―here comes GINA!

by Craig L. Olivo and Hilary L. Moreira The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) prohibits employers from discriminating in any term or condition of employment based on employees’ or applicants’ “genetic information.” It also prohibits you from requesting, requiring, or purchasing genetic information (with narrow exceptions). GINA was passed by Congress out of concern that […]