Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
This week was another repeat of “Niagara,” the hour-long Pam and Jim wedding episode. Doug Hall and Matt Scott did a nice job with this episode here and here offering different takes on employee behavior outside the office. But seriously, does an employer really have to be concerned about what happens at an employee’s wedding? Yup. The […]
When the economy declines, it’s a safe bet that the number of discrimination claims filed against employers will increase. And as we are currently in the worst economic climate since the Great Depression, employment law attorneys weren’t surprised when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported this week that it received an unprecedented number of […]
Yesterday, in one of its first rulings of 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that medical residents are considered employees when it comes to social security taxes. In Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research v. United States, Mayo challenged regulations issued by the Treasury Department that clarify what types of students are not […]
An agency Web chat hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on Thursday, January 6, provided expected dates for proposed regulations on record-keeping under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the “Right to Know Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” initiative is expected […]
By Donna Gallant When the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (San Francisco) affirmed an order certifying the largest employment discrimination class action ever in the United States, Wal-Mart was left facing a class of up to 1.5 million members. Employers were left wondering just how big and powerful these opponents might get. On December 6, […]
The other day, I was faced with a situation where things were not progressing as I had hoped. My frustration led me to have a conversation with a colleague. I shared my dilemma with him and asked what he thought the key was to resuming progress. His response was, “You need to build trust. Obviously […]
Litigation Value: Likely no liability against Sabre/Dunder Mifflin, but Gabe could have some property damage claims against Michael and Andy Only two more weeks until new episodes of The Office return, and I’m eager to find how the writers will wrap up Michael Scott’s career. Quick question for you Officeheads out there: How do you think they […]
Q: I own and operate a business in which physically demanding work is part of the employees’ daily activities. I recently hired several employees who I thought were qualified for the job. However, I quickly learned that they weren’t in good enough health to do what was required of them. This is causing a lot […]
by Timothy D. Edwards On January 1, 2011, new rules for the discovery (pretrial exchange of evidence) of electronically stored information went into effect in Wisconsin. One of the most significant changes is a “meet-and-confer” provision requiring the parties to address issues pertaining to electronically stored information early in the litigation. Back in April 2010, […]
On Wednesday, January 5, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) hosted a live Q&A Web chat to answer questions about its Fall 2010 Regulatory Agenda. The assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, Dr. David Michaels, started the session by listing some of OSHA’s 2010 achievements. He noted that the agency: published final rules/interim final […]