Author: Tennessee Employment Law Letter

New Tennessee unemployment law makes changes helpful to employers

By Kara E. Shea Tennessee’s Unemployment Insurance Accountability Act, which takes effect September 1, amends the state’s unemployment statute in ways helpful to employers. For instance, the new law defines what constitutes “making a reasonable effort to secure work” for the purposes of unemployment insurance eligibility. It specifies that “making a reasonable effort to secure […]

seizine opportunity

Seizing opportunities

Recently, I wrote about the importance of consistent, dedicated effort on a daily basis, quoting Woody Allen, “90 percent of success is showing up.” Some might ask, as they have, “Doesn’t it take more than having your butt in a chair?” Of course it does. Consider a student with perfect attendance. She’s at school each […]

When do employees have a duty to mitigate termination claim?

by Keri Bennett It has been a fundamental principle of employment law that terminated employees generally have an obligation to seek alternate employment to minimize or mitigate their resulting losses. Their right to get from the terminating employer the pay they would have received during a period of reasonable notice is usually net of any […]

Sensitive conversations need to pass the ‘smell test’

HR professionals may not go looking for trouble, but that doesn’t mean trouble doesn’t go looking for HR. Complaining employees regularly find their way to HR and often demand a solution to a problem they either don’t want to handle themselves or should leave to management. One such problem is a coworker with an offensive […]

In search of the win-win solution

by Mark I. Schickman Too often, the workplace is viewed as a zero-sum game ― a win for an employee or loss for the boss, every savings for the company obtained from an employee concession. The political parties are playing it the same way; either employers pay more or workers get less ― nobody suggests […]

Goals and action plans

Set your goal and create a plan to achieve it

If you spent any time at all watching the 2012 Summer Olympics, you undoubtedly noticed young Gabby Douglas. Gabby is a 16-year-old U.S. gymnast who won a gold medal in both the individual and team all-around competitions. The charismatic teenager is now featured on the front of Corn Flakes cereal boxes. So, how does a […]

Employers have opportunity to capitalize on a graying workforce

by Tammy Binford Is it a “silver tsunami” or barely a ripple in your workplace? Whether your organization is facing a wave of retirements or just a few in the next several years, employers are wise to consider the significance of older workers. As the 78 million-member baby boomer generation hits what has traditionally been […]

Never trust a skinny chef

by Kylie Crawford TenBrook I am sorry to inform you that Paula “butter-your-bacon” Deen has become a health fanatic. A recent article in People magazine featured her weight loss transformation–and a recipe for marinated vegetable salad. (BOR-ING!) Of course, she looks great and will probably live a lot longer. And she’s a good role model […]

Hiring foreign professionals

by A. Neal Barkus Suppose your company has a computer engineering position that it has been trying to fill for several months with no success. Suddenly, you’re contacted by a dream applicant ― someone with an excellent educational record from the local university, relevant job experience, and attractive personal qualities. Let’s call this applicant Manesh. […]

Ontario court considers limitation periods in occupational health and safety legislation

by Rosalind H. Cooper Employers and others are generally protected by actions against them that occur outside of limitation periods. That applies to charges under Canadian occupational health and safety legislation, too. But when do those limitation periods begin to run? A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Justice in R. v. Corporation (City […]