Tuesday November 26, 2024

Study: 90% of employees who take regular lunch breaks are more productive

Hard-working employees who skip lunch breaks can benefit employers in the meantime, but could come back to haunt them in the long run.  While it’s common for many employees to work through lunch, a recent study by Tork highlights the importance of employees taking lunch breaks away from their desks. When workers quickly shovel food […]

4 steps saved company when manager was accused of sexual harassment

The steps this organization took after a sexual harassment complaint are textbook examples of what employers should strive to do in these situations.  What happened: Jacqueline Lee, who worked for Dairyland Power Cooperative in Wisconsin, sued Dairyland, claiming she’d been the victim of sexual harassment and subjected to a hostile work environment. Bad behavior She […]

Landmark Supreme Court ruling gives HR a powerful tool to prevent pay lawsuits

Employers everywhere will likely rush to get their employees to sign the type of employment agreement the High Court just ruled has great power to protect businesses from costly wage-and-hour lawsuits. By a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court just ruled for the first time that employees cannot band together to challenge violations of federal labor […]

Revenge in the workplace: Top 10 ways employees get back at each other

There’s always going to be some conflict in the workplace, but the real trouble can happen when employees take their anger a step further.  A new study by insuranceQuotes, which surveyed over 1,000 U.S. workers, found that 44% of employees admitted to exacting revenge on a co-worker. These acts of revenge range from small to […]

Need to attract millennials? Offer student loan benefits

If you want to attract and retain millennials, it’s all about the benefits. And no perks are more sought after among this group than studen loan benefits. In this post, guest author Alyssa Schaefer, the chief marketing officer of Laurel Road, a national online lender, explains why employers can’t wait to roll out student loan benefits […]

50% of employees leave because of their managers: 3 things that’ll get them to stay

Fewer than one-third of employees in the U.S. are engaged in their work, and a recent study links that low number directly to managers.  Gallup’s latest study surveyed over 7,000 employees to examine how their managers’ behavior impacts engagement, and ultimately, whether or not workers jump ship. The study found that bad managers have a […]

New overtime rule and more: DOL’s to-do list includes some surprising news

When the DOL released its 2018 Spring Regulatory Agenda, it not only offered some insight on its progress in creating a new salary threshold for overtime eligibility, it also suggested it may alter the methods in which employees’ pay is calculated altogether. Specifically, the DOL said it plans to “clarify, update, and define regular rate […]

The $600 payroll mistake that cost this company almost $45K

Here’s a cautionary tale about the importance of double-checking for minor mistakes in your company’s overtime calculations. It’s a lesson one Texas company just learned the hard way. In the lawsuit, Castro v. Precision Demolition, a company failed to pay an employee overtime for a mere $608.05 in unpaid overtime for his travel time. It’s […]

Employee on maternity leave fired: Here’s why the company won the lawsuit

When an employee returns from protected leave, firing them soon after can look like retaliation. But at the same time, an employee on leave doesn’t have immunity if there’s a good reason for their termination.  Falsified job qualifications This is the dilemma that Oakwood Healthcare in Michigan faced. Michelle Bailey worked in the HR department […]

Company out $5.1M after forcing employees to ‘harness happiness’

Any employer would love to have workers who are emotionally aware and good at solving problems, but one company went about teaching these skills the wrong way. New York company United Health Programs of America was sued by the EEOC after allegedly forcing its employees to partake in the practices of a belief system known […]