Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that provisions of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that clearly and unmistakably require union members to arbitrate age discrimination claims are enforceable. While the decision is unlikely to affect many employers, the ruling is the latest in a series of Supreme Court decisions finding arbitration to be […]
When President Barack Obama’s aides recently showed new openness toward taxing health care benefits to help cover the uninsured, they suggested an area of possible compromise on health reform. The President had opposed taxing the benefits as a candidate. More recently, the mantra of aides has been that although the tax isn’t Obama’s idea, all […]
Apparently, Congress isn’t done expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA.) Just a few weeks ago, two different bills were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would expand the scope of the Act. FMLA Compliance Manual, including a quarterly compliance bulletin with updates on the FMLA Specifics of proposed legislation On April […]
There has always been a lot of focus on quarterly earning reports, but given the current economic environment, this corporate ritual has come under even greater scrutiny. Everyone is trying to read the crystal ball and figure out what every little detail means. Sales are down 30% when compared to the same quarter but are […]
Litigation Value: $0 Potential Savings: $10,000 per retained employee Last night’s rerun didn’t offer much new, so we’ll fulfill our promise to revisit the second “Michael Scott Paper Company” episode. Michael crafted a deal to house his new company’s headquarters in a Dunder Mifflin closet. The dream team’s starry-eyed optimism soon wore off after Michael, […]
The U.S. Supreme Court held today in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., that employees who sue their employers for age discrimination must prove that age was the cause of an employment decision, even if they have some evidence that age was a factor in the decision. This 5-4 decision makes it harder for employees […]
President Barack Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination June 17 at an Oval Office event. The memorandum addresses the benefits to which same-sex partners of federal employees may be entitled and is a result of internal reviews conducted by the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the secretary […]
(Updated June 17, 2009) The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted Wednesday (June 17) to move forward with revising its regulations to conform to changes made by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), which would make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a […]
One of the unfortunate outcomes of the current economic climate is that there are fewer jobs to go around for students. Summer and graduating students who have relied on summer jobs for experience and training are finding few opportunities out there. To solve this problem, many students and graduates are reaching out to companies to […]
BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 15 best selling hardcover and paperback business books for June 2009 and gives a short summary. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. As you’d expect with Gladwell, there are lots of surprises in his explanation of why some people succeed fantastically. Pluck and smarts get less play here […]