What you wear to work may affect your chances for promotion, according to a recent survey by Office Team, an employment agency that specializes in administrative staffing. Eighty percent of executives interviewed admitted that clothing choices affect who they choose to promote.
Tags: dress code, dress code at work, promotion, employees, HR Allen Consulting Services, Employers, HR Informant
On May 1, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that an Iowa jury awarded damages totaling $240 million — the largest verdict in the federal agency’s history — in a lawsuit related to disability discrimination and severe abuse.
Tags: employees, HR Allen Consulting Services, Employers, HR Informant, EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, disability discrimination, disability-based wage discrimination
A Colorado court ruled that an employer can still fire an employee for a positive marijuana drug test, even though state law permits the medical and recreational use of marijuana.
Tags: employees, California, HR Allen Consulting Services, Employers, HR Informant, termination, Colorado, Inc., medical marijuana, medical marijuana use, Ross v. RagingWire
Almost one in four workers (23 percent) who took part in a recent survey by CareerBuilder.com reported being asked to perform tasks that fell well outside the “job related” category.
The survey turned up many interesting and unusual requests made by bosses, including:
Tags: bosses, other duties as assigned, strange requests, employees, HR Allen Consulting Services, Employers, HR Informant
On March 8, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the revised Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I-9, and published a notice in the Federal Register.
In the initial announcement, USCIS described when employers can no longer use prior versions of Form I-9. USCIS incorrectly described the effective date as being after May 7, 2013.
USCIS published a correction notice in the Federal Register. This notice corrects the error and clarifies that beginning May 7, 2013, employers may no longer use prior versions of the Form I-9.
Tags: Employment Eligibility Verification, Form I9, employees, HR Allen Consulting Services, Employers, HR Informant, USCIS, : Form I-9
Tags: Retaliation, sexual harassment, protected activity, employees, HR Allen Consulting Services, Employers, HR Informant, NLRB, social media
Businesses in the U.S. and U.K. lose $37 billion a year simply because workers do not fully understand their jobs, according to a new IDC white paper commissioned by Cognisco, an employee-assessment specialist. Their confusion results in unplanned downtime, regulatory penalties, and other costs to companies.
Communicating effectively is a must-have leadership skill, one that’s essential to managing employees and growing a business. Although we have more tools than ever for sharing ideas — from texting to video conferencing — it seems that everyone is talking, but very few of us are truly listening. It’s imperative that employers and employees learn not only to hear each other out, but also to process what’s being said.
Here are three tips for sharpening your listening skills.
Tags: Productivity, communication, employees, HR Allen Consulting Services, HR Informant
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released updated income-tax withholding tables for 2013 reflecting recent changes by Congress to address the “fiscal cliff.”
The updated income tax withholding tables show the new rates in effect for 2013 and supersede the tables issued on December 31, 2012. The updated tables contain the percentage method income-tax withholding tables and related information that employers need to implement these changes.
According to the IRS:
Tags: IRS, 2013 income tax withholding tables, income tax withholding tables, Internal Revenue Service, payroll taxes, W-4 form, employees, HR Allen Consulting Services, Employers, HR Informant
Voters in San Jose agreed this week to hike the city’s minimum hourly wage to $10 per hour — $2 per hour above the state minimum wage.
San Jose is now the second city in California to set its own minimum wage. Three other cities nationwide set their own minimum wage: Washington, D.C., and Santa Fe and Albuquerque, N.M.
The first California city to set its own minimum wage, San Francisco, did so in 2003. The current minimum wage in San Francisco is $10.24 an hour. The San Francisco rate increases to $10.55 an hour beginning January 1, 2013.
The San Jose law applies to employers who either maintain a facility in the city of San Jose or who are subject to the city’s business license tax (Chapter 4.76 of the city’s municipal code).
Like San Francisco, the new San Jose ordinance comes with a posting requirement for employers. Employers will be required to post a notice setting forth the current San Jose minimum wage rate.
Tags: employees, HR Allen Consulting Services, Employers, HR Informant, California minimum wage, San Francisco minimum wage, San Jose minimum wage
The General Election is on November 6, 2012. Employees have certain rights to take time off to vote, and employers have posting obligations.
Time Off To Vote
If an employee does not have sufficient time outside of working hours to vote in a statewide election, the employee may, without loss of pay, take up to two (2) hours of working time to vote. The time off must be taken at the beginning or end of the regular working shift, whichever gives the employee the most free time for voting and the least time off from working.
You and the employee may mutually agree to a different part of the working shift when the time off can be taken. The employee must notify you at least two (2) working days in advance to arrange a voting time.
Posting Obligations
Employers must display a poster describing voting leave requirements at least 10 days before every statewide election. For a copy of the voting leave poster, and all required posters and notices, see the Required Posters for the Workplace page on HRCalifornia and visit the CalChamber store to purchase.
Sharing Information With Employees
Employers are within their rights to communicate with employees about issues, regulations, legislation or ballot measures that will have an impact on the workplace, jobs, the economy and the employees themselves.
But employers may not take certain actions: no paycheck stuffers; no coercion; no rewarding or punishing employees (or threatening to do so) for their political activities or beliefs.
For more guidelines on political communications to employees, see this brochureprepared by the CalChamber. Note the distinction between internal communications (to employees, stockholders and their families) and communications to external audiences (such as non-stockholder retirees, outside vendors, customers or passersby).
CalChamber Urges Members to Register to Vote for November Elections
The California Chamber of Commerce is urging its members to register to vote for the November 6 General Election before the October 22 deadline.
An online link to register is available this CalChamber site. Voter registration information is available at the Secretary of State website.
The last day to register to vote for the November 6 election is October 22, 2012. To register to vote, you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony and have not been judged by a court to be mentally incompetent to register and vote.
See the CalChamber’s positions on November ballot measures.
Tags: time off to vote, Election Day, political communications, employees, California, HR Allen Consulting Services, Employers, HR Informant
