HRGuru

When an employer is sued for violation of employment practices violations today, the suit likely doesn’t allege discrimination or sexual harassment, but rather violations of state and federal wage and hour laws. The ease with which plaintiffs’ attorneys can certify a class or collective action under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, coupled with worker-friendly state statutes and a lack of ...

We've all been there. It's a beautiful day, and you can't bear the thought of going into work. So you call in with some excuse about feeling ill, but you know in your bones that your boss doesn't buy it. The feeling ill excuse is a short-term solution that won't win you any fans at the office; someone else will have ...

The future of human resources has perhaps no greater champion than Kathleen S. Barclay, vice president of global human resources for General Motors. When asked if the function is becoming obsolete, Barclay is adamant. "I don’t agree with that," she says. "I suppose it depends on the company that you’re dealing with, but my view is that there has never been ...

If you’ve read my blog or this column since their inception in 2007, you know I try to keep things light. I like to mix pop culture with HR practice, link to some interesting content and ask the fun questions—questions like "Does Your HR Job Stink?" and "Why Do Companies Keep Jerks Around?" OK, questions that are fun to you, only ...

A lot of congratulations were passed around by lawmakers a few weeks ago when the federal hourly minimum wage was increased to $5.85, a 70 cent uptick. But wages are just part of the problem for workers in bottom-rung jobs. Health hazards, lack of insuran

Can you guess what they are? Are you in one of them? Are you headed toward one of them? Here are the HR jobs to avoid—or spend the next few years of your career wishing you had. Some jobs stink. Mine doesn’t. I hope yours doesn’t either. But some HR jobs really do reek. I’ve wanted to do a list of ...

Representatives of the presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees met with employers on Tuesday, July 15, in Chicago to discuss each candidate’s health care plan, exposing differences in how they would close the coverage gap, reduce health care costs and affect employers. Outlining their health policy plans, the two speakers reflected the basic ideological differences between their parties. Sen. John McCain, ...

House Democrats want to put more teeth into the federal agency that helps workers collect pay that has been wrongly denied by their employers, but the thrust of their efforts probably won’t come until next year. At a House Education and Labor Committee hearing on Tuesday, July 15, the Government Accountability Office released a study showing that enforcement actions by the ...

t's not uncommon to see an employer use the term "contractor employee" or "contract employee" to describe a person who is working for the company. Ordinarily, that means -- at least to the employer using the term -- that the person is being treated as an

Q. What are the FLSA guidelines concerning independent contractors? A. Under the FLSA an independent contractor is not considered to be an employee, therefore they are not eligible for minimum wage or overtime protection. The factors that must be cons

I'm worried about Generation X and corporations. As far as I can tell, these two have a tentative relationship at best—and are likely headed for some rocky times ahead. Corporations really need Gen X—folks in their 30's to early 40's, who should begin to serve as our primary corporate leaders over the next couple years. But I fear many current corporate ...

Does your employer or insurance company offer bribes or threaten blackmail if you don't lose weight, stop smoking or take other steps to improve your health? An article (sorry, but unless you're a subscriber, you have to pay to read beyond the first 150 words of the piece) in today's New England Journal of Medicine examines how far employers and insurers ...