A small electrical contractor that had never had an HR department before hired me as their first HR manager. I’m trying to figure out how to approach this, and I have questions. 

I work for a small company, and I’ve been here for three months. I get horrid PMS symptoms and would like to take PTO one day a month so as not to have to go into the office when I’m at my worst. If you were a manager, how would you feel about a new employee requesting this kind of PTO request? Should I have asked before I started? Should I wait till I have more tenure?

I need to encourage a manager to accept a religious accommodation request, as it is reasonable, in my opinion. The employee, who is Balinese Hindu, has requested a 10-minute prayer break at noon as part of her religion.

I am considering stepping back from a managerial role to an individual contributor role. I am burned out… When I think hard, I just want to return to an individual contributor role and stop being responsible for other people. Will I destroy my career if I do this?

I just started at a new company a few weeks ago. We have an internal candidate, Steve, for a position, and the hiring manager does not want to interview him because Steve previously worked a temp position in their office and made many mistakes that caused many issues. The problem I’m having is that they never told Steve there were issues with his job performance. 

I know I was singled out because I’m an HR employee and was told, “It looks bad,” but do you think I should tell my boss (nicely and professionally) to shove it and that I’ll bond with my next baby any way I see fit?

A salaried employee works over 50 hours a week, but her manager still insists that she use PTO to cover a half-day appointment. Is this legal?

“After working in HR for 30 years, I was told today that I was ‘too aggressive’ and that I came across as if I had an agenda. I have never had someone say this to me before…” Is he right? Evil HR Lady weighs in. 

Boss always looking over your shoulder? Evil HR Lady says they may be a control freak, or it could be due to poor performance on your end. Here’s how to move forward. 

Evil HR Lady explains the difference between a background check and a reference check, and why employers don’t need to answer every question.