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HR and New Supervisors and Managers: Don’t Let Them “Learn by Doing”

The management landscape is littered with HR-related traps for unwary new supervisors or managers, and the stakes are too high to let them “learn by doing.” Here’s a tool to train them with minimal effort on your part and theirs. Last issue we talked about supervisors and managers who tried to be good supervisors, but […]

Bias Charge Filings Skyrocketed in 2007

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced last week that discrimination charge filings in 2007 shot up 9 percent over 2006, and pregnancy bias filings reached an all-time high. The EEOC reports that it received 82,792 complaints from private-sector workers nationwide last year, which was the highest volume since 2002 and the largest annual […]

Local Governments Stepping Up Employment Laws (Video)

When considering employment law compliance, employers must look not only to federal and state laws but, increasingly, they need to look to city and county laws, according to attorney Kara Shea, who led a session at the October Advanced Employment Issues Symposium (AEIS) in Nashville, Tennessee. Shea, a member at Miller & Martin PLLC in […]

Employment Law Tip: Protect Your Trade Secrets

As the Yahoo! suit against MForma Inc. highlights, things can get ugly if you suspect former employees have walked off with your trade secrets and joined a competitor. The best way to head off trade secrets disputes—and the potentially disastrous business consequences of your trade secrets getting into a competitor’s hands—is to take steps on […]

Employment Law Tip: Three Ways to Manage Workplace Romance

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, romance is in the air—and maybe even in the workplace. But while workplace romance may be a nice diversion for those involved, it can create some big risks for employers. This can include the threat of sexual harassment lawsuits when a relationship sours, lowered productivity, and even diminished morale […]

SIIA Chief Testifies on Pro-reform Threats to Self-funding

On Feb. 26, SIIA’s CEO and president Mike Ferguson testified before a House panel to make it clear that skirting the ACA is not the reason companies and institutions self-insure, contrary to what pro-reform elements in the federal government may believe. The decision whether to self-fund is based on risk tolerance, understanding of legal liability, […]

Tip Eight: Transfer the Employee

–Transfer the employee to a position where absences are less disruptive. The law permits this, as long as pay and benefits remain equivalent to the previous job. Go to Tip Nine

Retaliation: Court Upholds $2.3 Million Verdict for Employee Who Claimed He Was Fired Over Safety Complaints; Tips for Avoiding Problems

You probably know it’s illegal to retaliate against a worker who complains in good faith about an unsafe work condition. But in practice, retaliation problems are not always so clear-cut, and they can sneak up on you. They often arise when an employee with a history of complaining starts griping about something you feel is […]

Labor Department Changing Farm Worker Rules

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published new rules for the H-2A Guest Worker Program that have sparked protest from agricultural employers. The new rules, to go into effect March 15, were published in the February 12 edition of the Federal Register. The final rules govern the labor certification process and enforcement mechanisms for […]