Protecting Whistleblowers
When you hear the word “whistleblower,” you probably think of someone like Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency subcontractor who leaked top-secret information about NSA surveillance activities. Or, you might think of Sherron Watkins, who warned Enron founder Kenneth Lay that the company faced financial doom if it didn’t clean up its disastrous accounting […]
Fired after posting Facebook photos
If you are an employee who likes to post on social media sites, best not to display pictures of yourself having fun when you’re supposed to be at home recovering from an illness or injury. That’s what a number of people learned the hard way in a variety of court cases that overwhelmingly sided with […]
Becoming a Small Business Owner
“One of the most difficult things about starting a business is trying to learn all of the state and federal laws that pertain to business owners,” said Gerald Lavarias, clinical director and co-owner of MAPSS, a local business that provides support services to children and adults with special needs. California is home to more than […]
Why Employers Should Curtail Workplace Cursing
The summer I was 15 and working at my dad’s bait shop, he posted a sign by the cash register that said, “no cussing.” He didn’t put the sign there to remind me not to curse; it was there to let customers know that swearing was not allowed around my delicate ears. While my ears […]
Don’t appear too sexy at work
“I’m Too Sexy,” a song by the English trio Right Said Fred, topped the American music charts in early 1992. The list of things the singer says he’s too sexy for include his shirt, car, hat, cat, and the song itself. On a similar note, a former employee of a New York lingerie manufacturer said […]
Accommodate Religious Beliefs Even When You Don’t Believe
When I was the HR manager of a local business, I suggested to management that a hand scanner be installed to track employee time and attendance. At that time, employees clocked in and out with a card that they swiped through a scanner. Some employees frequently forgot their cards, so the hand scanner was my […]
Approved Love at Work
Around Valentine’s Day, I’m usually compelled to write an article about why love in the workplace is a bad idea, especially between supervisors and their subordinates. However, this year I’m encouraging employers and supervisors to take deliberate steps to create a loving workplace. Why? Because this kind of love is good for business and everyone […]
Emojis: The Latest Thing Employers Need to Worry About
A picture is worth a thousand words and, apparently, so is an emoji. For those unfamiliar with the term, “emojis” are colorful cartoon characters (faces, hearts, animals, etc.) that are used in electronic communications to clarify one’s messages. In her article, “Oxford’s 2015 Word of the Year Is This Emoji,” on http://time.com, Katy Steinmetz says […]
The New Year Brings New Laws
Money makes the world go around, and the New Year brings with it new laws pertaining to employee’s wages. Here is a handful that went into effect on January 1, 2016. You undoubtedly already know that California’s minimum wage increased to $10.00/hr. for non-exempt (hourly) employees and to $20/hr. or $41,600 annually for exempt (salaried) […]
