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The business case for diversity

by Kimberly Williams Recently, my employer, Baystate Health, organized a regional Diversity and Inclusion Conference. While promoting the event on social media, I shared a video clip of one of the conference presenters who was making the “business case” for diversity. One of my Facebook friends asked, “Why are we still making a business case […]

California Employer Abandons Appeal—A Costly Mistake!

By Michael Futterman and Jaime Touchstone An employee filed a wage claim against her former employer for unpaid commissions and was awarded nearly $30,000 by the labor commissioner. The employer appealed the decision to the superior court … but then withdrew the appeal. The employee then sought reimbursement of the amounts she had expended in […]

Workingjay

Inspired by The Hunger Games trilogy, some employers may feel the urge to pile the employees onto a bus, head off site, and pit coworker against coworker in some form of physical competition under the guise of “team building.” Savvy employers are always looking for new and better ways to motivate the troops, solidify relationships, and build […]

Terminated Employee Was Not a Whistleblower, Court Says

Is every employee who makes a formal complaint considered a “whistleblower”? The federal District Court says no. Mark Shulthies, a long time Amtrak employee working in California, sent an email to his supervisor complaining that the company’s decision to reorganize certain aspects of its service between the Bay Area and Bakersfield posed a “danger to […]

Travel Pay Rules in California: Not Always Clear-Cut

If an employee injures third parties while working, you as the employer can be held liable for those injuries. Normally, an employee’s regular commute to and from work is not considered to be “working” time, so employers aren’t responsible for accidents that happen then.

Individual privacy rights trumped by union’s freedom of expression

By Lorene Novakowski and Brandon Wiebe On November 15, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a union’s right to collect, use, and disclose personal information for legitimate labor relations purposes outweighs an individual’s right to privacy. In so doing, it declared Alberta’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) unconstitutional but suspended the declaration for […]

North Carolina’s unemployment overhaul to take effect July 1

by Richard L. Rainey North Carolina’s law overhauling the state’s unemployment system will take effect July 1, bringing about a small tax increase for many employers and a reduced maximum weekly benefit amount for claimants. It also will change the circumstances in which a claimant is disqualified from benefits. During the economic recession, the state […]

U.S. Departments Release Guidance on ACA Implementation, Mental Health Parity

By Benjamin J. Conley, JD In late October, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a series of informal frequently asked questions (FAQs) addressing various unanswered questions under the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) preventive service mandate, the Mental Health Parity, and […]