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HOT LIST: BusinessWeek’s Bestseller List

BusinessWeek ranks business books that are the most recent bestsellers. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath 2. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss 3. Women & Money: Owning the Power to […]

News Notes: Federal Labor Law Superseded Lawsuit Claiming Pay for Family Leave Time

Verizon employee Denise Harris was granted family and medical leave for a bad back. Under the union contract covering Harris’ employment, Verizon paid Harris sick pay benefits during the first part of her leave, but cut off her benefits when she didn’t provide a physician’s report confirming she couldn’t work. Harris sued, claiming the failure […]

New Health Benefits Law Goes into Effect this Year

On October 9 of this year a new federal law—called Michelle’s Law—regarding who’s entitled to health benefits will go into effect. The law is named for Michelle Morse, a New Hampshire college student with cancer who continued with a full course load against her doctor’s advice in order to maintain health benefits under her parents’ […]

Employment Law Tip: When Is Accommodation an Undue Hardship?

If a disabled employee needs an accommodation so he or she can continue to perform the job, you don’t have to provide any accommodation that would be an undue hardship for you. Generally, undue hardship means that providing the reasonable accommodation would result in significant difficulty or expense, based on your resources and the operation […]

News Flash: Employees Can Have Co-Workers Present At Disciplinary Meetings

As a result of a new decision by the National Labor Relations Board, investigating complaints of harassment or other employee misconduct is likely to become more complex. The NLRB recently ruled that nonunion employers must allow employees to bring a co-worker to so-called investigatory interviews. The rule applies to any interview in which employees will […]

HR in 2011: Avoid Legal Pitfalls

Employment Law Guide in Your State — 2011 Are you ready for 2011? The most up-to-date version of BLR’s Employment Law Guide—In Your State is now available. It pulls together all the federal and state laws you need to know about to stay in compliance. The guide includes all changes that federal legislators and regulators […]

News Flash: OFCCP Won’t Extend Comment Period On Affirmative Action Proposal

In the July issue of California Employer Advisor, we reported on a recent proposal by the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to revamp affirmative action guidelines for federal contractors. Several employer groups asked for an extension of the 60-day comment period on the proposed regulations, but the OFCCP flatly rejected their request. The […]

Disability-Related Questions And Medical Exams, Part 2: EEOC Guidelines For Handling Common But Thorny Problems

The EEOC recently released a guidance explaining when it is and is not permissible to ask employees disability-related questions or to require them to take medical exams. In this final segment, we look at how the EEOC says you should handle a number of common but frequently thorny situations involving employee medical information. Documentation When […]