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Allstate to Pay Up to $120 Million to Settle Overtime Suit

Allstate Corp., the nation’s second-largest home and auto insurer, has agreed to pay out up to $120 million to settle claims that some of its white-collar employees in California were routinely required to work long hours without overtime pay. The settlement grew out of a class action lawsuit filed by insurance adjusters, alleging that Allstate […]

Illinois Court Dumps Nursing Mother’s Breastfeeding Claims

By Kelly Smith-Haley, JD, Fox, Swibel, Levin & Carroll, LLP A recent case from a federal court judge in Chicago provides a useful overview of certain statutes that rarely make headlines but nevertheless set the bar for nursing mothers. So dust off the breast pump, spruce up the office lactation room, and settle in for […]

Who Packs Your Parachutes?

By Dan Oswald President, M. Lee Smith Publishers Just My E-pinion If you’re a pilot or paratrooper or skydiver, you pretty much depend on the person who packs your parachute. In today’s e-pinion, M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC president Dan Oswald challenges you to ask, Who packs your parachutes? Charles Plumb was a Navy jet […]

Private Benefits Exchanges Benefit Employers

In Yesterday’s Advisor, we heard about a recent report that suggests that most employees prefer to choose their own benefits with a private exchange. Today we’ll take a look at how employers can benefit from these systems as well.

Skinny Plans: Adhering to the Letter (But Not the Sprit) of Health Reform

An increasing number of employers are examining providing a low-benefits health plan that covers only preventive health services but not high-price major medical claims. Offering this type of low cost or “skinny” plan is allowed under the health reform law. The question is: Will skinny plans trigger a large-employer exodus to de minimis coverage, and if so, […]

Medical assessment gives reasonable grounds for employee surveillance

by Mikaël Maher Surveillance may be an effective way for an employer to confirm or dispel their doubts about the legitimacy of a disability claim. But when is it legally permissible in Canada? In the recent decision Centre de santé et de services sociaux de la Vallée de la Gatineau v. Martin [1], the Quebec […]

Hiring Decisions and Older Workers — Avoiding Liability

By Alix Herber and Hadiya Roderique Across Canada, human rights legislation prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of age. This applies to all aspects of the employment relationship — job advertisements, application forms, job interviews, hiring decisions, denial of promotional opportunities, and termination decisions. Data from the Ontario Human Rights Commission for 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 […]

What to Do When Your Diversity Dinosaur Is Your Top Producer

Last issue we talked about Imus, Dog, and supervisors who are “diversity dinosaurs.” But how about the case where your dinosaur is also your best producer? Here’s help from a program that can keep the productivity, while losing the negative attitudes. Initially, it sounds like a difficult choice—your rules on discrimination and harassment or your […]

Hot List: Wall Street Journal’s Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the Wall Street Journal with data from Nielsen BookScan. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? Do you feel […]

Do Shareholder Rights Matter to Obama?

I was amazed when I first learned that the Obama administration had requested the resignation of GM CEO Rick Wagoner. After thinking about it for a few minutes, I became dismayed. Did Rick Wagoner deserve to lose his job? I don’t know. But I do know that it is not the role of government to […]