Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Marc Ouellet and Louise Béchamp On November 27, 2009, in two cases involving Wal-Mart (Plourde v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp. and Desbiens v. Wal-Mart Canada Corp.), the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its much-awaited decision on an employer’s right to close operations for alleged antiunion reasons. The Supreme Court decisions rule that Wal-Mart could close […]
The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Monday that it would hear arguments in a case involving sexually explicit text messages sent by employees using their employer-provided pagers. The issue for the court is whether the employer violated its employees’ privacy rights by reading the messages. The case involved several police officers with the Ontario, California, […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, Maestro Roger Nierenberg helped flesh out leadership’s “job description” by sharing lessons he’s learned about leadership as the conductor of an orchestra. Today, we’ll take a few more music lessons, and get a look at an extraordinary job descriptions management tool. Nierenberg, an accomplished symphony conductor, has recently released Maestro (Portfolio, Oct. […]
Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, this Monday morning, December 14, in the “Business Life” section of the “Business and Investing” category. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by […]
M. Lee Smith Publishers’ President Dan Oswald comments on the generational divide that most companies are experiencing in relation to technology and offers five tips for how employers can harness the know-how and insight of their younger employees. I recently handed a newspaper column written by Financial Times columnist Luke Johnson to my 18-year old […]
Employment law attorney Robert P. Tinnin, Jr. tackles the tough question of whether an employer can implement an”English-only” policy. Q A couple moved to Taos, New Mexico, from Abilene, Texas, last summer and purchased a deteriorating old motel, hoping to rehab it as they’ve done with several other properties. According to news stories, the husband, […]
According to its annual report issued November 16, 2009, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 93,277 private-sector discrimination charges in fiscal year (FY) 2009, its second highest total in the past 20 years. In addition, the EEOC obtained record relief of almost $300 million for alleged discrimination victims through administrative enforcement. Breakdown of Charges […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a complaint in the U.S. district court in Maryland against Freeman Companies, a Dallas-based corporate event-planning company. The EEOC claims that Freeman’s use of credit histories and criminal background checks discriminates against black, Hispanic, and male job applicants in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights […]
In his “surprising story about leading by listening,” Maestro Roger Nierenberg shares penetrating insights about leadership as learned from observing an orchestra at work. In his recent book, Maestro (Portfolio, Oct. 2009), Nierenberg compiles leadership lessons that come from managers who have participated in his “Music Paradigm,” a management training activity he presents using a […]
by Christine Kenny Calculating whether an employee has worked 1,250 hours in the past year to qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) seems like a straightforward enough task. But is it really? With flextime arrangements and employees working overtime or putting in for “comp” time, calculating the 1,250-hour requirement can […]