OSHA regulations require that records be kept for many purposes. It is necessary to conduct and document inspections of the workplace, looking for safety and health hazards. It is necessary to document and make available to employees records about hazardous…
Regulations implementing this legislation have grown over time. They are complex and detailed. It is important that HR professionals understand the basics and how to obtain additional detailed information that applies to their particular employer circumstance. There are many standards…
Signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 29, 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act created an administrative agency within the U.S. Department of Labor called the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It also created the…
The HITECH Act requires that anyone with custody of personal health records send a notification to affected individuals if their personal health records have been disclosed, or the employer believes they have been disclosed, to any unauthorized person. Enacted as…
The law provides for two types of safety and health standards. The agency has therefore developed its regulations and standards in those two categories. Normal Standards. If OSHA determines that a specific standard is needed, any of several advisory committees…
Focused solely on pensions, this law requires employers that have underfunded pension plans to pay a higher premium to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC). It also requires employers that terminate pension plans to provide additional funding to those plans.…
It is important to highlight the issue of whistleblowing. Protections against retaliation are embedded in various laws we cover in this chapter; laws with those provisions and protections include the Civil Rights Acts, OSHA, MSHA, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, ADA, and…
This law requires all states to establish and maintain a new hire reporting system designed to enhance enforcement of child support payments. It requires welfare recipients to begin working after 2 years of receiving benefits. States may exempt parents with…
Data Access The data in an HRIS is not restricted to just the HR department. This is referred to as democratization where HR data is provided with direct access by those who need it. Executives, finance, payroll, managers, hiring managers—there…
Prior to this legislation, the only employees who were protected against employment discrimination were the ones working for the federal, state, or local government and federal government contractors. They were captured by the Rehabilitation Act. As a matter of fact,…
This act modified the 1964 Civil Rights Act in several ways: • It provided for employees to receive a jury trial if they wanted. Up to this point, judges always heard cases and decided them from the bench. • It…
Computing the Return on Investment of Training Return on investment (ROI) is determined by the following: • Determine the total cost of training (e.g., training development cost, resources cost, salaries of instructors, and participants). • Determine the total value of…
This legislation requires some employers to maintain a drug-free workplace. Employee compliance must be assured by subject employers. Provisions and Protections This law applies to federal contractors and all organizations receiving grants from the federal government. If you are covered,…
This was the first piece of legislation signed by President Barack Obama after he was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States. It was passed in reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire…
This law modified (amended) the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It defined pregnancy as protected within the definition of “sex” for the purpose of coverage under the Civil Rights Act. It also specifically said that no employer shall illegally discriminate…
This set of regulations is often overlooked by employers and HR professionals alike. Details can be found in 41 C.F.R. 60-3. For covered employers with 15 or more people on the payroll, this set of requirements is essential in preventing…
The basic premise of strategic planning and management is to lead activities that yield great value. Understanding how an organization creates value with its mission is the first step. By value we are not talking about cultural values; we are…
With HR, the operational level is going to be the main focus. HR’s policies, programs, and processes will need to correlate, collaborate, and align with the organization’s business units. HR’s resources will need to be spent on activities that add…
There are three levels of strategy. • Organizational level This level involves a general vision of the future, typically what the organization plans to grow into, as an umbrella over the entire organization. • Business unit level This level focuses…
The benefits of the strategy are helping everyone in the organization focus on the future with a written plan that contains goals to further the organization’s existence. From top to rank and file, strategy provides a map that gives direction…