Related legal obligations Employees love to receive them, and employers may even love to give them, but rewarding good performance with bonus pay is not always a straightforward, isolated transaction. Most employers are familiar with the legal requirement to pay non-exempt employees, i.e. hourly employees (and even some who aren’t), for overtime hours at a...
Managers with these 7 habits have much happier relationships with their employees and are less likely to find themselves in employment law trouble.
Every now and so often, something can go wrong in the hiring process. A “bad apple” gets in the mix of a good performing team or maybe the hiring process was not an issue but a decent employee turned “bad.” Managing people is one of the hardest jobs, but when you have to deal with a “bad”...
The Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”) of 2016 that became effective May 11, 2016 creates a federal private cause of action for trade secret misappropriation and provides remedies including injunction, damages, exemplary damages up to two times the amount of damages for willful and malicious appropriation, and reasonable attorney’s fees for the prevailing party under...
What do you see as you look around a typical office? Once you get past the coffee cups, computer monitors, and creatively designed (or not so creatively designed) desks, it’s about the people. Diversity in the workplace has increased substantially within the last 10-15 years. There is a wealth of information out there about diversity...
Last week I received a rather unusual call from a good friend who is a VP of HR at a well-known company outside of Atlanta. It seems that Sheryl (not her real name) had been the recipient of an email from an employee in another department. This employee’s email contained info on someone else at...
Much of our advice to clients flows from observing two principles of human behavior, the first being: Angry people sue. Appreciating Principle #1 often helps employers navigate turmoil (or near-turmoil) with existing employees. Having patience and taking extra steps to manage employee expectations can sometimes avert or downgrade a brewing conflict, and proactively maintaining a...
When was the last time you saw a headline on Google News announcing yet another executive scandal? It happens almost daily, right? Our media is plagued with accounts of corporate fraud, audit scandals, and inter-office indignity. How can we, as HR, employment law and talent management professionals avoid the selection of leaders who dive off...
This video offers a funny (and uncanny) depiction of one particularly challenging workplace personality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f57mGsZXF34 More on “derailers” and what they mean for your business to follow.
Time and attendance headaches are everyone’s problem. Have you ever had an issue with a chronically late employee? You know the one. He slinks in at 9:30 a.m. more than a couple of days per week, even though his official arrival time is supposed to be 9:00 a.m. Does he provide a simple phone call...
This article was originally published in the June 29-July 5, 2012 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle. It is republished with the permission of the author. Like most adages or clichés, “lonely at the top” rings true most of the time. Whether you own your business, are a CEO, or the head of your department,...
This is the first in a two-part post addressing a workplace issue that likely causes employees and supervisors as much consternation as any aspect of their employment: The Annual Performance Evaluation. A growing number of small and medium-sized employers are jettisoning the traditional annual performance evaluation for more innovative and inspiring ways of measuring and...