http://www.elinfonet.com/fedindex/12 Human resource articles discussing topics covering employee relations and other workplace issues. Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:03:14 EST en-us http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=9070 Article: 9070 Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) According to a study by Microsoft, 70% of HR professionals have turned down job candidates because of the candidate’s online activity and reputation. On the flip side, approximately 60% of Internet users admit that their online behavior may affect their professional and personal lives. But only 15% of them actually think of the potentially negative impact when surfing the Web and posting content. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=9069 Article: 9069 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) I'm often asked for a sample social-media policy. I've posted before (see below) about online repositories for such policies and encourage readers to review as many such samples as possible before putting pen to paper and actually drafting your own. Below is a sample policy (a set of guidelines, actually) that is a good starting point for most organizations. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=9067 Article: 9067 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) There’s a new kid on the block in the anti-discrimination arena, and her name is GINA. Employers should already be familiar with long-standing federal laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), which prohibit employment decisions made on account of applicants’ and employees’ race, color, national original, religion, gender, age and disability. GINA, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, now extends these same protections to the “protected category” of genetic information. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=9066 Article: 9066 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has announced the 65 college teams participating in its 2010 Men’s Division I Basketball Championship. This begins the nearly three-week single-elimination tournament that takes place mainly during March. It is appropriate now to consider the potential effect the basketball tournament may have on the workplace. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=9060 Article: 9060 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) The Department of Defense (DoD) has implemented the “Franken Amendment,” prohibiting certain defense contractors that receive DoD Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 funds from mandating pre-dispute arbitration agreements as a condition of employment. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=9059 Article: 9059 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Long term care facilities should consider implementing a social media policy to establish clear guidelines for appropriate use, prevent and mitigate facility-damaging postings and clearly delineate patient information protected by Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The policy, and the consequences of violating it, should also be clearly communicated to all employees. At a minimum, a good social media policy should include the following: http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=9057 Article: 9057 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued regulations affecting nearly every business ¯ at least every business with a workforce that has computer access (either on or off working time). http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=9051 Article: 9051 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Last month, the IRS began its first comprehensive audit of employment tax issues in over 25 years. The IRS will audit 6000 companies in total over the next three years. The main issues to be examined in these audits are worker classification, executive compensation and taxable fringe benefits. (For a broad discussion of all of these issues, please see our prior alert "IRS Will Audit 6,000 Companies – Make Sure Your Employment Taxes Are in Order.") Because worker classification will garner more scrutiny than any other issue in these audits, this alert focuses solely on worker classification and the factors involved in making an accurate determination. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=9048 Article: 9048 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Social media applications, such as blogs, social networking, and video sharing, have surged in popularity over the past few years. They are now used by employees in almost every workplace. Forward-thinking companies around the world are embracing social networking and blogs for branding, client service and development, research, recruitment, and improving employee engagement, among other things. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?popID=9044 Article: 9044 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Congress enacted the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) to encourage non-career service in the uniformed services, by minimizing the disadvantages to civilian employment which can result from such service.