Author: Kate McGovern Tornone

Texas AFL-CIO seeks to join fight to save overtime rules

A group of labor organizations is attempting to save the new overtime rules from almost certain death under the Trump administration. The Texas AFL-CIO on December 9 moved to join a lawsuit challenging the rules, saying that if the president-elect drops the government’s defense of the regulation as predicted, the union group will see it […]

A real friend sticks closer than a brother

Editor’s Note: Dan invited former Tennessee Employment Law Letter editor John Phillips to share his memories of business colleague and “lasting friend” Lee Smith. by John Phillips In March of 1986, I started The Tennessee Employment Law Update, a monthly newsletter. Some lawyers subscribed to the newsletter, but it was primarily designed for HR professionals. […]

What’s high performance HR? Hint, it’s about more than just people

Human resources professionals have long touted their skills related to people. It’s the HR department that makes sure an organization has the people it needs and then makes sure the needs of those people are met, but does truly strategic HR require more? Definitely yes, according to HR practitioner, lecturer, researcher, and author Christopher D. […]

Are You Ready for Parent Outreach in the Workplace?

Yesterday’s Leadership Daily Advisor explored the much-debated trend of including prospective employees’ parents in engagement, recruitment, and retention strategies—paying special attention to the growth of LinkedIn® Corporation’s “Bring In Your Parents Day” initiative. Today we describe examples of how some companies choose to implement the practice—plus offer up some tips to consider before adding the […]

California Equal Pay Act expansion takes effect January 1

by Cathleen S. Yonahara Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP California’s equal pay law will provide protections for race and ethnicity as well as gender as of January 1, 2017. Since 1949, California law has prohibited gender-based wage discrimination, and in 2015, that protection was expanded to require equal pay for men and women who perform […]

Great leaders have R-E-S-P-E-C-T

by Dan Oswald The other day, in a conversation about the recent U.S. presidential election, I mentioned that one of the ways I evaluate politicians is to consider whether I’d be willing to either work for the person or have the candidate work for me. It’s pretty simple—I want to work with people I respect. […]

Top 5 HR resolutions for not getting sued in 2017

As 2016 draws to a close, each of us will likely take time to reflect on what we hope to achieve in the coming year. In my case, this reflection usually involves resolving to be happier and more productive and reduce my carb intake. I would be remiss as an HR lawyer, however, if I […]

Quebec Court of Appeal: People (not workplace policies) harass people

by Alexis Charpentier Workplace harassment is a complicated and evolving area of the law. The lines between an employer’s right to manage its employees and harassment are often blurred. Fortunately, the Court of Appeal of Québec has provided some clarity in a recent decision in Syndicat des travailleurs de l’aluminium d’Alma, local 9490 (Syndicat des […]

Warding off age discrimination claims in era of older workers

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that nearly a quarter of the workforce will be made up of people age 55 and older by 2024. That contrasts to 1994, when just 11.9 percent of workers fell into that age group. If the projection for 2024 is correct—and the aging of the baby boomer generation […]