Skyrocketing unemployment insurance (UI) taxes are in the news in states from coast to coast these days. But amid the controversy, a little-known fact is that this tax burden can be dramatically reduced by employers themselves -- if they invest in an effective outplacement program.  

There's one piece of career advice that applies equally to new graduates, mid-level execs and entrepreneurs: brand yourself.

Whether you're searching for a job or are happily employed, creating a personal brand can help you find your dream job, grow your business or even get promoted.

We thought it was pretty cool when we discovered a correlation between jobless rates and Super Bowl winners.  So did television and newspaper journalists all over the country.

With the Talent Management 2011 Conference a little more than a month away, featured speaker Angela Gardner sat down for a podcast interview with HR Today’s Katherine Mehr to discuss some of the biggest challenges and likely trends this year. Gardner is senior vice president of talent acquisition for Fox Entertainment.

One of the most heated debates in HR — the employee dress code — got a new wrinkle this month, thanks to a little-noticed ruling from the National Labor Relations Board. As Joe Lustig reports:

Employers are asking for trouble if they take adverse action against an employee who questions their dress code in front of other workers, such as issuing a written warning. That became clear earlier this month when the National Labor Relations Board ruled that a Nevada employee’s questioning of rumored changes to his employer’s dress code in the presence of other workers constituted “concerted protected activity” under the National Labor Relations Act.

Seventy-five dollars per week. That's the per person productivity loss in companies with "psychologically distressed" employees. With half of Americans reporting "stress, fatigue, irritability and anger," the impact on a 500 person company totals over $1.9 million per year. 

For most HR and hiring managers, writing and updating job descriptions for employees is not the most enjoyable part of the job.  But it's worth the effort, as detailed job descriptions are very important to attracting the right candidates when you are looking to fill an open position.

And there are legal factors to consider, too.  

If a disgruntled former employee or job applicant sues, your job posting can provide the official definition of their day-to-day duties, so the more accurate it is, the better.