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Hiring: Do We Really Need an At-Will Statement in All Employee Documents?

We are in the process of reworking all of our selection and hiring paperwork. I’m trying to insist on strong at-will language throughout, from application to offer letter to handbook. But our management is trying to improve retention and wants to brand the company as “a great place to work.” They think the at-will language […]

News Flash: Workers’ Comp Covers Employee’s Cosmetic Surgery

A California Court of Appeal has ruled that a mechanic whose face was disfigured in a workplace explosion can have cosmetic surgery covered by workers’ compensation. The mechanic suffered severe burns when a welding torch ignited a fireball inside the fiber glass tank he was dismantling. The state Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board had determined that […]

News Notes: Ninth Circuit Rejects Overtime And Mail Fraud Claim

Yokohama Tire Corp. employee Christopher Miller sued under RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), the federal organized crime statute, charging Yokohama conducted a fraudulent scheme to deny employees overtime. Miller claimed high-ranking Yokohama employees falsely told him and other workers they weren’t entitled to overtime pay because they were salaried, and that every time Yokohama […]

Time To Terminate? Not Just Yet…

Managers always “want to get it over with” once they’ve decided they want to fire someone. That’s no surprise, but HR can’t let it happen. Step back and assess the whole picture before acting.

Insurance Commissioner Urges Insurers to Do More to Cut Comp Rates

California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has announced that workers’ compensation insurers in the state have filed rate reductions averaging 14.6 percent for policies incepting on or after July 1, 2005. These latest cuts bring the cumulative rate reduction to 26.78 percent since the massive workers’ compensation reforms of 2003 and 2004.

That Elusive Seat at the Executive Table: Here’s How to Get It

It’s National Boss’s Day. Have you sent your boss a card? Perhaps it should carry this message from Jack Welch … that HR needs to be a more prominent part of your organization. If you think that HR should be as important a function at your company as finance, marketing, or production, and that HR […]

Employee or self-employed? That is the question!

By Alexandra Meunier and Yves Turgeon In the financial services industry, the status of insurance and financial product sales reps is often in question. Are they employees or independent contractors? No matter what part of Canada you’re in, it is important to get it right.

Bulletin Item: DOL Releases Long-Awaited Overtime Exemption Rules

On April 20, the U.S. Department of Labor released the final and long-awaited changes to the white-collar overtime exemption rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The final version, which takes effect in late July 2004, contains some big changes from the earlier proposed version, including expanding the pool of employees eligible to receive […]

Growing Within Boundaries

By BLR Founder and Publisher Bob Brady Contrary as it may sound, the best way to grow might just be to define limits, says BLR’s CEO. Most of my experience as a manager has involved getting a handle on quickly changing processes. During one 5-year period, we grew from 10 people to 150, going from […]