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When ‘Casual Conversations’ Become FMLA Notice

As an employer, you might think that there’s a clear difference between taking part in casual conversations with your employees versus receiving notice of an impending FMLA leave. After all, dropping hints in the lunchroom about ailing parents, sick kids or personal health issues doesn’t qualify these days as giving official leave notification, does it? […]

Company Officials Aren’t Plan Fiduciaries, Not Liable for Missed Contributions

A company owner and another manager are not fiduciaries as defined by ERISA and the contributions they failed to make to their employees’ pension plans were not plan assets, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. This decision supports the premise that individual company officials who serve only as conduits for employees’ payments to […]

Another Uptick for SIFL Rates in Second Half of 2012

The standard industry fare level rates that employers will use to calculate the value of trips taken aboard company aircraft during the second half of 2012 were issued Aug. 14 by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The rates have increased about 4 ½ percent from those that were in effect for the first half of […]

How Good Employee Documentation Helps You Achieve Your Objectives

Employee documentation can be HR’s secret weapon. It can be used as part of a defense strategy should you ever be faced with a discrimination or retaliation lawsuit, for example. Any labor and employment attorney will tell you that one of the keys to being able to defend—or even prevent—litigation rests in sound HR documentation […]

Another Case for Training Managers and Winning Lawsuits

Woods is a shareholder in the Greenville, South Carolina office of law firm Ogletree Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC. His remarks came at BLR®’s annual National Employment Law Update. Employer’s Failure Allows FMLA Claim To Go Forward The Story: A newspaper receptionist, who was allegedly fired for violation of her employer’s attendance policy, had […]

What Does It Mean To Be ‘Totally Incapacitated’?

Yesterday, we looked at a case involving an employee who claimed to want to return to work but submitted a note from his doctor stating that he was “totally incapacitated.” Today, the conclusion of the case, courtesy of attorney Nancy N. Lubrano of the Irvine office of Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP.

Documentation–the Good, the Bad, the Missing

Yesterday’s Advisor featured key training topics 1 to 4; today, we’ll cover topics 5 and 6 and we’ll introduce the new, full-function total training resource, Training Today. 5. Documentation Why it’s a problem. Documentation a pain, it’s not an immediate issue, managers don’t know what to write, and no one’s checking to see whether it […]

Teacher’s Retaliation Claim Advances to Jury Trial

A recent decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals highlights the importance of tracking employees’ hours. That court reversed a district court’s judgment against a New York high school English teacher who claims he was denied tenure in retaliation for taking seven days of leave following gallbladder surgery — FMLA leave for which […]

Goals and action plans

Set your goal and create a plan to achieve it

If you spent any time at all watching the 2012 Summer Olympics, you undoubtedly noticed young Gabby Douglas. Gabby is a 16-year-old U.S. gymnast who won a gold medal in both the individual and team all-around competitions. The charismatic teenager is now featured on the front of Corn Flakes cereal boxes. So, how does a […]

Have You Trained Your Managers in What Not to Say?

Woods is a shareholder in the Greenville, South Carolina office of law firm Ogletree Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC. His remarks came at BLR®’s annual National Employment Law Update. Seeking a Person ‘More Energetic’ than You The Story: Klockner Pentaplast of America (KPA) employed 58-year-old Dean Inman as its VP Technology. When Michael Tubridy, […]