Author: Katherine Pollock

How the boss stole Christmas

by Vanessa L. Goddard Many thanks to Dr. Seuss for the inspiration. Everyone down in HR-ville Liked Christmas a lot. But the boss, in his office upstairs, He did not! The boss hated parties, The whole holiday season. Free turkeys, Secret Santa, I’m not even teasin’. It could be he was stingy, Wouldn’t part with a […]

Nebraska minimum wage increases to $8 per hour on January 1

by Mark M. Schorr Because of the passage of the Nebraska minimum wage petition initiative in the November general election, the state’s minimum wage will increase to $8 per hour on January 1, 2015. Nebraska employers that employ individuals at or near the minimum wage should take steps to ensure compliance with the new requirement. Also, […]

Arbitrator upholds employer’s dismissal of grievor who exaggerated her medical symptoms

by Louise Béchamp Exaggerating one’s medical symptoms in order to avoid a return to work can be cause for dismissal. This is a lesson that a grievor learned the hard way following the finding of a Quebec arbitrator in Fédération des paramédics et des employées et employés des services préhospitaliers du Québec (FPESPQ) and Services […]

Elf: one too many Christmas spirits

With Christmas just around the corner, my family and I have begun our yearly ritual of re-watching our favorite holiday films. At the top of the list is a relatively newer addition, Elf.  The comedy stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, a human who crawls into Santa’s sack and ends up being raised by Papa Elf at […]

conduct

HR lessons in NFL’s new code of conduct

by Laurie Jirak On December 10, 2014, the NFL announced a new and more stringent personal conduct policy (code of conduct) for all members of the NFL. The new code is the NFL’s attempt to create clear standards and consistent procedures for misbehavior, after a year spent in a deluge of criticism for its handling […]

New provisions of New Hampshire’s equal pay law take effect January 1

by Jeanine Poole Eight sections of New Hampshire’s Protective Legislation (RSA 275:37, 38, 38-a, 40, 41-a, 41-b, 41-c, and 41-d) will be modified effective January 1, 2015. RSA 275:37 will prohibit employers and persons seeking employees from discriminating between employees on the basis of sex by paying employees of one sex less than employees of […]

NFL Vikings’ Adrian Peterson as a case study: Employers as judge and jury when employees misbehave?

by Laurie Jirak With the publicity surrounding the drawn out saga following the arrest of Vikings Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson, many employers may be asking what options they have to discipline or even terminate employees for allegedly engaging in unlawful conduct outside the workplace. What considerations should have an impact on your employment […]

Employee personal information – the gift you don’t want to give this Christmas

You may have heard the news of the monumental data hack on Sony late last month, where several personal e-mails, rough cuts of movies, and screenplays were obtained and released without authorization by the media giant. According to several news outlets, the e-mails in particular reveal personal gripes about certain celebrities (shocker!) and have raised allegations […]