HR Stories Podcast - A Lesson in Every Story!

Send us Fan Mail There are a number of ways that you, as an HR professional, can run into trouble, potentially even legal trouble, with employee payroll. In this week’s episode, the Team take on the topic of payroll and running payroll audits. Doing simple payroll audits to make sure you have all of your bases covered can help you avoid complications before they arise. Want to watch the Team rathe...

Send us Fan Mail Trigger Warning Today’s episode contains discussions about workplace violence, violent acts, bullying, and the use of weapons. If you are uncomfortable with any of these topics, we recommend skipping this episode and joining us again on the next episode. We hear about new acts of violence daily on the news and, unfortunately, these sometimes occur in people’s workplaces. These can...

Send us Fan Mail In honor of April Fools Day recently rolling around again, the team talks about when jokes go too far and cross a line in the workplace. Many people have either been the butt of the joke or been around the big joker at work. And perhaps, at times, you may have been around these situations when it goes from being a funny moment into an uncomfortable situation. How, as HR profession...

Send us Fan Mail  We are seeing an increased rate of people voluntarily leaving their jobs. There is no one "golden ticket" answer to say why this is happening, but rather there is a multitude of reasons - pay, flexibility, and culture among them. How do we as HR professionals tackle this? In today's episode, Chuck and John discuss the ins and outs of employee retention. The Team al...

Send us Fan Mail Michael Hewitt worked for Helix Energy Solutions Group on an offshore oil rig, usually for 84 hours a week. Helix Energy paid Hewitt on a daily-rate basis, with no overtime compensation.  Michael Hewitt disagreed and eventually it ended up with the U.S. Supreme Court. This week's story shows how a very narrow interpretation of FLSA rules can have very wide impact.  Chuck and...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Chuck and John welcome their first guest to the podcast - HR Stories Podcast Social Producer, Kait! When Kait was working in a sales, commission-based role and prepared to go out on maternity leave, she ran into pushback from management around her compensation. When she returned she encountered confrontation around how she was scheduling her pumping time. Along with Kai...

Send us Fan Mail In our ongoing series - Supreme Court Cases that Changed HR , we explore the Griggs v. Duke Power case , a lawsuit that involved intelligence testing that discriminated against a group of African-American employees. Willie Griggs was a Janitor that wanted an opportunity for promotion, yet the policies at his workplace prevented him from moving forward, despite the recent Civil Rig...

Send us Fan Mail This week we pull out one of our more popular recording from the series - Supreme Court Cases that Changed HR Forever! Beth Faragher was a 19 year old college student Lifeguard for the City of Boca Raton in Florida. But after years of constant sexual harassment by her male supervisors, she quit, filed a lawsuit, got heard by the US Supreme Court, and changed everything for compani...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, John and Chuck turn the storyline around and talk to employees with stories about how different employers violated the law. They look at circumstances that have occurred where employees experience negative results of poor employer decisions. John and Chuck also talk about  best friend at work  and social connections, AI/Chatbot, 4 day work week,  last week's...

Send us Fan Mail It’s the start of so many rom coms - two co-workers working long hours together, having lunch together in the break room, and catching the same elevator up to the office each morning. Then, before you know it, they’re more than co-workers. Romantic relationships in the workplace are almost unavoidable but navigating them from an HR perspective can be tricky. In today’s episode, Ch...

Send us Fan Mail Many companies have put forth statements about increasing DEI initiatives. Even companies that haven't are having to become more aware of inclusion in the workspace. A related area that has been the subject of increasing conversation is natural hair, most often of Black or African American employees. Historically, grooming standards have been the focus of several discriminati...

Send us Fan Mail There are always a lot of intricacies to consider in the HR world. What can make that even more challenging to navigate is having to read between the lines and know how to protect the business from there. In today's episode, Chuck and John dive into how to determine if someone is eligible for FMLA and when ADA accommodations may need to be considered when FMLA isn't appl...

