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A new decision from a California Court of Appeals underscores how erroneously classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees can have serious tax consequences. The case involved a group of courier companies—collectively called Sonic—that classified delivery drivers as independent contractors and reported their pay on 1099 forms. The California Employment Development Department, however, decided […]
Telecommuting may be a dream job, but for employers it can turn into a legal nightmare. Here’s why telecommuters are suing, and how to avoid getting sued. Every day, while most of us are still stuck on the expressway, more than 12 million U.S. employees are already at work, after making the shortest commute it’s […]
Depression, anxiety, and other mental conditions in the workplace have both legal (ADA) and human implications. Here are two programs to help deal with them. The recent violence-driven emphasis on dealing with mental health issues in the workplace has again put HR on the spot. How does a company deal with disabilities that are frequently […]
The recent spate of workplace violence has employers wondering what the ADA has to say about workers with mental illness. The answer is … it depends. It’s been a month since the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech and a less-publicized, but equally relevant to employers, hostage situation at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. In […]
by Mark I. Schickman I’ve received lots of e-mails recently about the major conflict still waging over the recent firing of eight U.S. attorneys. You wrote that the U.S. government, as an employer, should be able to fire any employee, so what was wrong if the Attorney General or the President had them fired? That […]
by Tara Eberline The full Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned an earlier ruling by a three-member panel of the same court by ruling that an employee didn’t have enough evidence of national origin discrimination to submit his claims to a jury. The case, which has received national attention, arose after the employer […]
LITIGATION VALUE: $50,000 (with the potential for a whole lot more) So Creed has joined the millions of people blogging at (and about) work. I’d say that this could definitely cause trouble for Dunder Mifflin when Creed eventually learns how to post his musings on something more than a Microsoft Word document. Believe it or […]
Just My E-pinion By Cathy Bolger Recently, former Vice President Al Gore found himself in the unlikely role of Hollywood celebrity, accepting an Oscar as producer of a documentary on global warming, titled An Inconvenient Truth. HR Management Trainer Cathy Bolger thinks she knows how Gore was able to gain so much acceptance … by […]
Proposed changes to the FMLA may be confusing employees about just what the law allows. This PowerPoint® plus booklet program may help set them straight as to what the current law actually says. Robert J. Gilson is a consultant to federal agencies on HR matters, and before that, he was an employee relations director for […]
Many employers cite employees for violations of “unwritten” company policies that are enforced but not clearly set out in an employee handbook or other well-publicized document. This can be a big mistake. Your supervisors may feel comfortable telling employees that “this is a long-standing unwritten rule” or “just the way things have always been done,” […]