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Handling Work Refusals

McCarthy Tetrault Your employees in Canada have the right to refuse tasks that may endanger them or others. Health and safety laws spell out not only your obligations but also what your employees must do when refusing work, so it’s important for you to understand how to handle such situations. Here are some tips to […]

Workplace Lessons from the Campaign Trail

by Margaret DiBianca Politics isn’t a career for the thin-skinned. “Getting the goods” on one’s opponent often seems like a strategic tactic. Candidates who engage in that “strategy” look for harmful information, and then, when the time is right, maybe at a rally or mid-debate, the goods are slung like mud in the general direction […]

Pension Plans’ 2012 Year-end Funding Levels Below 2011 Ratios

Many plan sponsors are still having a hard time improving the funding status of their plans, according to indexes measuring the December funding levels of U.S. corporate pension plans. Statistics show plans’ funding rose slightly from November 2012 to December 2012, keeping the month’s funded ratios above the lowest monthly figures for 2012; however, they […]

What Does Your Employee Handbook Say About Breastfeeding?

California law requires that employers provide female employees who wish to express breast milk for nursing infants with: A reasonable opportunity to take breaks for the purpose of expressing breast milk, which can be timed with the employee’s regular break schedule; and Reasonable access to a private location to express breast milk, other than public […]

Combating Coworker Competitiveness Is an Olympian Feat

By Elaine Quayle As athletes from around the world prepare to compete in London, workplaces in the United States appear to be hosting competitions of Olympic proportions on their own, according to a new OfficeTeam survey. In the survey of 1,000 senior managers in companies with 20 or more employees, nearly half of senior managers […]

Back Pay Damages Include Overtime in FMLA Retaliation Claim, Courts Rule

Employers should be aware that back pay sometimes can entail more than base compensation. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals provided that reminder through its recent holding that overtime compensation may be included in an award of back pay. The case is Pagán-Colón v. Walgreens of San Patricio, Inc., Nos. 11-1089, 11-1091 (1st Cir. […]

‘Poor’ employer’s termination obligation not reduced

by Hannah Roskey There has been some controversy in Canadian law on the issue of whether the financial circumstances of the employer should play a role in deciding what constitutes reasonable notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice. Since multiple factors go into deciding what’s reasonable in many circumstances, why not this one? […]

Female

Would You Consider Hiring Teams Instead of Individuals?

The hiring process is time-consuming and expensive. It can take weeks, if not months, just to bring on one new hire—and there’s always the risk that person will not work out, and you’ll have to start all over again. Any time you’re bringing on someone new, it’s a difficult task to assess whether he or […]