Author: Tennessee Employment Law Letter

To arbitrate or not to arbitrate? That is the question

by David Johnson Including a mandatory arbitration provision in an employment contract is a trendy thing to do. Is it the right thing to do for your business? Let’s look at some commonly accepted pros and cons of arbitration and dispel some myths. Pros Arbitration is cheaper and quicker. This is usually true because court […]

Don’t get in a hurry and hire the wrong person

by Dan Oswald It’s undeniable that the caliber of the people in your organization—their integrity, intelligence, experience, and commitment—is critical to your success. Give great people the opportunity to do meaningful work, and there’s no telling what they can achieve. So if the people in your organization are the most critical factor in your success, […]

Settling up: the need for specificity in employee releases

By Kyla Stott-Jess and Kyle Cadieux An employer in Canada would be forgiven for thinking that a release of liability related to employment would protect it from all future claims by that employee. However, a recent Alberta Human Rights Tribunal decision, Hutton v. ARC Business Solutions Inc., 2015 AHRC 7, suggests that the matter is […]

Ode to Letterman: EntertainHR’s own Top 10

David Letterman, a late-night staple for 33 years, aired his final episode on May 20, 2015. Whether you preferred Johnny, Leno, Conan, Kimmel, or Fallon, no one can deny Letterman’s impact on pop culture, and the fact remains that he retires as the longest-serving late-night talk show host in American television history. While there were […]

San Francisco Retail Workers’ Bill of Rights to be implemented July 1

by Mark I. Schickman San Francisco’s new Retail Workers’ Bill of Rights is set to be implemented July 1, meaning many retail employers will have new obligations that go beyond areas that have previously been regulated. The new law covers any retail establishment with 20 or more workers that shares a “formula” with at least […]

Drugs, alcohol, and the workplace: What employers need to know

No employer wants impaired workers on the job, and most take steps intended to prevent drugs and alcohol from causing harm. But despite carefully considered policies, problems often occur. Statistics reported in the June 2 Wall Street Journal are giving employers more to worry about. Statistics from Quest Diagnostics Inc., a major administer of workplace […]

Would Senator Hatch’s H-1B solution help?

by Elaine Young In 2013, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was part of the group that drafted and passed a comprehensive immigration bill in the Senate. The bill later fizzled out in the House of Representatives. This year, Senator Hatch introduced the Immigration Innovation Act of 2015, which addresses one aspect of comprehensive immigration reform—increasing the […]

Recognize those who made your company what it is today

by Dan Oswald This past Memorial Day, a day reserved to remember and honor those who have died in service of the United States of America, my youngest child graduated from high school. So this Memorial Day also became a day to honor and celebrate his accomplishments. This all got me thinking a bit about […]

Supreme Court sides with EEOC in religious discrimination case

A ruling in a closely watched religious discrimination case means employers may be liable for discrimination if they base employment decisions on an applicant’s suspected religious practices even in situations, such as the one in this case, in which the applicant hasn’t directly disclosed a need for a religious accommodation. On June 1, the U.S. […]

Gall, Blatter

Joseph “Sepp” Blatter is a man whose name seems an adjective as much as a proper noun. Blatter, as you likely know by now, was just elected to a fifth term as President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international umbrella organization for international soccer. The 79-year-old Blatter was his typically arrogant […]