HR Tips of the Week HR Tips of the Week RSS Feed EEOC Issues New Guidance on Criminal Background Checks On April 25, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidance on criminal background screening and avoiding disparate impact on protected groups. As we reported in February, Nextep highly recommends the use of background scree ... 5/16/2012 10:30:13 AM 130 Poster Updates on Child Labor Laws Texas has updated its mandatory child labor poster to align more closely with federal law, including prohibited hazardous occupations for employees under the age of 18. The poster can be downloaded from the TWC's website at no cost. All Texas ... 5/9/2012 10:05:56 AM 129 Social Media Privacy Maryland was recently the first state to prohibit employers from requesting passwords for social media sites such as Facebook from job applicants and employees. Further, applicants and employees may not be subject to retaliation such as refusal t ... 5/2/2012 9:31:45 AM 128 Concerted Activity Under the NLRB The latest delays in the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) poster serve as a reminder for employers to ensure they are compliant with current regulations. Even if a company is not unionized, the concerted activities of its employees are prot ... 4/23/2012 4:51:27 PM 127 Safeguarding Your Company from Unemployment Claims In handling unemployment claims, Nextep's HR Department will sometimes see ways that a company loss could have been avoided. These tips will help give your company a stronger defense when dealing with claims for unemployment compensation from for ... 4/18/2012 8:15:17 AM 124 Voluntary Quits and Unemployment When employees voluntarily quit, they are oftentimes ineligible to receive unemployment wages. However, there are some circumstances in which the employee may still successfully submit a claim. Generally, the employee must show good cause for qui ... 4/12/2012 8:21:56 AM 123 Age Discrimination in Employment The EEOC's recent ruling regarding the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, or ADEA, serves as a reminder to ensure that company practices do not have an adverse effect on employees aged 40 and over. Enforced by the Equal Opportunity Employment ... 4/11/2012 9:00:43 AM 126 Performance Improvement Plans Giving clear and constructive feedback when creating a performance improvement plan is important, but what happens next? Employers can use the steps below as a guide for following up with employees. Have regular meetings.On a regular basis, me ... 4/11/2012 9:01:01 AM 122 Taking Breaks Away from the Office Generally speaking, nonexempt employees do not clock out when taking short breaks at the worksite. Occasionally, though, employees need to leave the premises. When leaving the worksite for personal reasons or breaks, it is important that nonexemp ... 4/3/2012 3:21:27 PM 125 The Value of Constructive Feedback When communicating with an employee, supervisors should make sure their feedback is clear and articulate. Below are two examples of common feedback, with suggestions on how to improve. Example: Employee has a bad attitude Improvement: ... 1/23/2012 11:08:17 AM 121