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. 

An open-concept, hoteling workspace can save space and money. Some employees might even prefer it if they like to change up their point of view. But others just hate it. 

Evil HR Lady says you can’t hold FMLA or ADA against an employee, but you can still hold them accountable for their work when they are there. 

Obviously, no. But getting him to behave may require an attorney. 

Evil HR Lady says it’s a fine line for hourly employees, but it’s not illegal.

Evil HR Lady explains why objective documentation is key when it comes to “toxic” employees. 

When does being a jerk become breaking the law? Evil HR Lady tackles this question and more. 

Evil HR Lady shares how to protect employees while following California’s new law.

I have an employee, Jeff, who is high up in his role at a very large company. He is among the top leaders of the organization. However, he is being slightly demoted due to his behavior and inability to meet the expectations of the role.

Our new CEO has been at our nonprofit for approximately six months. As the director of HR, the vice presidents and I went to our board with concerns regarding our new leader and his memory issues. He can’t remember the decisions he makes. I know there’s such a thing as a fitness-for-duty test, but these are usually centered around physical fitness. Where do I go from here?

I have a weird problem. We have some jobs that can be done remotely, and some must be done on-site. Several employees who can work remotely moved during the pandemic, so they couldn’t come in without moving back. But the problem is that both the WFH (work from home) and the WIO (work in office) think they deserve salary increases because of their working conditions.

I currently work for a small mom-and-pop company of only 11 employees, including the owners. The owners are husband and wife, 65 and 75 years old. The co-owner (husband) keeps having “boys only” events, such as weekly happy hours and trips on his boats; women are not invited.

A brand-new HR director discovers that an employee earns $13K more than her director, who oversees a team of 10. What should she do after the manager requests a pay increase?

What do you do when an intern isn’t working out? Well, with an employee, you’d probably put them on a performance improvement plan and tell them to shape up or ship out. But should you be so harsh with the intern? The answer: Yes, with caution.

People often neglect the HR aspects of their jobs, even failing to take these tasks seriously. From one HR pro to another, Evil HR Lady tells how to rally employees and coax leadership onboard — and when to let it go. 

A newcomer inquires how to get ahead and advance in their field. Evil HR Lady offers advice for how to become valuable to coworkers and bosses, and how to identify a mentor.

People get promoted to management roles because they are good at doing the work, but managing the work is nothing like doing the work, Evil HR Lady says. Here are three things new managers should know.

A manager who follows the adage ”praise in public, punish in private” is finding that employees are starting to feel singled out for their bad behavior. Evil HR Lady offers some advice on how and when to dole out feedback.

When an employee has a PTSD episode in the break room, an employer wonders if and how to offer help. Evil HR Lady advises how to verify a disability and reviews issues of accommodation and confidentiality.

As a human resources professional, you can’t eradicate people’s racist thoughts. But, Evil HR Lady asserts, you can change the company culture so people know that they cannot get away with harassment.

The customer is not always right — and is sometimes profoundly wrong. Evil HR Lady presents the moral and legal obligations employers have to their employees if a customer harasses them.

HR people often advise victims of harassment to “just document everything!” without explaining how to go about it. Here’s a quick guide to what you need to do when you’re documenting harassment.

A manager frustrated with an employee who frequently complains wonders if the problem lies with their management style, the team or the employee. Evil HR Lady offers perspective and potential solutions. 

When a hybrid schedule creates an odd split with two people managing the entire staff half the time, one manager wonders how to deal with the difference in styles. 

For an employer tired of paying for the unemployment benefits of “bad employees” they let go, Evil HR Lady prescribes getting to the root of the termination problem.

When remote workers encounter power outages, can employers require verification? What’s a fair amount of time for employees to be on standby?

An employer seeks answers about the ethics and boundaries of commenting on an employee’s personal life.

An employer seeks out ways to offer staff members flexibility when working from home isn’t an option.

An employer struggles with how to attract entry-level applicants without being able to increase their wages.

A department head feels undermined by a direct report. What’s the next step: discipline, take responsibility or simply move on?

Yes, employers can ask employees to come back to the office or face termination — but should they?

Managers should be involved in writing job descriptions, hiring employees and evaluating performance — shouldn’t they? 

When people talk about greedy CEOs, they forget the CEOs who are desperately trying to keep businesses afloat and paying people more than they themselves take home.

Well-intentioned policies can backfire unless they are flexible and look at the whole situation.

Did bonuses really go away, or did the company change the criteria or change the bonuses to be entirely discretionary?

Employers have paid time off for a reason. How can they encourage employees to use it?

An employee gets promoted to become the supervisor of a close friend. Can they maintain their friendship?

Employees complain about bosses all the time. What happens when the boss overhears?

“Authentic self” doesn’t necessarily mean behaving at work the way one does at home.

PODCAST: Take a trip with the Evil HR Lady as she answers a question about a new hire who wants to go on vacation.

A new hire says he’s taking a trip that he scheduled before applying for the job. What are his employer’s options?