Articles
Work Spouse/Non-Apology Apology (July 11, 2011)
Managing a mix gender friend/work relationship. Full article >>
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN OUR MIDST AND JUST LET ME BE UNEMPLOYED: ALA (July 11, 2011)
How to handle Domestic Violence when both parties work for you. Wanting to quit but still get unemployment. Full article >>
Smart Phones (July 11, 2011)
Overtime issues when employees use company phones after hours. Full article >>
Salary Griping (April 6, 2011)
Consequences of firing the "salary monitor" Full article >>
The Arrogant Star (April 6, 2011)
How to handle the "STAR" and problems they cause Full article >>
Functional Alcoholic (April 6, 2011)
Handling employees with alcohol problems Full article >>
Dug A Deep Hole/ Not My Job (April 6, 2011)
Controlling your temper at work and consequences of not; Working within your job description Full article >>
Take Back your Life: Alaska (April 6, 2011)
Seven p.m. on Friday night and you’re still at the office when the phone rings. Your new honey asks if you’d like to meet her at Humpy’s or whether she needs to find someone new to hang out with in the evening. You pack your briefcase with work you’ve got to get done this weekend, wondering why your employees and coworkers get to leave work early Friday afternoon while you stay late. The answer? -- You’re so invested in your work you risk losing other parts of your life. Full article >>
Shallow Supervisor (February 25, 2011)
What can I do about a shallow supervisor Full article >>
Accused (February 16, 2011)
Employee arrested, what are the legal options Full article >>
Nosy Boss, Eligible for Rehire and Myspace (February 10, 2011)
Q&A: How to handle nosy boss,"eligible for rehire" what does it really mean, The Myspace dilema. Full article >>
Opportunity or Turncoat? (December 23, 2010)
I’ve just been offered a job by my company’s number one competitor. I am a top performer at my company, but have gone as high in rank as I can here and confess I’m intrigued by the opportunity. Full article >>
Cussing Supervisor and Job Threat (October 29, 2010)
My supervisor was on the phone and called out to me that he needed a phone number. I went to my office to get the number and he yelled through the doorway, just give me the f------ number. I gave the number to him, said “no one speaks to me like that” and left the building. Full article >>
Blew the Whistle Late (October 29, 2010)
Question: For three years I covered up for my boss. I looked the other way when he lied, cheated and stole. I paid him “play money” based on his padded expense accounts, letting him pretend the women he took with him on business trips had a real purpose. I said nothing Full article >>
You Blew It (October 29, 2010)
You seriously blew it. As a result, your employer lost a key client, missed a crucial deadline on a loan application or made an irreversible error on a legal filing. You wish you could turn the clock back and fix this, but you can’t. If you’ve made a catastrophic mistake, don’t compound it. Full article >>
HOT MAMMA AND DROP THE LOSER MENTALITY (May 19, 2010)
Written by Dr. Lynne Curry Question: I work with a “hot mama” female manager that wears too small, too tight and way too revealing clothing. Full article >>
POISON PEN AND LOVE LETTERS (May 12, 2010)
Last week, my boss fired the woman who shared administrative duties with me. I liked this woman, but I’d known she had it coming. I could never figure out what she was doing or what took her so long to complete tasks that I handled quickly and I ultimately decided she was surfing the Net. Because she didn’t really care about her job, she made countless mistakes and her cell phone rang off and on all day with personal calls. Full article >>
Managing A Tech-Savvy Workplace (April 30, 2010)
Managing A Tech-Savvy Workplace Marketing and Your Social Media Policy Most employers are fully aware that social media has benefits and pitfalls with respect to marketing and the corporate reputation. While companies exploit social media to reach target audiences with increased efficiency and through new forums, disgruntled or careless employees may intentionally or inadvertently expose the company’s proprietary information or harm the corporate reputation on a global scale. Full article >>
How Bad Can It Get? (April 28, 2010)
