Next Blog

In many small and midsize companies, the human resources department consists of one person. The department of one (DOO) handles every HR function for the entire organization, including recruiting, onboarding, training, compensation, benefits, employee relations, compliance, technology, analytics and strategy—and is frequently responsible for other business processes at the same time.  

Professionals who are HR departments of one typically have diverse backgrounds and levels of training. However, whether you have an MBA and are an integral part of leadership, or if you came through internal ranks with little formal HR training,...

As part of the #SHRMBlogger team, I had the good fortune to interview Jeff Nowak, employment lawyer and FMLA expert. Jeff is a partner and co-chair of the Labor and Employment practice group at Chicago-based law firm Franczek Radelet P.C. and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s foremost FMLA and ADA experts, regularly counseling clients on compliance with FMLA and ADA regulations, conducting FMLA/ADA audits and training, and successfully litigating FMLA and ADA lawsuits. Jeff also is the author of the highly-regarded FMLA Insights blog, one of my favorites,...

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that an hourly or non-exempt employee be paid for rest breaks of up to 20 minutes in length. Why, if the employee performs no work? The rationale is that the break is primarily for the benefit of the employer, promoting the "efficiency of the employee" and giving the company a "reenergized employee." But, is there a limit to the number of breaks per day that must be compensated as time worked?

On April 12th, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an ...

Every year leading up to SHRM’s annual conference, I get the daily digest emails and see threads and chats going back and forth. There’s the excited conference newbies wondering how to take it all in, people looking for deals on hotel rooms and professionals in certain states or industries organizing meetups. I understand their enthusiasm and appreciate the camaraderie these threads afford them. But there’s always been one group I don’t understand .. .the 5 a.m. runners....