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A federal court has ordered the City of Pittsburgh to pay $825,000 in liquidated damages alone to more than 900 municipal police officers. (O’Hara v. City of Pittsburgh.) The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania made the award following a five-year delay by the city in implementing a 2006 letter of understanding […]
Talent Management We’ve talked a lot about job loss. With U.S. companies slashing nearly 600,000 jobs in January, it has been top of mind for most of us. Here’s the upside in what is an otherwise very dismal situation. Layoffs can give a company the opportunity to cull its lowest performers, resulting in a leaner, […]
Sometimes, broad diversity training isn’t enough. In fact, we’d venture to say that most times it’s not enough. That’s particularly the case when it comes to getting supervisors to take diversity seriously. “We’ve found that simple ‘diversity training’ doesn’t seem to do much to help managers ‘get it,’” says Joanne Cleaver, president of Wilson-Taylor Associates, […]
“I used to be the next president of the United States,” Al Gore quipped, addressing a 10,000-person crowd at the Society for Human Resource Management’s recent Annual Conference and Exposition in San Diego. As the laughter died down, he added, “I don’t think that’s very funny.” Steve Forbes, the other headliner at the conference, says, […]
The U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear a case to resolve whether an ERISA health plan can recover money it spent on a plan participant’s care from his or her personal injury settlement, even if the participant has already spent those particular funds. To settle this question, the Court granted certiorari March 30 in Montanile v. Bd. of Trustees […]
Facebook has been in the news a lot lately in a climate increasingly concerned about both privacy and “fake news.” Pundits are pointing to Facebook’s woes as fodder for understanding about the types of leadership foibles that can lead a company down a slippery slope from a public sentiment standpoint.
Why should a recent tax court decision that caretaker services provided to a dementia patient are qualified long-term care (LTC) expenses be of interest to employers? Well, if you see employee benefits as a way to attract and retain good employees, and don’t yet offer LTC insurance, the ruling — which means those services could […]
by Susan Hartmus Hiser Q: Our company is downsizing its operations, and we would like to offer an incentive package to certain employees as an inducement to leave voluntarily. If we do, can we obtain a release of all claims from the employees who accept the incentive package? HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical […]
How should you go about writing your job descriptions? Consider this four-step process from the fed’s Job Accommodation Network (JAN)—likely to pass muster during any agency inspection. JAN is a service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy. JAN’s program consists of the following steps: Step 1: Perform a Job Analysis […]
In the aftermath of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the focus has been on the students—so much so that several news commentators have incorrectly referred to the deceased as “the 17 students who died in the shooting.” Among the 17 people who lost their lives were three adults, who […]