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.

Employee Drug Testing in Iowa Receives Further Clarity

The Iowa Supreme Court recently issued important decisions about the state’s private-sector drug-free-workplace statute. Iowa Code Section 730.5 is a complex statute containing numerous application pitfalls for employers. Read on to learn more about the consequential case. Facts Four employees in safety-sensitive positions at a Casey’s General Stores distribution warehouse lost their jobs after random […]

ESG Reporting 101

Have you heard of ESG reporting? What is ESG and how does it impact your business? Let’s take a look. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance impact. There has been a push for many years for companies to become more transparent on their environmental impact, social impact, and corporate governance. ESG Categories Consumers, investors, […]

After Stressful Pandemic, Don’t Be Surprised If Employees Are Reluctant to Return

There has been ample news coverage about the invisible toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on our personal lives, but we’re just beginning to grapple with the damage done to our workplaces. As employees return to in-person work, you must be ready for the many emotional and psychological hurdles they will face. When You Have […]

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Employers Weigh How to Manage Working Parents Absent Because of COVID-19

Incredibly, COVID-19 has now affected a third school year. Working parents were previously able to rely on the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to take leave in the event of school closures and/or remote learning because of COVID-19-related circumstances. As of now, no such leave entitlement exists for the 2021-2022 school year. Employers […]

Vax Mandate, Not Lax Mandate: Security Considerations for Vaccine Mandate Compliance

Despite rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations driven by the delta variant, executive leaders are pushing toward a post-pandemic return-to-work model that puts employees in the office at least two days a week. HR and IT/security professionals have been feeling squeezed between a rock and a hard place trying to meet workforce health, safety, technology, data […]

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Showing Favoritism to Paramour Isn’t Unlawful Sex Bias Under Title VII

Although supervisory favoritism toward a paramour may be unfair and ill-advised, it isn’t illegal sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Washington employers). Facts William Maner worked in a medical research laboratory operated by Dignity Health […]

Vaccine Passports: Privacy Risks, Implementation Problems

Since the onset of the pandemic, the concept of COVID-19 “passports” has been a recurring and controversial component in the process of reopening the economy. While it has become perhaps commonplace in the hospitality industry, proving vaccination status may soon be a de facto requirement for millions more U.S. workers—not just those working in customer-facing […]

Technology Run Amok: Client Left Holding Bag After Key E-Mail Sits in Lawyer’s Junk Folder

Well, the headline might be a bit dramatic, but it illuminates an important point. Namely, technology must be used in conjunction with good judgment and common sense, not as a stand-alone panacea. Lawsuit Filed, or Was It? Kevin Rollins, a Home Depot employee, injured himself while moving a bathtub for his employer. He filed a […]

New NLRB General Counsel Identifies Possible Changes

Those of you who have watched the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)—the nation’s primary enforcer of labor law—over the years no doubt expect it to reshuffle its priorities when the White House changes parties. The Board swore in Jennifer Abruzzo as its new general counsel (GC) on July 22, 2021, and three weeks later, she […]

Shaping the Future of HR: How Businesses Can Invest in Timekeeping Technology to Evaluate Workplace Productivity and Streamline Day-to-Day Operations

COVID-19 changed the way businesses in every industry operate, leaving many companies to grapple with the challenges and lessons learned over the past year. Now, as the country stands on the precipice of life after the pandemic, HR representatives are adopting emerging technologies to overhaul daily business operations as they turn to the next phase […]