Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Thora Sigurdson The British Columbia Supreme Court recently awarded damages for mental distress in the context of a termination for cause. The decision in George v. Cowichan Tribes signals that it may be easier to establish such a claim when there is a just cause allegation that fails, compared with terminations without cause. It […]
Questions regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can get tricky. For example, if an employee is off work because of a medical condition, can the employer start the FMLA clock ticking even if the employee doesn’t want his time off counted against his FMLA leave allotment? And what about an exempt employee who […]
by Judith E. Kramer The controversial proposed “blacklisting” regulations implementing President Barack Obama’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order have been published in the May 28 edition of the Federal Register for notice and comment. The proposed regulations were issued by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council. The order, which the proposed regulations interpret, […]
No quick resolution is in sight to the uncertainty surrounding President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration. On May 26, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to lift a temporary hold on Obama’s actions, which were designed to ease deportation worries for millions of undocumented immigrants who have been […]
Time to head to the paper shredder. The expired Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) told you to keep using have been replaced. As first reported by attorney Jeff Nowak in his “FMLA Insights” blog, the DOL recently issued new FMLA forms that don’t expire until May 31, […]
by Brad Federman Willful blindness is a legal term that means there is information you could and should know but have elected not to know. Deliberate indifference and contrived ignorance also are used to describe the phenomenon. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of willful blindness in the world today. Willful blindness causes the downfall […]
With summer quickly approaching, it’s time to pull out those warm-weather clothes and dust off my copy of Dirty Dancing, one of my favorite summer films. Who can forget the summer of 1963 when Baby performed her triumphant lift, Johnny taught us about standing up for others no matter what it costs us, and we […]
The Massachusetts attorney general has announced a “safe harbor” provision that may provide relief to at least some employers covered by the state’s new earned sick time law. The law, which voters approved in the November 4, 2014, election, takes effect on July 1, but the safe harbor gives some employers until January 1, 2016, […]
Few dispute the importance of developing a workforce full of well-trained employees. But no matter how carefully workers are recruited and hired, most employers realize not everybody lands in a new job with all the skills and knowledge the employer desires. And certainly longtime employees can’t be expected to stay on top of their game […]
by Jesse Goldstein The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice recently provided guidance on how employers are permitted to react when employees confess that they previously presented fraudulent documents in conjunction with Form I-9, which verifies workers’ employment eligibility. I-9 […]