I know you are busy, which is why I am going to start you off this year with a quick sampling of some recent stories of interest in the HR world. If you want to read more, just click and go to the source!
Is Text Messaging Private in the Workplace?
Does a police officer have a reasonable expectation of privacy when he text messages using a department issued pager? The United States Supreme Court has decided to take the case. Read more on this…….WorldofWork Blog
Yammer, you might want to try it.
Yammer? What’s that? Just when you thought you had a grip on social media, a new outlet bursts upon the scene. This one is anticipated by many to be the next big one, and it could be part of your workplace strategies. Instead of the Twitter question, “What’s happening?” Yammer asks the question, “What are you working on?” Instead of being open to the universe, it is designed for employees in a single organization. Imagine having a dashboard of sorts on your computer screen, a stream of “yaps” that tell you what others in the organization are working on throughout the day. Think about the possibilities. It has the potential to be a great communication and collaboration tool. Instant messaging that is transparent to all and keeps people informed about who is working on what. And it is free. Check it out here
More on Social Media
Jon Hyman, at the Ohio Employment Law Blog, gets it right when he sums up the top ten law stories of 2009 with social media in first place. He provides a series of law articles that discuss the risks associated with social media and what you might need to include in your personnel policies.
Read more at the The Ohio Employment Law Blog
Employees are on the move.
Right Management surveyed more than 900 workers in North America and asked: Do you plan to pursue new job opportunities as the economy improves in 2010?
A whopping 60% said they intend to leave, and another 21% said, maybe, they are networking to consider other opportunities.
Have employees had enough? What does this portend? Read more here
Salary Budgets, Still Unsettled.
In the words of Ann Bares, a fellow compensation consultant, we are on our way to a new normalcy.
She reports on a recent study by Towers, Perrin that finds that most salary budgets will be unfrozen in the coming year, but that companies are planning to spend with greater care, using more differentiation in distributing the limited salary dollars they will have available. You can read more at her blog compforce
When does lunch constitute work time?
It never hurts to brush up on the FLSA overtime rules, especially today when the filings with Wage Hour are at an all time high. The Overtime Advisor reminds us of the DOL rules governing employees who work through lunch. Read More Here
Another FLSA story that brings home the point that it is harder to exempt employees than you think!
According to a story on MSNBC, a United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia says first-level managers for Bell South are not exempt because they are on the lowest rung of the managerial ladder and have only minimal supervision. Read More Here
If you need an employee to recertify FMLA Leave, be sure to follow the rules.
Finally, another excellent blog post by Jon Hyman that is a more technical summary of do’s and don’ts regarding recertifying FMLA leave. Read More Here
Next time I will write about a city in Ohio that made bold changes to its health care programs which brought about significant savings by engaging its employees. And yes, they have unions!
