Archives

Understanding FEHA’s disability definition

If you struggle with understanding whether you must accommodate an employee with a mental disorder, you're not alone. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can become a tricky labyrinth to navigate, and now the maze has gotten even more complicated.

Are You Attractive to Potential Employees?

It is quite simple. In order to attract the best employees, you must look as if you are the best company to work for. Appearance is everything. A very basic first step in managing your image is to review how you present your company, says Jasmine Rojas, BLR® legal editor.   For instance, while you […]

EEOC, FTC team up to provide tips on background checks

Employers and jobseekers alike are getting more direction on employer use of background checks with the release of two technical assistance documents from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). On March 10, the EEOC and the FTC copublished the documents, which are available on the agencies’ websites. The documents—Background […]

New York City paid sick leave law begins April 1

by New York Employment Law Letter New York City employers need to be ready for the city’s new Earned Sick Time Act by the April 1 effective date. Beginning April 1, the law, passed last summer over the veto of then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, requires private-sector employers with 20 or more employees in New York City […]

Stop Measuring Satisfaction—Start Focusing on Engagement

Benowitz, who is the vice president of Growth and Development at The Employee Engagement Group, offered his expert tips on engagement surveys in a recent webcast offered by BLR. Engagement is about mutual commitment, says Benowitz. Companies help employees reach their potential and employees help their companies perform better. This combination results in engagement—“the capture […]

Are Your Workers Trained to Avoid Poisons?

Overexposure to certain materials we work with can cause health problems. There are three ways these materials can get into our bodies: Inhaling hazardous airborne vapors, dusts, or fibers can be harmful to health. Effects range from headaches, nausea, and respiratory problems to far more serious—sometimes even fatal—ailments. Swallowing hazardous substances can poison you or […]

If you don’t have anything nice to say…

Lately, have you felt feverish, light-headed, even giddy? Well then you must have Oscar fever. The stars! The gowns! The teeth! My god, those blinding white teeth! For you, March 2, 2014, was a night of luxury, glamour, and take-out noodles because NO WAY you were cooking for the family and risk missing J-Law stumble […]

Learn important lessons from Lombardi’s eight-hour session

by Dan Oswald Over the weekend, I was watching a piece on legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. The documentary chronicled Lombardi’s life growing up in Brooklyn through his storied years as a championship coach with the Packers. As a Packers fan, I’ve read biographies on Lombardi and other books that have discussed the […]

Best Practices for Building Your Employee Talent Pool

Building a recruitment strategy that can meet the ups and downs of everyday business in a volatile economy is a tough challenge. Ironically, the high rate of unemployment does not mean that the skills, education, and experience that your company needs are readily available.   To compound matters, you are not alone in your quest […]

When can Canadian employment contracts be terminated for ‘frustration’?

By Marc Rodrigue Like any contract, an employment contract can be legally “frustrated” and come to an end. Basically, this may happen when it becomes impossible for one of the parties to perform his or her end of the bargain. For example an employment contract can be frustrated when, because of an illness or injury, […]