Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Michelle Sullivan, Holland & Hart LLP Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, issued a statement on October 2 indicating that employers awaiting guidance before implementing changes to medical plans required by the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 should not expect […]
by Chris LaRose In a decision issued August 25, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the trial court properly threw out an employee’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) case. The lawsuit stemmed from the employee’s demotion after four unexcused absences. The employee argued that his absences should have been considered FMLA […]
Employers’ HR and benefits teams are facing the question of what to do in response to pending health care reform. Competing health care proposals are being hotly debated by Congress and the White House in Washington, D.C., and by legislators and their constituents around the country. The debate presents the full range of options, from […]
by Hillary J. Collyer Given the current economic slump, there is a particularly high rate of unemployment among younger workers. Accordingly, employers may be receiving an increased number of resumes or job applications from recent graduates who are still looking for their first job out of college. Also, in recent years there’s been a lot […]
On October 23, 2009, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law poster, which includes information on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The poster was updated to include information about GINA, specifically that employers are prohibited from discriminating against applicants and employees on the basis of […]
Is every employee who makes a formal complaint considered a “whistleblower”? The federal District Court says no. Mark Shulthies, a long time Amtrak employee working in California, sent an email to his supervisor complaining that the company’s decision to reorganize certain aspects of its service between the Bay Area and Bakersfield posed a “danger to […]
Clear directions are a critical element in the successful execution of any task. To bake a batch of mouth-watering cookies, you need a recipe that clearly lists the ingredients and how they need to be combined in order to deliver the final result you’re looking for. If you need to travel from point A to […]
Litigation Value: de minimus damage award (after spending $50,000 to “successfully” defend the lawsuit) He rarely disappoints, and this week was no different. Michael Scott was in rare form in this week’s issue of The Office, “The Lover” (or should this episode have been titled “The Mother Lover” for all you SNL fans). Michael revealed […]
Customer service reps have a difficult and mostly thankless job. Every year, though, we recognize their important work during Customer Service Week (this year it was October 5-9). We thought it might be interesting to ask BLR’s customer service reps about some of their most unusual calls or experiences. We weren’t disappointed. To begin with, […]
Yesterday’s Advisor showed how author Jathan Janove’s Star Profiles can help managers avoid “Peter Principle” promotions. But it left unanswered the question of how to handle the top salesperson who didn’t get the promotion to sales manager. And, we’ll find help for tackling the tough “no raise this year” talk. If Mike (less successful as […]