Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Maybe David Siegel, billionaire president of Westgate Resorts, needed to read BLR’s special report on political activity in the workplace, 2012 Election Issues for Employers. If he had, he probably wouldn’t have written the e-mail letter where he tells employees they will lose their jobs if Obama is reelected. No, the letter is not fake; Siegel […]
Terminations — where the rubber meets the road in HR. The most angst, the most tears (or screams), and the most lawsuits. Your terminations policy is critical. Today, courtesy of BLR’s SmartPolicies® program, we’ll review the key elements your policy should cover.
The plan loan activity of participants in employer-sponsored 401(k) plans that allow it declined slightly in the first three quarters of 2015, but remained steady with the previous-year period’s levels, according to a recent survey. As of September 2015, the latest available data when the Investment Company Institute issued the report, 17.6 percent of defined contribution plan […]
by Tammy Binford Missouri’s new right-to-work law, which was supposed to take effect August 28, is on hold after opponents of the measure submitted petitions to put the law up for a voter referendum in November. The state legislature passed the law, and Governor Eric Greitens signed it in February, but on August 18, unions […]
By Thora Sigurdson The British Columbia Supreme Court recently awarded damages for mental distress in the context of a termination for cause. The decision in George v. Cowichan Tribes signals that it may be easier to establish such a claim when there is a just cause allegation that fails, compared with terminations without cause. It […]
A new survey from Mercer, representing a cross-section of the national workforce, found that most workers are satisfied with their company’s benefits. However, many respondents, especially younger workers, said they are concerned about the affordability and flexibility of these benefits in the future, especially concerning health care and retirement. Only 41% of respondents see health […]
In tonight’s State of the Union Address President Obama will announce an increase in the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10 per hour and he will call on Congress to pass a proposed similar wage increase for all workers. The morning of Jan. 28, the White House released a preview of the President’s executive […]
By Brian P. Smeenk How can you protect yourself from arbitrators’ ever-increasing damages awards, based on ever-expanding grounds? In the April 25 Northern Exposure entry “Canadian Court Trims $500K Dismissal Damages, Upholds Arbitrator’s Broad Authority,” we reported on the latest notable example of a Canadian labor arbitrator’s expansive award being upheld by the courts. That […]
A record damage award levied against a telephone company that tried to prevent operators from speaking Spanish to each other in the workplace underscores the risks of enforcing English-only policies. Faced with this increasingly common type of bias case, a federal court has concluded that the language restriction amounted to illegal discrimination based on national […]
by Karen Sargeant Wondering if your company is a “best employer?” Canada’s Financial Post magazine recently identified Canada’s Top 10. The winners span the country. They include some of Canada’s best known companies, as well as some that are only well-known within their industry sector. The Financial Post contacted 16,000 private-sector employers to participate in […]