Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
BYOD policies are growing in popularity as the number of devices we carry continues to grow. BYOD stands for Bring Your Own Device. Employers and employees alike are increasingly pushing for BYOD policies in the workplace. “Basically, it lets employees use their own device to connect to the company network.” Jason A. Storipan explained in […]
Retaliation in the workplace is unlawful after an employee has engaged in a protected action. For example, an employer cannot terminate an employee as a retaliatory measure for the employee filing a workers’ compensation claim, taking protected FMLA leave, or filing a complaint over safety issues with OSHA. But what happens when there are a […]
DOMA refers to the Defense of Marriage Act, which basically created a situation in which same-sex marriages were not recognized for any federal purpose. It all came about as a result of a 1993 ruling by the Supreme Court of Hawaii, which said that the state must show a compelling interest in prohibiting same-sex marriage. […]
Employers have a duty to provide a safe workplace, free from workplace harassment. If one employee harasses another and the employer knew or should have known about it, the employer can be held liable. Employers may also be deemed vicariously liable in any case where the harasser is a supervisor. As such, the definition of […]
FMLA abuse is one of the biggest concerns for employers when complying with FMLA leave regulations. One example of potential FMLA abuse is questionable leave use. This is when someone is out on leave and they are doing something that seems inconsistent with the leave. For example, what happens when an employee is found to […]
Reference requests have come under scrutiny in recent years. This because negative references can be deemed an adverse employment action—and thus set the stage for a retaliation claim. On the other hand, even a good reference could be problematic. For example, if a good reference is given for an employee who was terminated due to […]
Using an employee termination checklist can reduce the risk of overlooking information that could lead to discrimination claims or unlawful termination claims in the future. Before making a final decision, first consider three issues: Contract law. “You must comply with promises about reasons and processes.” Marc Jacuzzi noted in a recent BLR webinar. In other […]
Managing intermittent leave can cause confusion and headaches, yet it is a required aspect of compliance with the FMLA. However, the proper use of medical certification is one of the ways to both manage the leave properly and reduce the risk of intermittent leave abuse. “Medical certification is a powerful tool to control and monitor […]
FMLA leave provides enough regulations for HR to contend with—no one wants to add a fraud investigation into the mix. However, it’s an unfortunate reality that some employees try to abuse the system, especially when it comes to intermittent leave. What can an employer do when fraud is suspected? What Constitutes FMLA Fraud “What constitutes […]
Chronic illness can present unique situations when it comes to managing the associated FMLA leave. Since chronic illnesses are generally defined as those lasting a year or longer, and statistics indicate that about 40 percent of U.S. workers have at least one chronic ailment (and about 20 percent have two or more), this means that […]