Claim OwnershipHR Stories Podcast - A Lesson in Every Story!
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© 2026 HR Stories Podcast - A Lesson in Every Story!
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Welcome to the HR Stories Podcast - where there is a lesson in every story. Our Storytellers - John Thalheimer and Chuck Simikian, the Team behind HR Stories, share real-life tales about where a business made a preventable mistake. At The HR Stories Podcast, the STORIES are the teaching tool! LISTEN to the stories of those who did not heed the warning signs. LEARN from their mistakes. ACT on best practices shared by our hosts and guests. Each year, our hosts, Chuck Simikian and John Thalheimer, deliver thousands of live seminars around the country to business owners, executives, and HR professionals discussing the fundamentals of Human Resources, Leadership best practices, and legal risk reduction activities for organizations.
Each HR Story episode shares a story of where a company missed the mark, what went wrong, and how you can avoid their fate. As the Team at HR Stories, John and Chuck continue to develop and provide resources to help HR leaders, business owners, and organizations with the confidence they need to successfully handle employee issues and build strong employee practices to comply with employment laws. Both successful entrepreneurs help businesses through HR consulting, training, and coaching leaders. They have coached and trained thousands of HR Professionals, Business Owners, and Leaders to prepare them for the future.
John is the Founding Director of True Star Leadership™, which focuses on helping managers and leaders learn performance management principles. Chuck is the Founding Partner of Alliance HR Partners, which provides HR consulting and training to businesses nationwide. Together, they have over 40 years of experience navigating the challenges of HR and recently published their book, The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklist Edition. Go to https://ultimateguidetohr.com/ for more information, download a free sample, and watch their webinar on the Secret Power Behind Successful Businesses.
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Send us Fan Mail Internships have long been seen as stepping stones in careers, but recent developments have raised serious questions about their structure and compensation. As corporate America grapples with evolving norms, young professionals must navigate this changing landscape. In this episode, we’ll explore the current state of internships, the implications of recent legal cases, and what you can do to protect yourself in this competitive field. Support the show Our new book...The Ulti...
Send us Fan Mail When a patient requests that they re-assign a home-health nurse because they didn't want them to be black, the company made a dangerous and costly agreement to try and make the customer happy. Can customers make requests based on discriminatory reasons and, if they do, how do you handle it? Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and...
Send us Fan Mail Office gossip is an unavoidable fixture of the work environment and can even have benefits to the relationships your teams build. But when does it cross the line? When is concern around gossip just a manager's ego talking? And what does gossip actually point to as the real issue in the workplace? Listen to Chuck and John break it down for you on this weeks episode with a five-part solution to tackling gossip head on. Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide t...
Send us Fan Mail When Coca Cola hosted a company-sponsored networking event for female employees, the flag was raised to the EEOC for discrimination. So does this mean that women's retreats and networking groups have seen their final days? Not exactly. How you approach these events can make all the difference; from who you invite to how you advertise it, it's important to be mindful every step of the way. Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is n...
Send us Fan Mail When you have a legitimate reason to terminate an employee, can they still sue you? The answer may make you feel uneasy. While you can't stop a lawsuit from coming your direction, you can be prepared with a solid defense if you have the right documentation. Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and approved for 3 SHRM Recerti...
Send us Fan Mail AI is here and there are ongoing court cases to determine the legality of using it for screening candidates. While the courts work to determine their position, there are steps and ways of thinking that HR professionals need to keep in mind. Don't wait for AI to happen to your organization - prepare for how you can use it safely. Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get H...
Send us Fan Mail Chuck and John discuss the latest news in the HR world, including impacts of the weather, a recent EEOC decision, a shift to return to office response, and a changing job market. Could 2026 be the year of the great turnover? Find out what it could mean for you and your company. Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR Right: and Avoid Costly Mistakes. Certified and approv...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to another Listener Q&A with The Team at HR Stories! Today's episode goes into these questions: Can an employee be disciplined for misuse of intermittent FMLA?Can you change someone’s ADA accommodations?What do we have to pay for when it comes to USERRA?What are the biggest mistakes with handling discrimination complaints and how do you avoid retaliation? Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to Ul...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to part two of the Employment Law series, where the team looks at changes coming to the laws *you need to know about* in 2026. In this episode, follow along as the team provides some guidance on the following issues: - The impact of the National Labor Relation Board reaching quorum. - Independent Contractor classification may be in flux with the Department of Labor decisions. - Expect changes to non-competes. - States are doing the heavy lifting with emplo...
