Month: August 2011

When Do You Owe Mandatory Split-Shift Pay?

Under California law, employees who work a “split shift” are entitled to one hour’s pay at minimum wage in addition to at least the minimum wage for that workday. But what, exactly, is a split shift? Guest columnist Cathleen Yonahara of San Francisco-based Freeland Cooper & Foreman, LLP explains.

Houston, We Have an FMLA problem …

Basic FMLA is hassle enough, but employees keep finding new ways to make FMLA compliance just a little bit harder. Today, answers to tricky “during leave” FMLA issues. What if I find out that an employee is working another job or has been interviewing or inquiring about other jobs while on leave? There is no […]

How I Sold Flex to Management

DeVry’s CEO was skeptical, says Nancy Johnson, Sr. Director Talent Management, but most managers were supportive, and ultimately she did sell management on flex.  Johnson shared her flex tips at World at Work’s Total Rewards conference held recently in San Diego.  How Johnson Sold Flex as a Business Strategy  First of all, flexibility had been […]

Discipline and Termination—Near Guarantees of a Lawsuit

In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered “almost smoking gun” mistakes; today, more mistakes your managers make, plus an introduction to a unique, checklist-based audit system. Today’s mistakes are again courtesy of the Rhode Island Employment Law Letter written by attorneys at the law firm of Little, Medeiros, Kinder, Bulman & Whitney, P.C. As with evaluations, discipline […]

Beware the Undead: ERISA Equitable Relief Ruling Brings Cases Back from the Grave

A landmark Supreme Court ruling on relief available under ERISA in employee benefit cases is bringing cases back to life that we thought were dead and gone. In CIGNA v. Amara, the U.S. Supreme Court on May 16 ruled that ERISA’s enforcement provision allowing for “appropriate equitable relief” — ERISA Section 1132(a)(3) — aka Section […]

Hot List: Bestselling “Organizational Behavior” Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, August 15, in the “Organizational Behavior” section of the “Business and Investing” category. 1. Read This Before Our Next Meeting by Al Pittampalli. Explains what’s wrong with “the meeting,” and meeting culture, but suggests how […]

The ‘Flip Side’ of Mr. Naysayer

After last week’s post I received an email from a reader who had a suggestion: You need to write about the “flip side” of Mr. Naysayer. Her rationale? I once had a job where I became the Mr. Naysayer. It was uncomfortable for me — uncomfortable for all around me — and it was a […]

Flex—‘Nice-to-Have’ or Business Imperative?

At World at Work’s Total Rewards conference held recently in San Diego, sessions on flextime were eagerly attended. Burrus shared her tips for developing a flex program that supports the business while at the same time pleasing employees. Burrus is the Workplace Flexibility Practice Leader at Waltham, Mass.-based WFD Consulting. She offers six stages of […]

Is Every Employee Disabled?

By Michael E. Barnsback That was the question we received at the conclusion of the ADA Compliance Virtual Summit, which I conducted with Audra Hamilton on June 15, 2011. The question was reasonable after conference participants learned that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) new regulations emphasize that the focus of the Americans with Disabilities […]