If your job has anything to do with payroll, pay attention: Thanks to the tax reform law, your job will be harder than ever this fall. That's because the IRS is radically changing the W-4 form and the withholding methods for 2020 to something entirely new... no pay period withholding and no withholding allowances. At all.

The complex maze of state and federal laws on marijuana usage – along with an increasingly relaxed public attitude – has left employers and HR professionals in a haze about what to do on several pot-related questions...

Learn How To Stop Handling Employee Issues That HR Doesn't Own.

The reason is simple: HR tends to have better "people skills" and it's just easier to go to HR and have HR fight all the battles than it is to deal with the conflict directly.

Unfortunately...

When toxic talk infects an entire department, managers may be tempted to throw up their hands and just give in. They often feel powerless to counteract the damage caused by disparaging comments and persistent negativity, believing that "you can't change human nature."

If your employee handbook hasn't been updated in the past six months, it's out of date.

The workplace-law changes coming from the Trump Administration demand constant compliance vigilance from HR. Plus, the National Labor Relations Board recently issued an important new ruling that forces employers to justify their handbook rules as lawful. Here are some current handbook trouble spots:

Active shooters continue to strike American workplaces on a daily basis. While every attack is different, there are commonalities -- including confusion.

In recent incidents a "good guy with a gun" at an Alabama mall was killed mistakenly while the shooter got away, a police officer was killed in a Chicago emergency room in pursuit of a suspect and police rushed to the scene of another Chicago business for what turned out to be a well-intentioned but poorly communicated active shooter drill. 

Why do employees leave?

Departing workers probably told you it was "for more money." But only 12% of employees actually leave their jobs in pursuit of higher pay, according to a Saratoga Institute study.

In reality, the No. 1 reason employees leave is the way they're supervised. As the saying goes, "People join companies, but leave managers."

Has a disagreement with a colleague ever blown up in your face? Perhaps you put off addressing employee problems because you weren't sure how to bring them up. Perhaps you'd like to give your boss some helpful feedback, but are concerned about the reaction you might get.

If you had to miss work for a week… two weeks… or even a month, it's essential that your co-workers or manager know how to step in and fulfill your responsibilities, without a major interruption to your office or business.

You need to be documenting the processes and procedures that you do each day for easy reference. If a natural disaster occurs, it's important that you're prepared.

Terminations are the most stressful and legally dangerous moment for any HR professional or manager.

Just one mistake during the process - a discipline error, documentation slip-up or the wrong words at the termination meeting - can spark years of litigation. Plus, you have to deal with the emotional fallout... risk of violence... and co-worker response.

Do you and your management team know all the right moves?