Category: HR Management & Compliance

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.

$136.9M Judgment vs. Tesla Underscores Rising Costs of Joint Employer Relationships

After less than four hours of deliberation, a jury in a California federal court recently awarded $136.9 million to a former Tesla subcontractor after finding he had been subjected to a racially hostile work environment at the company’s factory in the northern part of the state. The huge damages award demonstrates the potential dangers underlying […]

College Athletes Are Employees? Tide Players Wouldn’t Want to ‘Bargain’ with Coach Saban

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Jennifer Abruzzo recently issued a memorandum (GC 21-08) declaring certain college athletes will be classified as employees, giving them the right to unionize and engage in other protected, concerted activity. Read on to learn how things might play out in the real world.

How Artificial Intelligence Is Used in People Management

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to systems or models that can perform tasks simulating human intellect and improving performance iteratively as they collect information and process it. It is capable of speech interpretation, decision-making, visual perception, etc. AI is multifaceted and has found its applications in diverse industries. An example is AI-enabled robotic systems that came […]

DOJ’s New Enforcement Team May Intensify Push to Recover Cyberattack Payments

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the launch of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) to (1) add structure to and coordinate the agency’s investigative capabilities concerning unlawful uses of cryptocurrency, (2) increase prosecutions, and (3) recover illicit proceeds. The last piece is especially striking because it may provide a positive incentive for […]

Holiday Gifts and Employee Retention

Gift-giving around the holiday season is a time-honored tradition, albeit one that typically centers on gifts exchanged between family and friends. But gifts are also exchanged as part of more professional relationships; many companies give holiday gifts to employees as a token of appreciation.

OSHA Won’t Enforce Vaccine Rule While 6th Circuit Weighs Consolidated Challenges

After the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued an emergency temporary standard (ETS) on mandatory COVID-19 vaccines on November 4, 2021, a number of lawsuits were filed challenging the agency’s ability to enforce the rule. After the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the cases (or put them on hold), the 6th Circuit […]

3 Common Misconceptions About Hybrid Workplaces

There’s no question that the pandemic changed both how and where we work. And with technology, businesses found ways to accomplish their goals even during a time of constant change. For many industries, those changes included a move to remote work. Now, as employers consider a move back to the office, leaders are contemplating the […]

COVID-19

In Harsh Rebuke, 5th Circuit Extends Stay of OSHA ETS Rule

On November 12, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 22-page order extending a “stay” to keep the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from enforcing its new COVID-19 vaccine-or-testing rule “pending adequate judicial review of the petitioners’ underlying motions for a permanent injunction.” Opponents of OSHA’s emergency temporary […]

Amazon’s Essential Worker Challenges

Amazon is a massive organization. The online retailer is the largest internet company in the world, by revenue, and one of the world’s most valuable companies. With nearly one million U.S. workers, it’s also the second largest private employer in the United States (after Walmart). With so many employees engaged in such large-scale operations, it’s […]

COVID Vaccines: When is Employee’s Vaccination Status HIPAA-protected?

Whether an employee’s COVID-19 vaccination status is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has been (or should be) on the minds of all HR personnel as of late. That’s especially true as we await the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) impending rule that will likely require employers with 100 or more employees […]