Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.
The California Supreme Court has ruled 7-0 that sexually coarse and vulgar language used in meetings by writers developing scripts for the hit television sitcom “Friends” didn’t create a hostile work environment for a writers’ assistant on the show. According to the court, most of the objectionable language and conduct wasn’t aimed at the assistant, […]
While some employers may regard alcohol and drug addiction as self-control issues, the Americans With Disabilities Act emphatically does not. Both addictions are qualified disabilities under ADA. Those who suffer from them are consequently protected against discriminatory behavior by employers. The Americans With Disabilities Act, requires that you offer equal employment opportunity to rehabilitated alcoholics […]
Good hiring practices can help you find and keep the best candidates, and can even help keep you out of court. A key part of this is making sure your employment ads are accurate and non-discriminatory. Before placing a help wanted notice in a trade publication or a local paper, evaluate it with the following […]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the cap has been reached for H-2B work visas for the final six months of 2006. The H-2B visa program allows employers to request foreign workers to fill a one-time, peak-load, intermittent, or seasonal need for labor when no workers are available in the local […]
Last year, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, ruled in favor of an employer that was accused of sex discrimination for requiring female employees only to wear makeup on the job (see the Feb. 2005 issue of the California Employer Advisor). The Ninth Circuit subsequently agreed to have […]
According to new figures from ADP Employer Services 2005 Screening Index, employment background checks were up by 12 percent in 2005 over the previous year. ADP reports that it conducted 4.86 million background checks in 2005, compared to 4.3 million in 2004. Forty-nine percent of the 2005 checks revealed a data inconsistency in education, employment, […]
Last week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that strengthening its nationwide approach to investigating and litigating systemic cases of discrimination is now an agency-wide top priority. According to the EEOC, systemic cases involve a “pattern or practice, policy and/or class cases where the alleged discrimination has a broad impact on an industry, […]
Suppose employees who must be in shape for their jobs play a game of pickup basketball to cut loose after work. They figure it’s a good way to stay fit for their physically demanding positions, and it is. But does that mean that if someone gets injured in the game, workers’ comp benefits will kick […]
A California appeals court has ruled that an employee who claimed he was the victim of workplace bias and violence can sue his employer under California Civil Code sections 51.7 (the Ralph Civil Rights Act) and 52.1 (Bane Civil Rights Act), which provide individual protections against discriminatory violence and denial of civil rights by means […]
According to a recent survey by consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide, 15 percent of multinational companies operating in the United States already have a plan in place in the event of an avian flu outbreak. The survey of 90 multinational companies also found that 48 percent of companies operating in the United States are considering […]