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A Third Circuit ruling clarifies who must be told of suspected sexual harassment, requiring employees to report allegations of bias to a manager or HR. Telling a colleague without direct supervisory responsibility is not enough. It's unclear if other federal courts will follow suit.

Rising unemployment is taking its toll on older managers, who are more likely to be laid off and may stay that way longer. Middle-aged employees will find it harder to get a job, compared to younger workers with newer skills, experts say. But the tide may be beginning to change.

The theory that satisfied employees result in satisfied customers is a faulty one, say two professors, whose recent study indicates no such correlation. While keeping employees happy is admirable, HR leaders also need to make sure communication efforts and internal processes assist workers to meet company strategies.

New research shows a significantly steep downside to using "virtual teams," compared to working teams in the same location, such as problems with miscommunications, unresolved issues and lower productivity. But it doesn't have to be that way, experts say.

Experts say the Healthy Families Act is unhealthy for employers. Even though healthcare reform and executive-comp legislation may be making the headlines, employer groups remain concerned about the potential paid-time-off mandate.

Can -- and should -- HR do anything about the perception in some quarters that a diversity hiring means hiring somebody who's not as qualified? An open, transparent system that communicates fairness to employees -- not just for hiring, but also for promotions and performance evaluations -- is one proactive measure.

The economic situation was seen as underlying the surprise merger announcement by Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt earlier this week. While the potential exists for success -- and these two behemoth HR consultancies do offer some synergies -- the M&A landscape is littered with failures.

Reverse-discrimination suits may increase, but diversity initiatives should not be greatly affected by the Supreme Court's decision to rule in favor of white firefighters who lost their chance for promotions after the city of New Haven, Conn., threw out the results. HR leaders must make sure that objective business-related criteria are used for job selection and promotion.

Nearly two-thirds of surveyed companies planned to increase investments in HR technology in 2009, compared to the prior year. However, maintenance and software subscriptions may account for much of the spend. Experts say HR leaders are having to "jump through more hoops to justify their expenditures."

A Supreme Court decision requiring a much more restrictive burden of proof from the plaintiff, or employee, was a surprise to employment lawyers. It may prompt Congress to act to reverse the ruling.

There is a generational divide in the way employees and executives view the potential risks of social networking. At the same time, however, many companies continue to leverage it as a tool for developing relationships and collaboration. The risks and rewards should be discussed at the highest levels of an organization, says one expert.

In a joint hearing before the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission, regulators questioned the make-up of target-date funds and the disclosures related to them. Such funds have been increasingly popular with plan sponsors -- as well as employees -- but even some with the same target date have widely divergent equity allocations.

President Obama is proposing to outlaw or restrict about $210 billion in tax breaks for offshore companies over the next decade in an effort to rewrite the U.S. tax code. Instead of fulfilling his aim of protecting American workers, some say the result will be the direct opposite. What, if anything, should HR be doing?

Information technology may improve healthcare quality, but it's not necessarily a cure for the high cost, say experts. In fact, increased technology may add costs to operations. Medical costs won't moderate until the healthcare-payment model changes from one that pays providers for services to one that pays based on outcomes, they say.

Google has developed an algorithm to predict which employees will quit. While it's not a new concept, the complexity of the search-giant's formula is unique. Whether it's a boon to HR, however, is still in question.