Since the events of September 11^th, 2001, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has seen a steady increase in charges of religious discrimination by Muslim workers. As a result, the EEOC has filed several prominent lawsuits on behalf of Muslim workers complaining of interruption of prayer breaks and discrimination based on their attire. This issue of Workforce Strategies examines the challenges for HR departments and offers strategies for reasonable accommodations.

This issue of Workforce Strategies examines OSHA recordkeeping with an aging workforce, ergonomic enforcement, and other trends with this growing segment of the labor force.

This Workforce Strategies report gives you an overview of the challenges these companies face, initiatives designed to improve retention rates, and best practice recommendations on repatriation programs.

This issue of Workforce Strategies examines the nature and prevalence of substance abuse in the workplace and offers some expert advice on how employers can most effectively address it, including case studies of programs that have proven successful.

 

This issue of Workforce Strategies examines what is ahead for states: can they weather the ongoing storm over unemployment benefits or do they face a fiscal tsunami? The report also covers the options employers have to limit, as much as possible, the impact of higher unemployment insurance costs.

Beyond HRMS: Cutting-Edge Technologies Provide New Opportunities for HR provides practical advice on workforce optimization and identifies the leading vendors of administrative and workforce management applications.

 

In this issue of Workforce Strategies, we discuss how an employer can balance its legitimate need to validate the information provided by job applicants as a means of reducing turnover, minimizing disciplinary problems, and avoiding negligent hiring lawsuits with employees right to privacy and the various state and federal laws enacted to guarantee that right.

 

This issue of Workforce Strategies provides guidance on preparing for a potential audit in four areas worker classification, taxable fringe benefits, business expenses, and executive compensation identified by IRS under the Employment National Research Project as key audit targets.

 

In this issue of Workforce Strategies, we analyze the drivers of employee retention, identify the benefits and other perks employees really value (sometimes more than money), discuss which management styles are most likely to enhance employee retention strategies, look at the importance of a cooperative workplace, offer some practical advice on developing and implementing an effective retention program (including a case study of one particularly successful strategy), and explain the role the HR manager should play as the "chief engagement officer."

 

This issue of Workforce Strategies, Women and Retirement, has three parts. The first outlines the importance of guaranteed lifetime income to retirement security, especially for women. The second advances two specific policy proposals: requiring employer-sponsored defined contribution plans to offer lifetime income options and informing workers about lifetime income options. Finally, the third part argues against two alternative policy proposals: providing tax-preferred treatment of annuity income and weakening existing spousal protections.