Diversity of Thought
Are you drawn to job candidates who remind you … of yourself? While people often seek like-minded individuals as friends, the workplace should not reflect this kind of preference.
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Don't Put Off Until Tomorrow What You SHOULD Do Today
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” It’s good advice for all of us.
The importance of respecting confidentiality clauses in termination agreements
by Alexandra Meunier In Canadian labor relations, parties commonly enter into termination agreements in order to settle grievances and avoid any future litigation. Such agreements may contain confidentiality clauses. However, what happens when a party does not strictly respect the content of a confidentiality clause? This is the question that was submitted to the arbitrator […]
Employers look to ‘culture of inclusiveness’ in era of expanding LGBT rights
Inclusiveness, civility, respectful treatment: Those are all concepts getting a lot of attention as employers struggle to cope with what seems like an increasingly divisive culture often threatening to bleed over into the workplace. A changing legal landscape also must be considered as employers strive for productive and nondiscriminatory working environments. For example, a landmark […]
With HR’s help, employee network groups can improve retention
From the employer’s perspective, employee network groups can boost engagement and retention—or they can create divisiveness. To ensure the former, employers need to be involved from the start. By adopting a policy and welcoming network groups, businesses can encourage members to have positive effects in the workplace, according to Ray Friedman, a professor of management […]
When words used in a disciplinary report suggest implicit bias
by Barbara J. Koenig Implicit bias is an unconscious preference for or an aversion to a person or a group of people. In other words, we may have an attitude toward others or stereotype them without conscious knowledge of what we’re doing. If we act in accordance with our implicit bias, we may be discriminating […]
Top 10 employer mistakes in accommodating disabled employees
by Matthew A. Goodin Even experienced HR professionals have a difficult time with requests for reasonable accommodation from disabled employees. This process is even trickier if the employee needs a leave of absence as an accommodation because of the intersection of different laws that govern leaves of absence. Below are some of the most common […]
Stage is set for SCOTUS to rule on Title VII and sexual orientation
by Ryan B. Frazier Since the civil rights movement of the 1960s, state and federal laws have been enacted to prohibit employment discrimination against individuals on the basis of their race, ethnicity, age, disability, religion, and gender. Until recently, virtually none of those antidiscrimination laws covered employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. […]
Time Running Out to Comment on Long-Stalled Overtime Rule
Employers and others have until September 25 to submit comments to shape the rule governing which workers are eligible for overtime pay. Once the deadline passes, employers will face a waiting game before learning what changes may be in store.
Good (Nontaxable) Things Come in Small Packages: The De Minimis Fringe Benefit Rule
Do you want to recognize an employee’s 20 years of service by giving a gift? Perhaps you want to refund local transportation costs or open a cafeteria so your employees can eat on-site. Maybe you just want to know how to handle those annual holiday turkeys you give to employees. All of these situations are […]