Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
It’s easy to get off-track during a hiring interview—one minute you’re running through the list of job requirements, and the next you’re discussing personal details of the candidate’s life that you’re really better off not knowing. Review this checklist frequently to help ensure you stay within the legal lines during your interviews. Forbidden Questions—Age “How […]
Litigation Value: Surprisingly, maybe $0 Maybe this is just a reflection on me and my days as an HR Director, but I didn’t see much that would really nail Dunder Mifflin this week. Sure, Meredith has been having an affair with a vendor to get discounts for the company. But it didn’t come out that […]
In a major ruling, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that employees who retire and receive lump-sum distributions from their company’s defined-contribution plan, such as a 401(k), have the right to sue the administrators of the plan if they don’t believe their moneys were managed wisely. As our population ages and our economy […]
What a response to our recent story about “the employee who was too good”! (Go here to see original story.) Some readers called for a boycott, some lashed out at management, and one lashed out at HR. Although most readers heaped lavish praise on Mr. Foster, one reader wasn’t convinced that he was such a […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, we discussed the “overtime revolution” and hit some common overtime violations. Today, more violations and the announcement of an audio conference that will help insulate you from overtime lawsuits. As we said yesterday, overtime violations, easy as they should be to avoid, just keep coming and coming. And many involve high-dollar settlements. […]
The California legislative session is now over, and while many workplace-related bills were approved by the state Senate and Assembly, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed all but a handful of them. In fact, the governor vetoed 35 percent—a record—of all bills sent to him, following the historic 85-day delay in passing a state budget and the governor’s […]
Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the business book Dealing with People You Can’t Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst by Rick Brinkman and Rick Kirschner. Review covers four steps from the book for dealing with “yes” people. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And there […]
Changes to overtime rules have been in place since 2004 , yet employers are getting tripped up for big-dollar lawsuits with increasing frequency. What’s up with that? Just a few examples from recent headlines: • McLand, a wholesale distributor of food and grocery products, pays $1.5 million in overtime to “retail merchandising specialists.” • Allied […]
by Karen Sargeant As we reported earlier this year, 2007 saw three overtime class action lawsuits in Canada — a $651 million class-action lawsuit filed against the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), followed quickly by a $20 million class action against KPMG and then a $350 million class action against a second major Canadian […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Francis Alvarez discussed legal risks of wellness programs. Today, practical considerations and an introduction to a popular wellness guide. Each organization has to decide for itself where it belongs on the wellness/risk continuum, says Alvarez, a partner in the White Plains, New York, office of national employment law firm Jackson Lewis. […]