by Joseph C. Pettygrove
Employers are increasingly looking at the feasibility of scanning hard copies of various types of employment documents and retaining only the electronic copies in the routine course of business. Generally speaking, you are allowed to do that if you ensure that your electronic record maintenance systems are secure, accurate, reliable, and accessible [...]

This year’s “perfect storm” of events — from terrorism in Times Square to the dreaded 1,000-year flood in Tennessee to the devastating oil spill off the Gulf Coast — should again remind employers of the need to establish a crisis management and business continuity plan (CMBCP). The time for corporate complacency is long gone.
Workplace [...]

In today’s world of corporate belt-tightening and budget cutbacks, you might find yourself wondering whether the expense of an HR staff is actually justified by the benefits. After all, HR doesn’t create revenue for the company — it doesn’t operate the machinery that produces the widgets, and it doesn’t drive sales.
In fact, the perception might [...]

When an employee takes unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave, how do you legally manage his share of premiums for group health care coverage under the new FMLA regulations? What are the potential liabilities, and how can you avoid them? What are an employer’s rights? The answers to those questions are provided below.
FMLA [...]

Update from HR News: Read the latest news proposals to extend the COBRA subsidy
Sandwiched in with all the infrastructure development and green energy provisions of President Barack Obama and the Democrat’s economic stimulus plan are several provisions that affect employee benefits, particularly health benefits.

by Kara Shea
We’ve received many questions lately from employers facing tremendous pressure to reduce their operating expenses. Some proposed cost-cutting efforts implicate various employment laws. Since things may get worse before they get better, I’m undertaking a series of articles to address some of the issues you may encounter in the months ahead. I’ll look [...]

Not unlike an annual employee performance evaluation, an HR or employment law audit provides an objective means to measure the effectiveness of HR functions with respect to productivity, efficiency, and morale, among others. As a risk-management tool, an audit can identify obsolete or ineffective practices and flag compliance issues. In fact, employment practices liability insurance [...]