Author: Marc Rodrigue

Benefits beyond age 65?

By Marc Rodrigue The laws that generally provided for mandatory retirement in Canada have been eliminated. Across Canada, with very few exceptions, employees generally cannot be forced to retire at age 65. But can their benefits be cut off at age 65? Even if employers are permitted to cut off benefits to workers 65 and […]

What Supreme Court’s split decision on immigration reform means for employers

by Jacob M. Monty President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration were not upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Some of your employees are probably disappointed and unsure of how to move forward. The disappointment they are experiencing and displaying doesn’t mean they are undocumented workers, and you shouldn’t assume they are. Here are some […]

Going from cost center to profit booster: How HR can make the transition

Human resources professionals can be excused for feeling a bit apologetic at times. They know the important work they do, but they work under the cloud of labels like “cost center” and “overhead”—labels often heard coming from the C suite. If the top executives in an organization consider the department necessary but also a drain, […]

New Chicago ordinance will require employers to provide paid sick leave

by Steven L. Brenneman On June 22, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance that will require nearly all employers in Chicago to provide paid sick leave to employees. The ordinance, which passed 48-0 despite opposition from business and employer groups, follows the lead of similar laws in several states and more than a dozen […]

New Rhode Island data security law takes effect July 2

by Timothy C. Cavazza and Matthew H. Parker The Rhode Island Identity Theft Protection Act of 2015 will take full effect on July 2, meaning employers need to have their data security and notification policies in compliance or face serious financial consequences if even one data breach occurs. The new law applies to employers and […]

Questioning employees about prescription drugs that could affect performance and safety

by Joshua W. Solberg Employers often have policies and procedures (frequently included in a drug-testing policy) that require their employees to disclose the lawful use of prescription drugs (i.e., per the advice and prescription of a licensed physician) that could impair job performance. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), such policies may violate […]

Learning from Orlando: addressing potentially violent employees

In the nine days since Omar Mateen opened fire in the Pulse nightclub, killing 49 individuals and injuring several others, a report surfaced that Mateen’s violent nature and potential to do harm to others was readily apparent to at least one of his co-workers. According to the Los Angeles Times, Daniel Gilroy, who worked with Mateen for about a year as […]

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Don’t let an unhappy employee bring down your workforce

by Dan Oswald We’ve all heard the quote, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” I’m a firm believer in this. Life’s too short to toil away in a job you hate. So, I’ve always encouraged my kids to pursue their passions and then figure […]

Portland, Oregon, ‘ban the box’ ordinance takes effect July 1

Employers in Portland, Oregon, need to be ready for the city’s new “ban the box” ordinance, which takes effect July 1. The state of Oregon’s ban-the-box law took effect January 1, but Portland’s ordinance goes further than the state law. Portland’s ordinance applies to businesses that (1) employ six or more employees and (2) have […]

Ontario court finds government’s ‘intransigent’ bargaining strategy unconstitutional

by Chris Pigott In 2015, we reported on the Supreme Court of Canada’s “New Labour Trilogy”—three landmark constitutional law decisions from January 2015 that called into question basic aspects of Canadian labor law. Those decisions sparked a massive debate in the labor law community as to whether Canadian workers had a brand new set of […]