Author: Michael P. Maslanka, FisherBroyles, LLP

Texas

Texas TV Station Gets Cloudy Reception from Court on ADA Claim

As a child, you probably played a game in which one child whispers a “secret” into the ear of another child. The second child then whispers the secret into the ear of a third child and on and on until the last child in the circle whispers the secret into the ear of the first […]

health

Health Benefit Costs Still Rising Worldwide, Survey Finds

The cost of employer-provided healthcare benefits around the globe continues to climb with little relief in sight, according to a survey of health insurers by Willis Towers Watson. Insurers attribute this trend to the cost of hospital/inpatient and outpatient medical services, advanced medical technology, and the overuse and overprescribing of services.

compensation

Permanent Vacation: ‘Use It or Lose It’ Policies and Payout of Vacation at Termination

In part one of this article, I addressed the benefits of offering paid vacation to your employees. While offering vacation isn’t required under federal law—once an employer has made the decision to offer vacation time—local state laws and court decisions can come into play. State laws addressing vacation typically fall into three categories—those that prohibit […]

FMLA

Intermittent FMLA, State Laws Are Top Challenges for Employers

The administration of intermittent Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave remains a top concern for employers, according to a recent survey. Sixty-five percent of employers say “intermittent FMLA leave taken in an unpredictable manner” is more difficult to administer than other accommodation requests, according to The Littler Annual Employer Survey, 2017.

training

Painting the People Picture for Today’s C-Suite: 3 Tips for Employee Development

As HR leaders know all too well, you won’t find a résumé outlining a job candidate’s biggest achievements as “successfully working with people with wildly different personalities than their own” or “navigating difficult professional situations with strength and grace.”

vacation

Vacation Rules! (All Work and No Play Makes Workers Leave Your Employ)

Do you ever find it interesting that some of the most tangled topics of HR administration primarily concern the hours when your employees aren’t at work? When employees are in the workplace, we have a pretty good idea of what they should and shouldn’t be doing and how to reasonably regulate their work-related behavior. But […]

cake

Don’t Let Them Eat Cake

Office celebrations are a great time for staff to gather and socialize, but could these celebrations also be bad for your health? Civil service workers in the United Kingdom (U.K.) were recently asked to stop bringing in cake for fear it would put other workers in danger, labeling cake a “public health hazard.”