Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Using home as a “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act, approximately 316,000 disabled employees regularly work from home, according to TeleworkResearchNetwork.com data. Those whom ADA protects join more than 13 million U.S. residents who currently work from home at least one day a week, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released last […]
Many employers get sued for failing to properly administer compensable time — including the requirement that generally, employers must pay employees for time spent in training programs, meetings or similar activities. So to avoid costly litigation or enforcement challenges, an employer needs to understand — and correctly apply —the Fair Labor Standards Act’s basic criteria […]
Litigation value: $0.00, but only because Pete has a conscience and Daryl is a cinephile. In last week’s season premier, new guy Pete was compared to Jim, while other new guy Clark was compared to Dwight. I’m all good with the former comparison, but the latter is waaaay off. Dwight beds his women using blunt […]
by James J. Rooney and Kerry Langan The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has released a 16-page guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) designed to make the law more accessible to employees. The publication, titled “Need Time? The Employee’s Guide to The Family and Medical Leave Act,” […]
Headlines abound about tragic car accidents resulting from drivers distracted by cell phones. Many of those reports involve drivers taking calls or texts while they’re on the job. Such tragedies have prompted a number of employers to develop policies aimed at curtailing use of phones while employees are driving. Those tragedies also have prompted juries […]
Seattle’s new law requiring paid sick and safe time leave is set to take effect September 1, and the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) has published final rules defining some of the responsibilities of employers that have employees working in Seattle. Read Seattle’s new sick and safe time rules The law means that employees […]
HR professionals may not go looking for trouble, but that doesn’t mean trouble doesn’t go looking for HR. Complaining employees regularly find their way to HR and often demand a solution to a problem they either don’t want to handle themselves or should leave to management. One such problem is a coworker with an offensive […]
by Mark I. Schickman Too often, the workplace is viewed as a zero-sum game ― a win for an employee or loss for the boss, every savings for the company obtained from an employee concession. The political parties are playing it the same way; either employers pay more or workers get less ― nobody suggests […]
by A. Neal Barkus Suppose your company has a computer engineering position that it has been trying to fill for several months with no success. Suddenly, you’re contacted by a dream applicant ― someone with an excellent educational record from the local university, relevant job experience, and attractive personal qualities. Let’s call this applicant Manesh. […]
A school district failed to accommodate a teacher with seasonal affective disorder, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has determined, upholding a jury’s award of damages. The 7th Circuit had already heard the case, Ekstrand v. School District of Somerset (No. 11-1949, June 26, 2012), once before. Renae Eskstrand filed suit against her employer, […]