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The Basics of Canadian Employment Contracts

By Rachel Ravary of McCarthy Tetrault and Brian P. Smeenk, formerly with McCarthy Tetrault So you’ve hired a new employee. Should you put it in writing? If so, what should it look like? What do you include? What is better left out? If you decide against an employment contract, what will the terms and conditions […]

Walking the line between hiring only authorized workers and violating the discrimination laws

by Elaine Young Here are two situations in which you must avoid discrimination while fulfilling your obligation to hire only authorized workers.  Situation #1 ABC Resort is a beautiful, large new resort in the Utah mountains. Some of its managers heard about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids a few years ago at other resorts […]

Train Workers To Leave Job Dangers At Work

Some of the dangers you face at work can follow you home … if you don’t take certain precautions. Hazardous “hitchhikers” can endanger the health of small children and other family members in your home. Yesterday, we listed hazardous chemical agents that can inadvertently come home with you. Here are more. Hazardous Biological Agents Chemicals […]

Conflict Resolution: Your Supervisors’ Hidden Responsibility

Conflict resolution. Sometimes it seems that’s all we do. Today, we follow up on yesterday’s story on mediation, and present a new audio conference that helps line supervisors and managers learn how to do it right. With the high costs of litigation, mediation is an increasingly popular way to deal with conflicts at work. However, […]

Coffee with a Conscience: 5 Ways to Make Break Time Greener

by Sarah McAdams The average office worker in America uses about 500 disposable cups every year, according to the Clean Air Council. If 10 million of them used their own mugs, it would eliminate about 312,500 miles of trash every year. Launching a “green coffee” program at your company can be as simple as changing […]

Happy People Don’t Sue! (There Aren’t a Lot of Happy People)

There aren’t a lot of happy people at work these days, says Hunter Lott, and that means that HR managers have their work cut out for them in preventing lawsuits. Lott, an HR practitioner dedicated to the “rights of management,” is known for his entertaining yet informative approach. His remarks came during his annual “Please […]

Usability – a New/Old Way to Improve Even the Best Ideas

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR now has what many think is the finest HR website available (HR.BLR.com), but its origins are very humble. In today’s column, I’d like to write about how we got from A to the current version, 3.1—and about a concept you can use to improve your HR ideas […]

News Notes: Harassment Complaint Used As A Pretext To Terminate Employee May Cost Employer $3.4 Million

Loren Peterson, the former president of financial printer Bowne of Los Angeles, was fired after allegedly admitting he violated the company’s sexual harassment policy. The incident involved comments he was accused of making while dancing with secretary Maria Gonzales on a company-sponsored trip to Club Med. But Peterson charged that the company used this as […]

The Minimum Wage Increase: Does It Really Matter?

By BLR Founder and Publisher Bob Brady Congress looks likely to raise the minimum wage. But BLR’s CEO says it’s likely to have minimal effect. It looks like Congress is going to increase the minimum wage for the first time since 1997. The House has passed the measure overwhelmingly, and the Senate has agreed in […]

Office of Special Counsel Aims at Fed Agencies with USERRA Project

A new project adds another layer of bureaucratic oversight about which federal employers should be aware when dealing with employees exercising their rights to job protection under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has begun a three-year demonstration project expanding its role in enforcing military servicemember […]