Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Frederic Parisien Workplace harassment, at the onset, involves two players — the harasser and the harassee. A third party is added once a complaint is filed — the employer. And a fourth player, the union, is added if that complaint is a grievance. To what extent does the alleged harasser continue to be a […]
According to the 2010 Hate Crime Statistics report released by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program late in 2011 the number of hate crimes reported nationwide in 2010 remained fairly steady from the previous year. Participating local law enforcement agencies reported a total of 6,628 incidents — up just slightly from the 6,604 incidents reported […]
Litigation Value: Not much from this episode, but if Nellie sticks around her apparent prejudice against the Irish and Hispanics could lead to some sticky legal situations. Another week, another party in Scranton. Last night on The Office, Robert had the party-planning committee working hard on a party to welcome Nellie into the fold. Problem […]
By Mark I. Schickman California employers have been waiting since October 2008 for the California Supreme Court to issue its ruling in the Brinker Restaurant case, clarifying whether employers must “ensure” that employees take meal and rest breaks or simply “provide” those breaks. Today, the court unanimously served up a major victory to California employers […]
As peak vacation season nears and employees begin jockeying with coworkers to take off the days and weeks they want, employers may be wondering if their time-off policies are fair, simple, and effective or if they complicate work schedules unnecessarily. What’s more important — logging a specified number of hours every weekday, or producing an […]
by Kevin McCormick Maryland has become the first state to enact password protection legislation designed to prohibit employers from requiring applicants and employees to disclose their personal passwords to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. The legislation was passed April 9 and is expected to be signed by Governor Martin O’Malley. If […]
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched a National Emphasis Program (NEP) that for the next three years will step up inspections of health hazards to workers in the nursing and residential care industry. A statement from OSHA quotes figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that workers in nursing and […]
I’ve been reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. It’s an interesting read because Jobs was a fascinating character. Jobs was a polarizing figure, revered by many and hated by others. But regardless of how anyone might feel about him, there’s no denying the man was a creative genius. Shortly after Jobs’ death I wrote […]
By Marisa Victor and Yael Wexler Noncompetition clauses in employment contracts are difficult to enforce in Canada. Courts tend to regard them as unreasonable restraints on trade. Any ambiguity usually will be fatal. Nor will the courts generally use a “blue pencil” to remove ambiguous words. This was made clear in the recent appellate decision […]
Litigation Value: California and his cohorts swimming nude in front of employees = far too much to calculate; Andy trying to get his “monog” on = one trip to the hospital for an oxygen-deprived Dwight; and Kevin getting to create a party without the party planning committee’s input = priceless. This was certainly not our […]