On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule banning virtually all noncompete agreements. It takes effect 120 days after publication in the Federal Register, which probably means an effective date sometime around the end of August. The rule prohibits employers from enforcing...
Question: Do managers need to be classified as exempt? Answer: No, it’s fine to classify managers as nonexempt. You are under no obligation to classify any employee as exempt, even if they meet the criteria under the Fair Labor Standards Act. You could have an entire...
Question: Are there questions or topics we should avoid during the hiring process? How can we be sure we don’t accidentally get into one of those topics? Answered by the HR Experts: You should avoid asking questions that could be viewed as discriminatory or that infringe...
It does! Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act ( NLRA ) in 1935 to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to limit certain labor and management practices that can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses, and the...
The Baby Boomers, Generation X, millennials, and Generation Z, who make up most employers’ workforce, have different situations and benefit needs. That’s why increasing numbers of employers are looking beyond a one-size-fits-all plan to a multi-generational benefit plan. KNOW YOUR DEMOGRAPHICS The first step in moving...
Question: We’ve generally been tolerant of harmless pranks, but recently, an employee placed a suggestive picture on a coworker’s workstation and another employee saw it and complained. How should we respond? Answer: It sounds like this prank could have crossed the line into harassment, even...
A whistleblower is an employee who reports wrongdoing (dangerous, illegal, or unethical activity or practices by the company or its employees) either directly to the employer or to an outside authority. Many laws, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, consider whistleblowing a protected activity, meaning you...
Furloughs and layoffs are ways to reduce labor costs during times of economic hardship. They both involve a loss of work for employees, but there is a key difference between them. A furlough continues employment but reduces scheduled hours or requires a period of unpaid leave. Because the...
Question: We’re not bound by any law requiring us to conduct background checks, but we choose to do them for all new hires. Should we also do them when we rehire an employee? Answer: It’s up to you. Conducting a background check when hiring a former...
Question: We’ve identified the job candidates we’d like to interview, but we still have applications coming in. Do we need to review all applications before moving forward with interviews and making a job offer? Answer: The short answer is no. There’s no legal requirement to review...