Archive for HR Strategy

Accidental Pay Stub Violations Create PAGA Liability

What happens when an employer inadvertently hands out pay stubs that the employer does not realize are missing some required information? Well, given that this is California, you can probably guess the answer.

The Toxicity of Office Politics to High Potential Employees

Despite the fact that science has given us robust tools to identify, measure, and evaluate indicators, organizations often make employee evaluation mistakes.

When Joking With Employees Leads to Bad Behavior

Recently, Harvard Business Review author Kai Chi Yam published an article entitled, “When Joking With Your Employees Leads to Bad Behavior.”  The author’s goal was to understand the impact that a leader’s jokes can have on the behaviors and actions of his/her employees. After conducting lengthy research with workers…

How to Hire the Right Person

Recently, Adam Bryant of the New York Times published an excellent article on hiring entitled, “The Hiring Manager’s Guide to Hiring the Right Person.”  In speaking with over 500 corporate leaders for his “Corner Office” series, Mr. Bryant asked each of them, “How do you hire?”  Those conversations…

Your Emotional Intelligence Impacts Your Success as an Employee

According to an article by Daniel Goleman and Richard E. Boyatzis in today’s Harvard Business Review, an employee’s emotional intelligence — often referred to simply as “EQ” or “EI” — is a predictor of success in the workplace. EI contains four different major categories of intelligence: (1) self-awareness, (2)…

Here’s How to Be a Better Employee in 2017

According to Fast Company, there are 10 things you should be doing to be a better employee in 2017: (1) Strengthen your “soft skills,” especially your emotional intelligence and active listening. (2) Show gratitude to colleagues. (3) Make more connections and collaborate more across your company. (4) Create…

Governor Brown Signs SB 1063, Broadening the Fair Pay Act to Include Race

California already has the nation’s most progressive fair pay law, known as the “Fair Pay Act.”  I blogged about that new law, which was passed in October 2015, here. But now, with Governor Brown recently signing SB 1063, California’s Fair Pay Act is even more expansive.  Whereas the…

New IRS Mileage Rates for 2017

Beginning January 1, 2017, the new standard IRS mileage rates are: (a) $0.535/mile for business miles driven; (b) $0.17/mile for medical or moving purposes; and (c) $0.14/mile for service to charitable organizations. Employers that use the standard IRS rates for employee reimbursement purposes should review and adjust their…

San Jose Voters Approve Ballot Measure E

San Jose voters passed Ballot Measure E in the recent November 2016 elections.  This new law, sometimes called the “Opportunity to Work Ordinance,” requires that covered San Jose employers offer existing part-time employees additional work hours before hiring any temporary, part-time, or new workers.  The new law also…

Federal Judge Blocks New Department of Labor Overtime Rules, Including Minimum Salary Required for Exemptions

Last week, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing its new overtime rules that were scheduled to go into effect on December 1, 2016. Among other things, these new overtime rules would have required employers to pay “exempt”…