Author: Louise Bechamp

No short-term disability benefits for tummy tuck recovery

by Louise Béchamp In an interesting case, the Superior Court of Quebec in Syndicat des agents de la paix en services correctionnels du Québec v. Pineau confirmed on judicial review an earlier arbitration decision denying an employee short-term disability benefits for the recovery period following cosmetic surgery.

HR certification update: a look at HRCI and SHRM programs

A lot has changed since last spring when the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) announced it was launching a new certification program for HR professionals. The move surprised not just practitioners interested in enhancing their professionalism by earning certification. It also surprised HR Certification Institute (HRCI), the organization that runs what was for decades […]

NLRB

NLRB rulings have far-reaching impact on employers and policies

by Tony Puckett In December 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) delivered two major edicts that affect all employers. The first speeds up the union election process so employers will have less time to respond to a petition. The second allows employees to use employers’ e-mail systems for union organizing and other protected concerted […]

Paid leave among priorities in DOL budget proposal

A $2 billion paid leave initiative as well as millions for enforcement of laws on equal opportunity, wage and hour issues, safety, whistleblowing, and retirement security are among the priorities outlined in President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2016 budget for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). On February 2, the DOL announced that the budget […]

Learning essential communication lessons from the Great Communicator

by Dan Oswald If you are like me and are interested in politics, you know Ronald Reagan was considered the “Great Communicator.” His effectiveness as a communicator was often credited to his career in radio, television, and movies. His detractors often said of his oratory skills, “He’s just up there acting.” But to me Reagan’s […]

Dishonesty: When can you fire someone for it?

by Lindsey Taylor The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently reaffirmed that dishonest conduct may be just cause for dismissal without notice. Or it may not. To determine if it is just cause, the conduct must be assessed looking at the whole context of the employment relationship.

OFCCP proposes new rule on sex discrimination guidelines for contractors

by Tammy Binford The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new proposed rule updating sex discrimination guidelines for federal contractors takes aim at what the director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) calls “regulatory anachronism.” The proposed rule appears in the January 30 Federal Register. The public will have until April 14 to […]

Collaboration vs. solitude: a search for balance in the workplace

It’s in vogue now to tout the benefits of collaboration and the importance of breaking down silos, but employers are seeing a backlash against an overly collaborative work environment that can make a little siloing seem like a relief. Where once a high-achieving lone wolf was celebrated as an employer’s coveted asset, now high-performance teams […]

Seahawks’ Lynch follows NFL policy, adds to absurdity of Super Bowl media day

Super Bowl media day is a complete circus. Everyone knows that. Sure, players and coaches of the two participating teams are made available to answer questions from the “media.” And sure, there are some respected journalists and analysts (which includes former NFL players) who ask “football questions” about this Sunday’s big game. But Super Bowl […]

Changes to New York’s wage theft act bring good, bad news for employers

by Paul J. Sweeney An amendment to New York’s Wage Theft Prevention Act (WTPA) removes a requirement that private-sector employers provide wage rate notices to current employees by February 1 of each year. The WTPA requires private-sector employers to provide written wage rate notices to employees and imposes penalties for noncompliance. Until the change was […]