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.
On June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court decided Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services. The case’s core question asked: do employees of traditional “majority” groups need to establish additional requirements in order to prove a Title VII claim? This seemingly simple question had frequently divided federal courts across the country. The Court’s unanimous opinion, […]
Q: If we send an employee to another country for a three-month assignment, are we required to pay overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), or can we just pay a daily rate? Must we follow the pay regulations of the country the employee will be working in? Employers aren’t required to pay overtime […]
Employers have recently prevailed in several cases across the country in which employees have attacked diversity training and other workplace initiatives related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), indicating that many courts don’t consider these trainings to be violations of federal antidiscrimination laws. Antidiscrimination Training Doesn’t Create Hostile Workplace Many of the lawsuits arose after […]
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) continues to baffle lawyers and HR professionals. But sometimes a riddle brings welcome news, as we see in a recent decision from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal court of appeals covering Texas). Read on. Where’s the Beef? Virginia Adams worked for Columbia/HCA Hospital. She […]
Many employers implement wellness programs into their employee health plan offers. Wellness programs have varying designs but commonly offer premium discounts to participants who are tobacco-free or achieve certain biometric thresholds encouraging healthy living (LDL cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure, BMI). Noncompliant programs have become a frequent target for employees’ lawyers, arguing certain designs violate nondiscrimination […]
In the past, employees recording audio or images in the workplace might resort to the use of a bulky tape recorder, a hidden “wire,” camera, or other device secured in a purse, on their person, or even a hard hat. Now that smart phones with professional-grade audio and video capabilities are an integral part of […]
As many readers are certainly aware, President Donald Trump has resumed and intensified immigration enforcement efforts. In the most recent wave of action, the president issued an Executive Order (EO) directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to publish a list of all sanctuary jurisdictions. DHS recently released its list, which includes states, cities, and […]
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has formalized and affirmed the legal standard for employment discrimination claims for nonminority groups under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. What Changed? Typically, in Title VII cases, employees must show they are members of a protected class, they were qualified for the job […]
Q: Can a pregnant employee start her 14 weeks of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave before delivery, and if so, will this shorten her amount of postpartum leave? The FMLA guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period. For pregnant employees taking leave to bond with their newborn child, this period […]
Since the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was enacted in 1986, employers have been required to verify the identity and work authorization of every new hire using Form I-9. But one question has sparked ongoing debate: Should employers copy the documents that employees present during the I-9 process? Two Schools of Thought on I-9 […]