Skip to main content

What I've Been Reading This Week: HR Edition


It has been some time since I highlighted a few HR related articles for readers.  While I am aware that we have several HR readers that follow along with this blog, I think it is appropriate to dedicate this post to that very topic.  And of course, even for those readers that have little or no interest in HR related matters, I think there still might be an article or two here that you might find useful.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Conducting a Workplace Investigation? Great! But First, a Few Thoughts

Every so often, I come across an article that delves into workplace investigations and often provides a few suggested dos and don'ts.  This article from the Texas Labor Law Blog provides a few well thought out suggestions on what employers and those in HR might want to keep in mind when deciding to conduct a workplace investigation.



Ah yes, the age old struggle to find a job that offers competitive pay, flexibility with the work plan, and a good work/life balance.  Unfortunately it often results in employees having to pick between one of the three.  With that being said, some employees end up taking a job that appears at the outset to have flexibility but after a few weeks or months in, it turns out it is the polar opposite.  Greg Kratz wrote an article a few weeks ago that provides employees with some suggestions on how they can approach their boss or HR representative to address the perceived shortcomings in their assumed flexible work position.  As always, not every suggestion will be applicable to all readers.  With that being said, Greg has some interesting ideas that are worth a read.



Sabina Nawaz at The Harvard Business Review wrote an article at the start of the month that addressed the often untenable situation that results after coworkers have an uncomfortable or tense conversation.  As those in the HR field can attest to, unsettled feelings among coworkers can often create a hostile and unpleasant work environment.  In this instance, Sabina offers readers a few tips on how coworkers can move on and learn to coexist after an uncomfortable conversation.  While those in the HR field might have their own way of helping coworkers regroup after these types of conversations, I think Sabina provides some interesting techniques that some readers might find useful.


Four Tips to Help HR Better Manage Work From Home Employees

Some employers allow their employees to work remotely or from home throughout the week (or maybe even full time.)  As those who are afforded this opportunity will likely say, it beats sitting in traffic and having to commute, but there is a trade off.  In this article, Chantal Bechervaise provides four tips on how those employees that work from home can better cope with not actually being in the office.  I would suggest that those in the HR field review these tips and consider sharing them with any employees they oversee that work remotely or from home.


Interviewing An Applicant? Be Wary of Asking About Their Pay History (Depending Upon What State You Are In)

HRDive published an updated list that breaks down which states and localities have implemented a ban on asking applicants about their salary histories.  Depending on the state or town's law, there is an outright ban on asking about salary histories, while some laws allow this information to be requested only after an offer of employment is made.  Of course, this list of states and towns that have implemented bans on asking about an applicant's salary history is ever expanding.  It would be a good practice to review the current law in your state/town before instructing your HR department on proper questions to ask during the interview process.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum, it was noted that emplo
Post a Comment
Read more

What I’ve Been Reading This Week

A few years ago, I remember when the “Fight for $15” movement was taking off around the country.  Lo and behold, it appears that a $15/hour minimum wage is not the stopping point, which should be no surprise.  As the below article notes, New York is aggressively moving to ramp up hourly wage rates even higher.  While all the  below articles are worth a read, I called particular attention to that one. As always, below are a couple article that caught my eye this week. Disney World Workers Reject Latest Contract Offer Late last week, it was announced that workers at Disney World had rejected the most recent contract offer from the company, calling on their employer to do better.  As Brooks Barnes at The New York Times writes, the unions that represent about 32,000 workers at Disney World reported their members resoundingly rejected the 5 year contract offer which would have seen workers receive a 10% raise and retroactive increased back pay.  While Disney’s offer would have increased pa
Post a Comment
Read more

Utah Non-Compete Bill Falters in House

Last month, a non-compete bill sponsored by Representative Brian Greene (Republican from Pleasant Grove) & up for vote in the Utah House failed to make it through the Legislature.  The bill sought to ban enforcement of non-competes if they came after a worker was already employed, given no compensation (such as a bonus or promotion) for signing the non-compete, and laid off within six months.  However, by a 22 - 49 vote, the bill was resoundingly defeated after some business groups lobbied to kill the non-compete bill.  One group in particular, The Free Enterprise Utah coalition, argued that the Utah State Legislature should hold off on any changes to non compete laws in the state until a survey about non competes was done among Utah businesses.  Representative Greene had countered this claim and argued that a survey was not needed to show that the current non compete laws in the states allowed many businesses, including some small high tech companies in the state, to per
Post a Comment
Read more