Author: Celeste Blackburn

Hot List: NY Times Bestselling Paperback Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling paperback business books as ranked by the New York Times on October 13. 1. The World Is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman. A columnisView this Postt for the New York Times analyzes 21st-century economics and foreign policy and presents […]

Nepotism and Its Dangers in the Workplace

Workers who are the most innovative or productive or those who possess visionary leadership are inevitably propelled to the top. That’s the image many of us have of the workplace. In reality, the practice of favoring and promoting relatives or paramours, more commonly known as nepotism, is widely practiced in companies large and small across […]

Where’s the Beef?

Litigation Value: Surprisingly, maybe $0 Maybe this is just a reflection on me and my days as an HR Director, but I didn’t see much that would really nail Dunder Mifflin this week. Sure, Meredith has been having an affair with a vendor to get discounts for the company. But it didn’t come out that […]

Retirees Win Right to Sue for Fund Mismanagement

In a major ruling, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that employees who retire and receive lump-sum distributions from their company’s defined-contribution plan, such as a 401(k), have the right to sue the administrators of the plan if they don’t believe their moneys were managed wisely. As our population ages and our economy […]

Dealing with People You Can’t Stand

Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the business book Dealing with People You Can’t Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst by Rick Brinkman and Rick Kirschner. Review covers four steps from the book for dealing with “yes” people. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And there […]

Overtime Class Action Against KPMG Settled

by Karen Sargeant As we reported earlier this year, 2007 saw three overtime class action lawsuits in Canada — a $651 million class-action lawsuit filed against the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), followed quickly by a $20 million class action against KPMG and then a $350 million class action against a second major Canadian […]

Mental Health Parity Measure Part of Bailout Package

A mental health parity measure has been passed in Congress as part of the $700 billion financial rescue package. The measure requires covered employers that provide health plans to cover mental illness and substance abuse on the same basis as physical conditions. President George W. Bush signed the financial package on Friday, October 3. The […]

Hot List: Bestselling Business Books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling business books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, this Monday morning, October 6, in the “Organizational Behavior” category. 1. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni. The author targets group behavior in the final entry of his […]

Joking About Homosexuality at Work Is No Laughing Matter

The second week of the new TV season and no new episode. Seriously. Not cool. Since I already wrote about Sarah Palin a few weeks ago, I’m just going to use something I didn’t cover in last week’s episode. There was a funny part where Oscar played a joke on Holly about being offended with […]

More Workers Protected from Disability Discrimation under ADA Amendments Act

by Burton J. Fishman Fortney & Scott, LLC Last week, while everyone’s attention was focused on a potential meltdown of the U.S. economy and whether or not the first presidential debate would actually take place, a bunch more of your employees were given federal protection against disability discrimination. On September 25, 2008, President George Bush […]