Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Elizabeth B. Bradley It’s that time of year—summer vacations are wrapping up, and your employees’ children and grandchildren are heading back to school. Now is a good time for a Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) refresher, with a focus on the requirements for leave related to school activities and child care, for which […]
by Dan Oswald Life is full of decisions. Think for a moment about all the decisions you face at work in just a single day. You make many choices every day that affect your business. Depending on your exact role, you make decisions about people, projects, strategy, and more. A lot of choices. And make […]
by David G. Wong In its recent decision in Razo v. Essilor Canada, 2017 BCHRT 133, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal dismissed the argument that an employer could not accept the resignation of a long-term disabled employee without making further inquiries. In this case, the complainant, Helen Razo, filed a complaint alleging discrimination on […]
The definition of “joint employment” may be heading for another turnaround. Legislation introduced in Congress on July 27 takes aim at a 2015 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that raised the ire of many in the business community, especially employers that work with franchisees, contractors, and staffing agencies. The NLRB’s 2015 Browning-Ferris decision broadened […]
It may seem a no-brainer for an employer looking to fill a supervisory position to offer the job to one of the nonsupervisory stars in the organization. Promoting from within can be a smart choice for many reasons, but the transition from underling to supervisor also can be problematic if management doesn’t take steps to […]
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief in a case in which an employee claims his employer violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against him based on his sexual orientation. The DOJ’s brief asserts that Title VII’s prohibition of sex discrimination does not extend […]
by Michele L. (Warnock) Brott Not long ago, I wrote a rather lofty theoretical analysis about the notion of “constructive discharge,” or the legally frowned-upon practice of forcing employees to quit instead of firing them. I never expected a real-life threat of constructive discharge to erupt on the national stage. But, voilà! The very public […]
On July 25, after much back-and-forth in the Senate and the dramatic return of Senator John McCain, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, the Senate agreed to open debate on legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining all Senate Democrats in voting […]
Employers will get the opportunity to offer feedback on changes to the regulation governing which workers are eligible for overtime pay after the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) publishes a Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register on July 26. On July 25, the DOL announced it would publish the RFI and released a […]
by Mark I. Schickman Kermit the Frog has been fired! From his birth in 1955 until 1990, Kermit was performed by his creator, Jim Henson. Since 1990, veteran Muppet performer Steve Whitmire donned the green felt. During Whitmire’s tenure, Kermit appeared in over 20 movies, got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, was […]