Author: Josh Sudbury, FordHarrison

Human Resources lessons from NFL preseason football: employees returning to work after cancer treatment

For fans of Southeastern Conference football (and, I mean, who isn’t, right?), the name “Eric Berry” is one you don’t easily forget. Berry made his presence known as a defensive back for the Tennessee Volunteers from 2007-2009. Even though he played only three seasons in college, he was twice named a Defensive All American by […]

In ‘denial’: Alberta Court of Appeal revisits addiction in the workplace

by Hannah Roskey The Alberta Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Stewart v. Elk Valley Coal Corporation, a must-read for Canadian employers dealing with employee addiction issues. In lengthy reasons, a majority of the court agreed that there was no discrimination when an employee under the influence of cocaine was fired following a […]

Reinventing your performance reviews? Don’t forget the basics

For being a subject many people dread to think about, performance reviews have been getting a lot of thought lately. Business publications have been relating how big name companies like Microsoft, Adobe, Deloitte, and most recently Accenture have scrapped traditional rankings and once-a-year reviews in favor of new thinking. Tired of the possibly ineffective and […]

New union election rules yield much quicker elections

by Tony Puckett Union election petitions and quicker elections have been the immediate effect of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new election rules, which took effect April 14. The new rules were intended to speed up the election process through quicker deadlines and delaying some hearings on certain issues until after the election. Unions […]

future

Continuously innovate to stay at the top of your game

by Dan Oswald I recently saw two photos that caught my eye. The first, from 2005, was taken when Pope Benedict XVI was introduced as the new pope. The second, taken in 2013, was from the unveiling of Pope Francis. While less than a decade had passed between the two events, there is a notable […]

NLRB dismisses petition to unionize Northwestern football players

Just how the dismissal of the petition to unionize some Northwestern University football players will affect other representation issues before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is uncertain, but one issue the Board didn’t touch is whether scholarship football players should be considered employees. The NLRB announced on August 17 that it had unanimously decided […]

OFCCP issues checklist on disability employment requirements

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has published a checklist designed to help contractors analyze whether their affirmative action plans meet the government’s requirements for ensuring employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The checklist is designed to help federal contractors meet the requirements of Section 503 of the […]

Game of Thrones: Trial by combat

Winter is coming, but not soon enough for those of us eager for Season 6 of Game of Thrones.  While we wait, I’d like to rewind to one of my favorite episodes from Season 4 involving Tyrion’s trial for the murder of his nephew. As you may recall, Tyrion’s long-time rivalry with his sister, Cersei, comes to […]

Employer permitted to post employee photos in workplace

by Alexis Charpentier The right to privacy is constantly evolving. And that has implications in the workplace. Just how far employees’ privacy rights extend is constantly at issue. Recently an arbitrator in Quebec had to decide whether employees’ privacy rights extended so far that they could object to their employer’s decision to post their photos, […]

Millennial women and work: Tackling the recruit and retain challenge

Employers can turn up reams of research on millennial employees. They’re generally considered well-educated, tech-savvy workers who crave flexibility and collaboration. But the research rarely focuses on millennial women in the workplace, so employers are left wondering just how they can most effectively recruit, motivate, retain, and get the most out of their female millennial […]