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May the enforceability of your release be with you

by Hannah Roskey We have all been faced with employees’ buyer’s remorse. They accept a severance package, sign a release, cash the severance check, and then claim that the release is unenforceable. Recently the Alberta Human Rights Commission considered this very issue in Marquardt v. Strathcona County.

Wal-Mart Settles Another Wage and Hour Class Action

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, has kicked off the holiday shopping season with a costly expense. The company has agreed to pay $40 million in the most recent of a string of wage and hour class-action settlements that have challenged the retailer over the past 12 months. Last December, the company agreed to […]

Supreme Court ruling allows ‘travel ban’ Executive Order to take limited effect

On June 26, the last day of the current term, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to determine whether the “travel ban” Executive Order’s (EO) focus on primarily Muslim countries violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and whether the EO exceeds President Donald Trump’s authority granted by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The […]

Supreme Court Agrees to Review Massive Discrimination Case Against Wal-Mart

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review what has been called the largest employment class action in U.S. history — Wal-Mart Stores v. Dukes. The class of plaintiffs is estimated to include approximately 1.5 million former and current female Wal-Mart employees seeking monetary relief that could amount to billions of dollars in back pay. […]

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Small Tip Pool Violation Creates Big Headache for Employer

A recent U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) settlement serves as a reminder for employers with tipped employees: you cannot require workers to share tips with nontipped staff. Doing so can leave an employer liable not only for the misappropriated tips, but also—because of a provision in the law—for back minimum wage and overtime payments that […]

Minding the Store

Resources for Humans editor Celeste Blackburn reviews Minding the Store: Great Writing about Business from Tolstoy to Now, edited by Robert Coles and Albert LaFarge. While those looking for straightforward business insights will be disappointed, literature lovers should appreciate the business lessons that can be learned from great literature. Whether you are a member of […]

2 Tricky Challenges: FMLA Bonding and Fetal Protection

Pregnant employees typically present a host of Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) issues, and then, for many employers, there’s the very tricky balancing act of fetal protection—what to do when the mother wants to work in a job that might endanger the unborn child. FMLA Protection for Pregnant Employees Under FMLA, incapacity because of […]

Millennials will transform management practices

by Jimmy Daniel Millennials, also known as Generation Y, have surpassed Generation X and Baby Boomers to become the largest group in America’s workforce, according to Pew Research Center’s analysis of the 2015 U.S. Census Bureau data. Not only are Millennials continuing to grow and dominate the workforce, but they are also starting to take […]

New OSHA ‘Sheriff’ Packs Heat, But It May Backfire

By Jim Stanley, president, FDRsafety When Labor Secretary Hilda Solis warned business last year that there was ”a new sheriff in town,” she wasn’t kidding — the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is packing big new six-guns. The only problem is that it may be shooting itself in the foot. OSHA has been announcing […]