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Taming Tyrants: An ‘Essential Function’ for Managers?

Today we continue our look at taming TOTs—Terrible Office Tyrants—and we’ll take a look at an invaluable source for prewritten job descriptions. (Should all HR job descriptions list taming TOTs as an "essential function"?) Dealing with tyrant bosses is "a little like parenting minus the diapers and spitting up," says Lynn Taylor, whose tips were […]

Illinois employers need to prepare for same-sex marriage law

Illinois’ same-sex marriage law, which was passed last fall, is set to take effect June 1. The new law will affect Illinois employers in various ways. Employers will need to treat same-sex spouses the same way they treat opposite-sex spouses. This will have ramifications for employer-sponsored health plans with spousal coverage and retirement plans. Also, […]

Handling Holiday Religious Expression in the Workplace

(Updated August 2009) by Sarah Fuson With Thanksgiving less than a week away, thoughts turn to turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. But Thanksgiving represents more than stuffing ourselves silly and watching football all day. The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 by the Pilgrims, a group of Puritans who fled England because […]

Wage and Hour: How Do We Sort Out Holiday Pay?

We’re having trouble getting our holiday pay policy clarified. If our employees don’t work on a holiday, they get paid straight time for their normal hours for the holiday. If they do work on a holiday, do they get time and one-half for the hours worked on the holiday plus the straight time holiday pay? […]

Health Savings Accounts Continue to Grow in Popularity

By David Slaughter, JD, Senior Legal Editor Data collected from Devenir Group, by surveying top health savings account (HSA) providers, reflects both a consistent trend toward account growth and a “savings mindset” taking root among healthcare consumers. The new study shows the popularity of HSAs and their continued to grow, with the number of accounts […]

States approve minimum wage, paid leave ballot questions

States with employment-related ballot questions mostly approved them during the November 8 election, and employers have little lead time before many measures will be implemented. All told, 14 states have new provisions with which companies must comply, some as early as January 1, 2017. Minimum wage Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington considered minimum wage increases […]

Tiger Doesn’t Need to Apologize to Me

When I heard that Tiger Woods was holding a press conference to apologize for his infidelity, I couldn’t imagine what he’d have to say to me. Let’s face it, Tiger never made any promises to me about how he would conduct himself either personally or professionally. So I was curious as to what he might […]

News Notes: Auto Club Ordered To Pay $576,000 On Sexual Harassment Claim

A San Fernando jury has awarded $576,000 to an Auto Club of Southern California employee who claimed she was repeatedly groped and subjected to unwanted attention for two years by a co-worker who was so persistent that he followed her into the women’s restroom. Cheryl Parker said she reported the problem in writing to a […]

Ask the Trainer: Weekend Training

A: According to BLR legal editors, there is no federal law that would prohibit an employer from requiring an exempt employee to attend a training session over a weekend, especially where the training is necessary for the employee to perform the job. However, the company should consider any union contract, individual employment contract, or policy […]

Workplace Fatalities Continue Downward Trend in California

Preliminary workplace fatality statistics for 2014 were recently released by California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR)—and they reflect a 16% decrease in workplace fatalities from the previous year. This is encouraging when compared with the preliminary data for the whole United States, which shows an increase of 2%.