Pat DiDomenico

Lessons from LEAP: Best Quotes from our 2015 Employment Law Conference

April 13, 2015
HR professionals from around the country came to the Bellagio in Las Vegas last week to soak up expert employment law advice at the 11th annual Labor & Employment Law Advanced Practices (LEAP) Symposium, hosted by Business Management Daiy and the HR Specialist. The Soapbox was there to record pearls of wisdom dropped by the speakers, 25 of the best employment attorneys in the country. Here are just some of  those thoughts:

E-Signatures: Can Keystrokes Carry the Same Legal Weight as Pen Strokes?

March 30, 2015
These days, many employer documents exist solely in electronic form, acknowledged by employees using so-called electronic signatures instead of written ones. However, it’s vital to have a system to authenticate that such a “signature” was really executed by a particular employee or applicant. A handful of court cases have shown that sloppy authentication can lead courts to nullify “signed” agreements …

Waiting on the Feds: Overtime Rules, FMLA Forms Hang in Limbo

March 13, 2015
This month, HR professionals—more specifically, the lawyers who advise HR professionals—are waiting on a pair of tablets expected to be handed down soon from Mount Labor. Both documents stalled at the U.S. Department of Labor actually do matter to the way you do your business. Here’s why … and the status of each:

Shoot Down HIPPOs: 5 Ways to Encourage Employee Dissent

February 27, 2015
Innovative companies are doing more to snuff out their “yes men” cultures. At Google, for example, the top dogs specifically tell employees not to listen only to “HIPPOs,” an acronym for the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. Here are five ways to encourage staff to politely dissent …

Think outside the suggestion box

February 16, 2015

Maybe you’ve got a physical Suggestion Box that employees can drop paper notes into. Maybe you’ve taken the concept digital with an Idea Wiki or some other online tool. Either way, unless management makes it a priority to regularly request (and implement) suggestions from the rank-and-file, that fertile soil of ideas will quickly dry up.

Luck and Love, HR Style

February 13, 2015

As we sit at the confluence of Friday the 13th and Valentine’s Day, today’s HR Soapbox is reflecting on luck and love in the workplace. As luck would have it, we’ve stumbled upon a pair of new surveys on these topics:

How to Get Recruiting & Retention Advice from ‘The Ones That Got Away’

January 30, 2015
Maybe you conduct exit interviews with employees on their way out the door, or you do “stay interviews” with current staff. But you’re missing out on important feedback by failing to listen to another key segment—applicants who’ve rejected your job offers. Listening to rejecters helps you gauge the effectiveness of your hiring process and increase your applicant capture rate. Here’s what to ask, and how to ask it …

Don’t Become the Next Sony: How HR Can Win the War on Data

January 9, 2015

Your computer networks face a greater risk from an angry ex-employee or bored teenager than from Kim Jong Un. A surprising 44% of small employers say their computer networks have faced some sort of attack. What’s HR to do? Attorneys say HR should consider the following issues …

They’re Baaaack! Unions Find Their Mojo in Pair of Controversial NLRB Rulings

December 19, 2014
Union membership in the private sector has fallen below 7%, a level not seen since 1932. But a pair of controversial rulings by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week has pumped new life in labor unions, giving them sweeping new powers to organize workers. Here a quick summary, and tips on how to respond …

Was she fired because her skills were outmoded, or because employer thought she was too old?

December 16, 2014
The law protecting workers over the age of 40 is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. And you should know that ADEA claims are on the rise, especially now that Boomers are reaching retirement age. Here are some guidelines for managers.