How Bad Can It Get? By Lynne Curry, SPHR Six women sued Wal-Mart ten years ago ... and then the six grew into 1.5 million. The 9th Circuit Court issued an opinion April 26th, 2010, certifying a class action suit against Wal-Mart. The net result – the risk of what a jury might say and the resulting costs multiplied by 1.5 million plaintiff will almost certainly force Wal-Mart to settle. Full article >>
E-Verify and Employers (April 27, 2010)
The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) For the first time, employers were required to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all persons hired for employment after November 6, 1986. IRCA imposed administrative sanctions for Form I-9 hiring and verification violations. IRCA made it unlawful to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized aliens. The goal was to remove the “magnet”of employment that drives illegal immigration. Full article >>
Workplace Privacy Narrows By Lynne Curry, SPHR (April 26, 2010)
Although employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the workplace, in a recent landmark case, California’s Supreme Court ruled that employee rights take a backseat to an employers’ “legitimate business interests.” In Hernandez v. Hillsides, California’s Supreme Court countered the theory that employees had a guarantee of privacy behind the closed doors of their own offices Full article >>
IS IT TOO LATE TO SAY SHE CAN’T DO THE JOB? (April 14, 2010)
We hired “Angela” four months ago. We all liked her and still do, but she isn’t performing as we’d hope. Unfortunately, we’re now past the probationary period and we’ve just found that she’s disabled. We’re afraid of a problem if we fire her without a lot of documentation about her problems which we don’t have. Full article >>
WAGE AND HOUR SURPRISES AND RISKS (April 1, 2010)
You’re stuck and your good intent doesn’t save you. You need to pay overtime wages, penalties and liquidated damages for any hours any of your employees worked past eight hours a day to “make up” for time off. You need to make sure your informal practices as well as your record-keeping fully complies with all wage and hour laws. Full article >>
GINA (March 3, 2010)
GINA prohibits employers, unions, employment agencies from collecting genetic information, including family medical history, from employees or applicants. Full article >>
Road Trip Goes Nowhere (February 25, 2010)
Question: I took a road trip with a coworker from my company’s corporate office two years ago. I’d just been hired by my company. “Sally” worked for the corporate head of marketing and didn’t have to help me but took me under her wing. When my company sent me to two New York conferences separated by only three days, management decided it was cheaper to leave me on travel status and pay my per diem rather than fly me all the way home and then back to New York. Full article >>
Termination Blues (February 17, 2010)
When managers terminate popular, self-righteous employees they risk being hauled into civil court. Often, they face even harsher judgment in the court of employee opinion. You need a win on both fronts. If you want to prevent or defend a lawsuit, assess your decision before you finalize it. Full article >>
Partner Doesn't Get It (January 20, 2010)
When companies merge, the owners need more than an on-paper agreement, they need a real partnership. Many partners resist these gut-wrenching conversations and instead swallow irritations, allowing problems to fester until the partnership becomes “in name only” or falls apart. Here's what to do: Full article >>
Federal Contractors, Are you E-Verifying? by Renea I. Saade (January 18, 2010)
A federal court recently confirmed that all federal contractors and subcontractors that are party to solicitations issued or contracts awarded after September 8, 2009 must enroll and participate in the E-Verify program. Federal contractors and subcontractors that do not fulfill their E-Verify obligations, may face agency audits and could possibly lose their eligibility for federal projects. Full article >>
In demanding times, employees must give more (November 16, 2009)
She didn't say, "It's not my job." Within minutes of going off-duty and in the area only because her vehicle was in the shop, police officer Kim Munley heard the distress call from Fort Hood Army post. She didn't respond: "Let someone else handle this." Full article >>
Firm may have to pay for weight-loss surgery (October 5, 2009)
Q. Despite the fact that our employees know our company hovers on the brink of layoffs, one of my key employees made a bizarre request, telling me I needed to pay for her weight-reduction surgery. Full article >>