HR Stories Podcast - A Lesson in Every Story!

Updated: 30 Sep 2025 • 156 episodes
teamathrstories.com/podcast

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 a text Welcome to another Listener Q&A with The Team at HR Stories! Today"s episode goes into these questions:Do you have to follow the laws of where the employee is or where the company is?Is it discrimination to not invite all employees to the 401k info session?How can you protect against discrimination in hi

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Send us a text When someone goes from star employee to being told that he will never be a manager because they used their FMLA, a legally protected leave, there’s more to the story that what the management hopes to hear. FMLA is not a employment benefit. It’s a right. And in the case of today’s story, our main characte

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Send us a text Welcome to a new format from the team where they explore hot topics in the news! In today"s episode Chuck and John discuss the following topics: - The unusual perks that can keep employee retention up at little cost to the company. - Cracker Barrel"s latest controversy involving racial discrimination in

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Send us a text Welcome to another Listener Q&A with The Team at HR Stories! Today"s episode goes into these questions:HR is constantly changing because of cultural shifts or technology. What else is influencing the HR role within the organization?Do you have to follow other state regulations when you have employees wor

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Send us a text We"ve seen it in the news and around social media - someone did something controversial and they went viral for it. Next thing we hear, they"ve either tastefully resigned from their job or the company has issued a statement saying they do not stand by the actions and the person has been removed from the

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Send us a text Join Chuck and John as they go back to an episode that originally aired in May of 2021 to review the Ellerth v Burlington case.  --- Kimberly Ellerth was 23, fresh out of college and recently married, when she landed a prized marketing job with Burlington Industries in its Chicago office. But eventually

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