Expert Advice on Responding to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

Back on January 29, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (“Act”). Although signed in early 2009, its effective date was May 28, 2007. The significance of the President’s signing was that he carried through on a campaign promise and that it represented one of his first official acts after taking office.

The significance for HR professionals and business owners is that there is some work to do now to protect yourself from claims of pay discrimination. Below you will find my legal advice for getting your pay practices and documentation up to date.

Leadership Training for Senior Management

It’s a new week at the office. You just found out that corporate is kicking off a new leadership training and coaching program and you will be participating. You know that it never hurts to receive leadership training on how to be a better manager. But, you’re skeptical.

You’ve been through leadership training exercises before. You’ve had high hopes that the training would help you to be a better manager. But, upon returning from the training, you settled back into your usual ways. Your boss has given you specific feedback on how you need to be a better manager. And your employees would really like it if you managed them better. You really do have the desire to be a better leader but how do you make what you learn “stick” this time?

The Employer Benefits of Hiring Veterans and Ex-Military

During the period of time when I was preparing to exit the military and re-enter the civilian workforce, I read countless articles on what to expect while entering the workforce. Resumes tips, tricks on how to put a strong spin on military skills, so forth and so on. Unfortunately, I had a sinking feeling that potential employers weren’t reading similar articles about what to expect from job candidates that have a previous background in the military.

Talent Management Software: Why Free Trials Are a Smart Choice

Having been in the HR technology field now for 14 years, it’s refreshing to see more free trials for talent management software offered than ever before. This option gives organizations an opportunity to try before they buy. Yet, despite its value, many companies don’t take advantage of the offer or, when they do, they don’t involve those who will be directly impacted by the talent management technology. Maybe it seems like too much work upfront.

Based upon my experience, organizations need to look at the upfront work done to review a new HR technology system at their company as a smart investment. For many companies today, the investment in HR technology review by a variety of employees doesn’t seem worthwhile. Yet, the process can improve employee engagement in the software over time and lay the foundation for a widely adopted talent management strategy.

The Facebook Policy You Never Knew You Needed

Right now, someone at your office is posting a message on their Facebook wall or sending out a Twitter tweet. You may write off these internet-based social networking tools as innocuous but they can pose serious legal risks if left untamed without an iron-clad employee social networking policy. Don’t believe me? Sit down and I will tell you a tale of a restaurant chain.

The Impact of Compensation Methods on Employees and Organizations

It’s time to think about the many, sometimes subtle, choices behind determining appropriate compensation of your employees. The success of your organization can ride on these compensation decisions.

From the mom and pop shop that needs workers to restock shelves to large corporations whose employees manage million dollar funds, your organization’s compensation decisions can either boost your bottom line or leave it in the gutter. The key is to make realistic, budget-friendly compensation decisions at each step.

Perform Efficient Compensation Planning for Merit Pay Increases

We are in the post-season for HR. It’s open enrollment time, flu season and, for a lot of organizations it’s also the time of the year for performance management and merit pay increases. Basically, there’s so much to do and so little time to do it. Welcome to human resources. Did anyone tell you it was going to be like this? Probably not.

They also probably forgot to tell you that you would do this event-based activity on top of all of your normal day-to-day hr tasks including employee relations issues and recruiting. But, you are a superstar who can manage an employee relations issue in between phone calls with your benefits broker while drafting a revised sick leave policy to account for the swine flu epidemic. 

Now, if you could just get some help from your managers. But, here’s the toughest part – your managers need help from you.

Writing an Employee Compensation Policy

For legal protection and good business sense, every company should have an up-to-date employee compensation policy. What is the status on yours?

An organization should not wait for dire circumstances, such as a pay inequity lawsuit, to write down or update their employee compensation policy. All organization leaders should create a written policy document or refresh their existing one for legal protection, and as a guideline or framework for the company’s compensation program.

Below is a list of helpful tips and tools for creating an effective employee compensation policy that is specific to your organization.

Fast Politics: Latest News on the Employee Free Choice Act

Labor union membership numbers have changed in the last few decades and so have the union’s political efforts. As an HR professional, it’s important that you stay up-to-date on union activities since these politics can affect your company’s bottom line.

The two different, but linked, pieces of legislation to learn about and prepare for are the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) and the Re-Employment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers Act (RESPECT Act).

Effective Employee Communication Part 2: How to Avoid Trouble

Clear and effective employee communication is an element of everyday work operations and is absolutely vital to all aspects of business interaction. And, keeping it both accurate and efficient can be tricky.

Most of us were taught about the challenges to accurate communication as kids. You likely played the game at some type of youth camp where everyone sits in a circle and the game begins with a whisper. The first person whispers a word or phrase into the next person’s ear and can only whisper it once. Each person subsequently whispers into the next person’s ear until the very end. Usually, a phrase like, “I have two cats,” ends up being something akin to, “I live boo rats.”

The following is my advice on how to avoid an “I live boo rats” outcome at work.

How to Increase Participation in a 401(k) Plan Among a Young Workforce

Here’s a known issue, at least in my experience: Most 27-year-olds can’t be bothered to save in their 401(k), unless you bribe them with a 401(k) match. “No match, don’t bother me.”

Rather than give up on 401(k) participation among 27-year-olds, let’s think through what would make it “inevitable” that they save. The first step to increasing participation in a 401(k) plan involves analyzing this as a sales problem.

Sales Obstacle #1: We insist on selling 401(k)’s to 27-year-olds as a retirement vehicle.

If they retire at 70, they’ll retire in the year …. 2052. For most 27-year-olds I’ve worked with, “2052” is just not relevant – yet. 2052 as the focus? No sale.

Solution: Sell the 401(k) plan as a savings vehicle to 27-year-olds in a way that is compelling to them.

Workforce Planning: You Don't Have to Be a Planner

I am a planner by nature and the choice I made of what business to go into - human resources and policy analysis - reflects this preference. The title of this blog is meant to appeal to the many business owners and managers who hear “workforce planning” and, unlike me, would rather not plan but just jump right in and “get ‘er done.” I’d like you to realize that you’re already doing workforce planning everyday and give you some tips on how to do it better.