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Think Teen Workers Not Harassed? Think Again

Teens tend to be especially vulnerable to sexual harassment. They are new to the ways of the workplace and they are reluctant to report wrongdoing. However, although they may not be sure what their rights are, judges and juries surely will be. We turned to The HR Red Book® by BLR® for guidance. "Because of […]

Hot List: BusinessWeek’s Best Seller List

BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 10 best selling hardcover and paperback business books for October 2009 and gives a short summary. 1. The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal by Ben Mezrich. An unflattering portrait of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. 2. A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The […]

Extreme Benefits Makeover: Employee Time Off for Cosmetic Surgery

Should employees receive benefits coverage for time off due to cosmetic surgery? At least two Canadian labor arbitrators think so. In the most recent decision on point, North Bay General Hospital v. Ontario Nurses’ Assn. [2009] OLAA No. 47, 181 LAC (4th) 179 (Stephens), an employee was awarded sick pay coverage for time off while […]

Comp Decisions Are Urgent, but Take Your Time

Many companies are making major decisions about their compensation programs without even running their plans by HR, says Attorney Lisa Van Fleet. You can’t let the financial people make those decisions, she adds. Yesterday’s Advisor featured Van Fleet’s advice for dealing with deferred compensation changes. Today we’ll get her specific recommendations about compensation decisions, and […]

Reducing Deferred Compensation? Careful …

 “Every day,” says attorney Lisa Van Fleet, “we get asked things like, ‘How can we eliminate our match? What if we change our benefits program midyear? How do we manage a reduction in force? How do we put together severance pay packages?’” Times have changed for every company. Since the economic downturn, not surprisingly, most […]

Excellence Not Perfection

The other day a friend of mine suggested I type “excellence vs. perfection” into the Google search box and see what came up. When I got back to my office, I did exactly as he had suggested. The very top organic search result was a link to the site www.boodrow.com/boodrow4/perfection.htm, which had a list that […]

Addressing Employees’ Religious Beliefs and Practices in the Workplace

by Brian R. Garrison Most employers know that federal and state civil rights laws prevent them from discriminating against employees on the basis of their religious beliefs and practices. But when you hear the phrase “reasonable accommodation,” you usually think of your duty under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to accommodate an employee with a […]

Breastfeeding Employee Entitled to Equal, Not Preferential, Treatment

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans recently addressed a case in which the employee alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). The dispute arose when the employee claimed she was given insufficient break time to express breast milk following the […]

Document Employee Behavior Today to Avoid Lawsuits Tomorrow

by Eric B. Topel Charles “Slip” Shod has been employed by your company for more than two years, during which time you have received repeated complaints from vendors about his performance. In your capacity as a member of human resources, you begin reviewing the other matters on which Slip has been working and determine that […]