
Dilemma of the Month: How to Best Handle Gender-Neutral Pronouns
I have an employee who would like to be referred to with gender-neutral pronouns. What is our obligation to this employee, and do we face possible legal repercussions?

Dilemma of the Month: Why Onboarding Is Critical for New Hires
I can’t afford a full-time HR person, but I need help onboarding new hires. What can I do?

Dilemma of the Month: Why Is a New Employee Looking to Transfer?
An employee quit because they were bored and couldn’t transfer to another role based on a company’s policy. Is this a good policy to keep?

Dilemma of the Month: Are Perks and Benefits Negotiable With Salary?
There’s always someone in the office counting the number of vacation days each person takes, which makes extra paid vacation days a tricky thing to offer.

Dilemma of the Month: Using a Coworker’s Salary as Leverage
The National Labor Relations Act protects your right to discuss working conditions with your coworkers, and that includes salaries.

Dilemma of the Month: Employees Taking on New Work for Extra Pay
“Can full-time, permanent employees do freelance work for our California-based company if that work falls outside their job description?”

Dilemma of the Month: Padding an Employee’s Timecard
The Fair Labor Standards Act has strict rules regarding paying nonexempt employees, and California is even stricter; one of the key components is that employees must be paid for every hour they work

Dilemma of the Month: Responding to Requests for Reference Checks
“Evil HR Lady” Suzanne Lucas explains what you should say — and what you shouldn’t — when a prospective employer calls with a reference check.

Dilemma of the Month: Retaliating Against Whistleblowers
After an employee lodged an OSHA complaint against a company, his manager found a journal in the employee’s office that would make any reasonable person cringe in the era of #MeToo. Comstock’s columnist Suzanne Lucas explains why it’s still a bad idea to terminate the employee in this case.

Dilemma of the Month: Switching a Full-Time Worker to a Contractor
A company is considering switching a full-time worker into a contractor after the employee requested to work from home. Can the company legally do this?