Archives

Do Your Supervisors Commit Any of These 10 Sins?

Let’s jump right in. Sin #1. Making Unlawful Preemployment Inquiries That’s an interesting accent you have. Where were you born? Do you have any children? If so, will you have any daycare problems? By the way, we’re all about diversity here. Inappropriate questions during interviews and other preemployment contacts are a primary source for claims […]

Prohibited employer actions under ADA/FEHA

Ensuring that disabled employees are not discriminated against is one of the goals of both the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California’s Fair Housing and Employment Act (FEHA). This goal is accomplished through not only defining what it means to be disabled and what must be done to accommodate those with disabilities, but also through specifically outlining the actions that employers cannot take without violating the law.

Employer Needn’t Hire Assistant as Reasonable Accommodation

An employer was not required to provide a full-time assistant to a worker with disabilities as an ADA accommodation, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has reaffirmed in Williams v. Revco Discount Drug Centers, Inc., d.b.a. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., No. 13-11673 (11th Cir. Jan. 14, 2014). Weldon Williams, a CVS pharmacist, filed suit against […]

Dear Performance Appraisal: You’re Fired!

Let’s talk about something we all know and love—performance appraisals. Is there anything that gets HR pros, supervisors, and employees alike more excited than the chance to discuss strengths and achievements, areas for improvement, and goals for the future? In today’s Advisor, BLR Legal Editor Holly Jones, JD, outlines challenges of appraisal systems and offers […]

Can you keep a secret? Court upholds termination for breach of confidentiality

By Hannah Roskey When will an employee’s breach of confidence justify immediate dismissal under Canadian law? A recent decision by the British Columbia Supreme Court demonstrates that clearly drafted employer policies intended to protect confidential information can indeed be strictly enforced. In Steel v. Coast Capital Savings Credit Union, the court upheld the dismissal of […]

Rah rah ree! Pay our salary!

If your Google search for “California cheerleaders illegal” led you here, our apologies for your initial disappointment. But, please, stay a while, because the recently filed class action lawsuit by the Raiderette cheerleaders against the NFL’s Oakland Raiders is instructive as to the types of issues that can lead to wage-and-hour litigation.  Do we have […]

Crimson Tide’s Coach Offers Seven Lessons for Every Manager

Oswald, CEO of BLR, offered seven lessons for better managers from Alabama coach Nick Saban in a recent edition of The Oswald Letter. In the end, people are people. Successful strategies to manage, mold, and motivate them are consistent across the playing field and the workplace. If you want to learn how to manage from […]

7 Essentials for Purpose-Driven Training

So you have great content for your training session, but how’s your delivery? Bob Pike, a well-known motivational speaker in the training profession, presented seven strategies for designing and delivering training that makes the difference between being effective and being a dud. Here are the essential tidbits I took from Pike’s presentation at a recent […]

Metrics for employee wellness programs

Employers have a lot of questions when deciding to implement an employee wellness program. One of the biggest concerns – at least for those in the C-suite – is how to ensure that the wellness program is improving employee health and, eventually, positively impacting the organization’s bottom line.