Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday in a 63-37 vote. As expected, the senators voted along party lines, with only five Republicans voting to confirm President Barack Obama’s nominee. The final step in Kagan’s road to the Supreme Court will be a White House swearing-in ceremony. Kagan will become […]
Health plans and their sponsors should pay close attention to the health care providers that are improving consumer experiences and clinical outcomes, and take note of how they are doing it. In a system where it’s every provider for himself, provider have little incentives to make it easier for patients to get care, to improve […]
Effective human resources departments champion high performance and enable employees to raise their standards to meet the demands of the 21st century workplace. But, many HR departments are using outdated philosophies to guide their practices.
Although noncompetition agreements remain unenforceable under state law, a new law confirms that Oklahoma employers may enforce agreements prohibiting former employees from soliciting a company’s employees to leave their jobs to work for another employer. For some time, Oklahoma employers have been able to contractually prohibit former employees from soliciting workers for a reasonable period […]
Reaffirming its decision from last fall, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal covering California has ruled that employees who were misclassified as independent contractors by Microsoft are eligible to participate retroactively in the company’s lucrative stock purchase program and possibly its pension plan as well. Part of Microsoft’s problem was that its forms and […]
By David M. Stevens, Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP A business that purchases the assets of another entity is often concerned about whether it will be held liable for the seller’s debts, including any claims involving employees. In a recent case, Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals examined the standard to be applied in determining whether […]
It’s “déjà vu all over again” for this blogger, who already saw and wrote about tonight’s episode of The Office — both when it was being filmed and as it later aired. What then to post? Well, for good or ill, recent events in the broadcasting world have shed light on an important and recurring […]
The capabilities of the devices the average employee brings to the workplace these days are amazing. At any given moment, every one of your employees probably has the ability to make a phone call from anywhere in the building, record a conversation, and take pictures of your most sensitive work secrets — and that’s just […]
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance from enforcing part of emergency rules designed to block health law navigators who had not been vetted by the state. As a result, churches, unions and social service organizations can set up computer stations to help the uninsured sign […]
However, warns Evelyn Gentry, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, there are downsides for employers that use unpaid interns, the most notable being potential violations of the FLSA. Misclassifying employees as unpaid interns, and thereby denying them federal minimum wage and overtime wages can result in costly litigation, civil fines, or both. Furthermore, employers who willfully violate […]