Send us Fan Mail While there have been many laws instituted and policies established, there are still many instances of minors working inappropriately. In today’s episode, Chuck and John dive into multiple situations where minors were hired to work in situations that were unlawful. This can relate to hours worked or assigned tasks. Beyond the procedures you need to think about when working with mi...

Send us Fan Mail In a world where referral bonuses exist, there is a level of encouragement for employees to help in the recruiting process. This can be a great way to reach new candidates but can it also leave the door open for potential legal issues? Chuck and John talk about Rockland Bakery and their hiring practices, diving into the additional layer of complexity that came from them being gove...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chuck and John investigate workplace violence through a story taking place in a small town at a chicken farm. A woman gets hit by another employee driving a forklift carrying a heavy load after she had reported being threatened by that employee. Is that true when they tell her there is nothing they can do? Were there opportunities to prevent what happened? Chuck a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Chuck and John share 4 stories of HR missteps, how companies could have avoided their fate, and the importance of using checklists to ensure consistency.  Chuck and John also dive into their upcoming release of The Ultimate Book of HR Checklists.....a go-to resource for small business owners, entrepreneurs, HR teams of one, and seasoned HR professionals.  Sign up...

Send us Fan Mail New uniforms and rebranding can be a fun and exciting time at a company. That, unfortunately, was not the case at Kroger grocery stores. When a couple of employees said that a new logo was representative of something they couldn't support for religious reasons, a disagreement between employer and employee ensued. On today's episode, Chuck and John try to break the situat...

Send us Fan Mail Applebee's is marketed as a neighborhood place, welcoming of everyone. At a location in Plant City, FL, that was anything but the truth for a cook who worked in the kitchen. Gabriel was experiencing frequent harassment regarding his race and sexual orientation. In this episode of HR Stories, John and Chuck will discuss how Gabriel's work environment fell into the classif...

Send us Fan Mail At Steadfast Medical Staffing, a group of nurses filed complaints with the Department of Labor that kicked off an investigation into the classification of employees.  The investigation will take the listeners on a journey through checkpoint after checkpoint that companies should consider. Who classifies as an independent contractor? Who classifies as an employee? Through this HR s...

Send us Fan Mail Danielle Clark worked for Charter Communications Regional Operations Center in Dallas, Texas. Her job was to monitor computer displays tracking the network’s status and to immediately dispatch technicians in the event of an outage. But, she had trouble staying awake during her shifts due to narcolepsy. This tale combines ADA Accommodations with Essential Job Duties. How the compan...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, John and Chuck dive into how a single phone call costs a company 7.2 million Dollars in back wages and penalties. If you didn’t know, there is a worker shortage in the United States, and more and more companies are trying to be creative to ensure they meet their customers’ expectations. One option small businesses are turning to is hiring independent contractors t...

Send us Fan Mail Misty was a great temp employee who was on her way to being offered a full time position....until she revealed she needed extra bathroom breaks. Welcome to HR Stories.....where the lesson is in the story. In this episode we talk about the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodations, and what happens when companies do pay attention to the law. As mentioned in this st...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, John and Chuck discuss the lessons learned in a variety of child labor law violations. Support the show Our new book... The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE!  Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and approved for 3 SHRM Recertification Credits. Join the HR Team of One Community on Facebook or vi...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, our hosts John and Chuck tell the behind the scenes story of Mechelle Vinson....a 19 year old Bank Teller and how she was coerced into having a sexual relationship with her boss in order to save her job. In May of 1975, Mr. Sidney Taylor, Branch Manager at a local bank takes his employee, Bank Teller Mechelle Vinson, out to dinner at a Chinese Restaurant after wor...

Send us Fan Mail Kimberly Ellerth was 23, fresh out of college and recently married, when she landed a prized marketing job with Burlington Industries in its Chicago office. But eventually her dream job became unbearable, she said, after a boss began making sexual advances toward her. As we continue our HR Stories of Court Cases and Laws that made HR today we look at the second case in 1998 that t...