Send us Fan Mail Part 1 - The start of the year is bringing a lot of uncertainty for those in HR. We are expecting a lot of change from a federal level and are waiting to see what the impact will be. Listen to what Chuck and John suggest you keep an eye out for as we head into the start of the year with the following topics: Changes to independent contractor statuses may be leading companies to hiring as temp employeesMinimum wage rules are no longer uniform, causing some HR teams to be caugh...
Send us Fan Mail As we all prepare to wrap up our 2025 and head into 2026, we take a moment to reflect on some of the most important issues that have faced Human Resources professionals this year. It has been quite the year for everyone as we adjust to a new administration putting unprecedented policy changes in place. As you plan for the start of your next year, take time to listen to the key pieces of information The Team has prepared for you and keep listening in to keep up with the most i...
Send us Fan Mail This week on Hot Topics, the team touches on the following topics and more: Rolling layoffs are becoming more of a trend. Reducing the workforce 50 or fewer employees at a time could be a way for companies to save face and avoid reporting requirements. What are the implications of this on the remaining workforce? Studies show increases in anxiety are just the tip of the iceberg.Proximity bias - Does it show up in your workplace? The future of remote work starts with clarity a...
Send us Fan Mail After an employee asks for an accommodation of working from home due to mold concerns, things get complicated. But in this instance, you'll see how important it was that the employer recorded all of their efforts taken along the way when they say that working from home is not a reasonable accommodation. Follow along with the team as they review the important steps to take when it comes to ADA accommodations - making sure you don't get caught OVER accommodating. S...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to another Listener Q&A with The Team at HR Stories! Today's episode goes into these questions: 1. We’ve had a couple of sexual harassment complaints that don’t seem serious. Do we HAVE to investigate all of them? 2. A male says that he has a religious belief that he cannot work alone with a woman. Is this an accommodation that we must abide by? 3. What do you do if ICE shows up at your workplace? Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide to HR: Check...
Send us Fan Mail When two sisters who own a Dairy Queen are on the receiving end of a pay violation lawsuit, they are stunned. They’ve worked hard to create a “second chances” work environment and always paid their employees on time - even giving employees advances when they need it. They quickly learned that the lawsuit wasn’t for neglecting to pay their employees, but rather the frequency at which they paid them. Today’s story emphasizes the importance of knowing state laws to avoid a sneak...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to another Listener Q&A with The Team at HR Stories! Today's episode goes into these questions: Can you create a policy about tattoos and piercings?Can we leave details out of the handbook that we want to handle case-by-case?Can a anxiety from a workplace incident be considered a disability and require reasonable accommodation? Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get H...
Send us Fan Mail In this week’s Hot Topics, Chuck and John talk about the following topics and more: - Companies implementing AI training across their teams - Planned salary increases for 2026 are holding steady to this year. How do we provide value for employees to retain them? - Four-day work weeks seeing a bump in employee productivity and satisfaction. Lumen SEO is taking it to the next level by only requiring employees to work 32 hours per week, whenever works best for them. - Robo-boss...
Send us Fan Mail When an employee’s request for Sundays off was approved — then revoked — it led to an EEOC case and a costly lesson in religious accommodation law. Chuck and John unpack how one scheduling change turned into a Title VII violation, what the Groff v. DeJoy decision means for employers, and how HR can avoid retaliation, document undue hardship, and protect the company from legal risk. Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE!...
Send us Fan Mail Workday going all in on AI, spending astronomical amounts of money investing in AI softwares and agents. With AI not going anywhere, what risks and litigation do we open ourselves to when AI starts making business decisions. Starbucks is cutting more corporate positions and closing doors on some locations. Many companies have been able to stave off layoffs by relying on retirements and not filling open roles but in this uncertain economic landscape, businesses are needing to ...
Send us Fan Mail Welcome to another Listener Q&A with The Team at HR Stories! Today's episode goes into these questions: What should you think about when creating a lactation space?How do you handle an employee talking poorly about another employee?What is a good transition career out of HR?Can we pre-approve timesheets for someone going out on leave? Support the show Our new book...The Ultimate Guide to HR: Checklists Edition is now AVAILABLE! Go to UltimateGuidetoHR.com to Get HR...
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