Last week, we talked about HR technology for HR practitioners with Amy Wilson from Constellation Research and compensation practices with Ann Bares from Altura Consulting Group. We also talked to to ERE’s (and TLNT’s) own John Zappe about the new LinkedIn apply button as well as all the latest news and information.
Tomorrow at 2 pm Eastern/11 am Pacific, we will be talking to attorney and TLNT contributor Eric B. Meyer about some of the latest rule clarifications and changes handed down from the NLRB and OSHA. We’ll also be talking to Fran Melmed, also a frequent contributor here at TLNT, about some of the health care reform challenges (including the latest survey data from Mercer).
You can listen to it live from the web or you can dial in to (818) 572-8036 to listen to the show or to ask a question. You can also follow the show hashtag on Twitter by searching for #TLNTradio. After the show airs, the archive will be available shortly after the end of the live broadcast.
New OSHA and NLRB action
If you’re in HR, you probably already know there are many government agencies that impact employment. Keeping track of all the changes and nuance can be a major challenge. NLRB is one such agency and Eric B. Meyer from Dilworth Paxson LLP had this update from them regarding the use of social media to gripe about employers:
The National Labor Relations Board is softening its position on employers who fire employees for rants on Facebook.
Employees who merely gripe can get canned.
Three recent advice memoranda from the NLRB (here, here, and here) reaffirm that employees who engage in protected concerted activity online are protected against employer discipline. Conversely, employees who merely gripe about their employer online are subject to discipline, up to and including termination.
We’ll be talking to Meyer about this, OSHA and more during our segment tomorrow.
Mercer health care survey
As John Hollon wrote in last week’s weekly wrap, the newest Mercer released the results of the latest survey. He had this to say about the results of it:
You don’t hear a lot about health care reform these days, and that’s probably because a number of the provisions don’t kick in for a few years.
But that doesn’t mean employers aren’t thinking about it.
I was reminded of this when the latest health care survey from HR consulting giant Mercer popped into my mail box earlier this week. TLNT contributor and health care expert Fran Melmed wrote about it over at her Free-Range Communication blog, and she did a great job breaking down the key points.”
We’ll be talking to Melmed in detail about the results of this survey, as well as the impact on those who communicate with employees about concerns, changes, and clarifications.
Debt ceiling and other news
The debt ceiling may have been resolved but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any lessons to learn. Dr. John Sullivan recently wrote on TLNT about seven lessons that could be taken from the crisis. His first one gives a flavor of the advice:
1. Distraction – The most obvious impact over the last few weeks has been employee distraction. It’s hard for employees to be 100 percent focused on their job during any period of economic or political turmoil. Distracted employees are more likely to make errors and less likely to be innovative when they are not fully engaged.
As the rhetoric on both sides of the issue escalates, distraction may turn uncertainty and even anxiety. There may be direct conflicts between employees that hold differing political views on how the debt ceiling was handled. Managers will have to be aware of this employee anxiety and conflict and HR will be forced to provide managers with guidance on how best to handle it.
We’ll talk about this and all of the latest news during the show as well.
Miss our last episode?
You can catch it below, or on the show website.