Top 10 Most Popular HR Daily Advisor Issues of 2012

I’ve been reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, says business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald. Jobs was a polarizing figure, revered by many and hated by others. But regardless of how anyone might feel about him, there’s no denying the man was a creative genius.

FMLA has special rules for unmarried parents, and also for married parents working for the same employers. Today’s Advisor clarifies the sometimes tricky rules, rules that in one case actually favor unmarried parents.

GINA is, of course, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, says attorney Peter Lowe, and you do care about GINA and Facebook, because Facebook pages are likely to reveal prohibited genetic information.

A colleague recently suggested I read the book, The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t, says business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald. Maybe I should have asked what his motives were in suggesting that I read this particular book. I didn’t. Some things you just don’t want to know!

Ridiculous as it sounds, “they never told me” is a standard defense in employment lawsuits. It plays to the jury’s sense of fairness, and it plays pretty well.

EEOC has released guidance on the use of arrest and conviction records in screening job candidates. Many employers do subject job candidates to criminal background checks to combat theft and fraud, and to avoid workplace violence. But the EEOC sees the possibility of discrimination.

Have you ever asked yourself why people work for you?, asks business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald. Have you ever even stopped to think about why anyone would choose to work for you? It might not be something that’s ever crossed your mind. But stop and think about it for a minute. Why you?

PTO plans, which eliminate distinctions between types of leave, do relieve HR of an administrative burden and the dreaded role of “absence police,” but there are some drawbacks, says attorney John Hagan.

“How good am I?” is a question we all ask ourselves, says business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald. We want to know how good we are at most things in our lives, says Oswald, CEO of BLR, who offered his thoughts on feedback in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter.

Special from SHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference, Washington, DC: Almost all lawsuits are preventable, says attorney Jody Katz Pritikin, and retaliation lawsuits are among the easiest to prevent. Pritikin, offered her tips at SHRM’s Employment Law and Legislative Conference, held recently in Washington, DC.