The 5 Most Common Pitfalls of Performance Reviews

Performance reviews are important tools that managers can use to boost employee performance and productivity to higher levels, but often fall prey to some common mistakes. As your organization prepares to review employee performance in the coming months, we recommend avoiding these 5 pitfalls.

Read more

5 Measurements to Evaluate Salaries

6 Tools to Evaluate Salaries

Does your organization know the health of its base salary program? The health of your base salary practices can easily fly under the radar if you aren’t paying attention to certain important numbers. It may result in overpaying or underpaying employees, employees being paid outside of pay ranges, an uncompetitive mix of pay forms, or a low revenue return on your costly investments.

Read more

What is ADA?

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), enacted in 1990 and amended in 2008, prohibits private employers with 15 or more employees, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in employment activities. Such activities include hiring, termination, training, promotion, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment.

Read more

What is Discrimination?

Discrimination in the workplace refers to when an individual or group of individuals are treated less favorably than others solely because of their race, sex, pregnancy or marital status, age, disability, religion, sexual preference, trade union activity, or other class or characteristic protected under federal or state legislation. It is illegal for employers to discriminate against individuals from protected classes in the workplace if they are current or prospective employees, such as job candidates.

Read more

Engineering Salaries Continue to Thrive

Once again the ERC Salary Survey demonstrates the strength of the region’s Engineering industry. The 2012 Salary survey reports data on 38 separate engineering positions, with the bulk of the job titles falling into the “Professional” job classification. The strength of the industry is further reinforced by comparing median salaries among engineering positions in lower level job classifications to other job titles outside of engineering. For example, Service Installation Representatives (both junior and senior level) make up 2 of only 9 office/clerical positions with median salaries over $40,000. Similarly, at the supervisory and managerial level, the median salaries for engineering jobs all fall within the top 40%- with Engineering Manager / Chief Engineer near the very top of the list as one of only seven jobs reporting a median salary at $100,000 or above.

Read more

Job Descriptions: An Essential How-To Guide

Employers often face challenges in creating new job descriptions for positions that they do not currently employ, identifying essential job functions, and keeping job descriptions updated. For these reasons, members often request sample job descriptions from ERC and consult with us to develop or update their job descriptions.

Read more

3 Frequently Asked Questions about FLSA

Employers usually have a number of questions about the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which governs wage and hour rules – when and how employers are obligated to pay employees for time worked or not worked under law. Here are answers to 3 frequently asked questions about issues related to FLSA.

Read more

How to Manage FMLA Intermittent Leave: 7 Strategies

How to Better Manage FMLA Intermittent Leave: 7 Strategies

There is probably no task more cumbersome for HR professionals than managing intermittent leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Intermittent leave allows qualified employees to take FMLA leave in small blocks of time (such as one hour) versus one block of 12 weeks.

Read more

12 Answers to Common ‘Paid Time Off’ Questions

12 Answers to Common Paid Time Off Questions

Paid time off policies (PTO), managing absenteeism, and administering summer holidays like July 4th are always common issues for employers during the summer months. Here are 12 answers to common questions about PTO and summer holidays to help your organization navigate these challenges and create a competitive PTO plan.

Read more