Employee Relations 

Train IT Pros on ADA's Confidentiality Rules
Information technology employees should be trained to keep any employee medical information that they come across confidential, an expert says.

NLRB Issues Second Social Media Report
A National Labor Relations Board report gives guidance on formulating social media policies that comply with federal labor laws and for disciplining employees who use social media at work.

Coast Guard Urged to Improve EEO Efforts 
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the equal employment opportunity program at the U.S. Coast Guard has improved considerably since the Guard’s Civil Rights Directorate reorganized its operations in 2009. Yet the program still needs work.

SHRM Survey Finds Moderate Level of Employee Engagement 
More than four out of five U.S. employees surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management say they are satisfied with their jobs, but that doesn’t mean they are engaged.

2012 Brings New Federal Performance Management Effort to U.S. 
Employers Link Recognition, Engagement in 2012
Survey: Most Firms Calibrate Performance 

Helicopter Parents Hover in the Workplace
With millennial children now in their 20s, more helicopter parents are showing up in the workplace, sometimes even phoning human resources managers to advocate on their child’s behalf.

Workers Have Mixed Feelings About Working From Home
Canadian employees have mixed feelings when it comes to working from home in 2012, according to Randstad. Some plan to work from home more while others plan to work from home less.

More Meetings Are Stand-Up Jobs
Atomic Object, a Grand Rapids, Mich., software-development firm, holds company meetings first thing in the morning with strict rules: Attendance is mandatory, nonwork chitchat is kept to a minimum and everyone has to stand up.

We have an employee we suspect has a “hoarding” problem. What are some things we can do to help this employee?

Do we have to accommodate if the employee can’t perform the essential job functions?