Tag: employees

Companies lauded for diversity still have far to go

“Diversity Practices that Work: The American Worker Speaks,” a two-year national study of 5,500 workers, was conducted by Global Lead Management Consulting on behalf of the National Urban League to answer four questions: What do American workers think about diversity? How do the perceptions of employees in “effective diversity practices companies” compare with American workers […]

Renhill settles with EEOC on age discrimination, race discrimination, and retaliation suit

Fort Wayne staffing company Renhill Services, Inc., has settled a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for retaliation and age and race discrimination. The company will pay $580,000 and up to $5,000 in settlement administrative expenses, according to the EEOC. The EEOC charged that Renhill violated federal law by failing to refer […]

The Set-Up-to-Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail

Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the book The Set-Up-to-Fail Syndrome: How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail by J.ean-Francois Manzoni and Jean-Louis Barsouxtalks. Review offers tips for helping supervisors talk to and communicate with employees. Practicing law has taught me a lot, and here’s something that proves true again and again: Real influence […]

Addressing the ‘Toxic Manager’

Rainn Wilson (Dwight) has been all over the place lately promoting his new movie and the new season of The Office. One of his more interesting appearances in the media was a Business Week article in which he was interviewed about “office jobs from hell.” It was interesting to learn that Rainn used to work […]

‘Just Cause’ Measure on Colorado November Ballot

A proposed measure that would amend the Colorado Constitution to bar employers from firing or suspending employees without just cause was certified for the November 2008 ballot by the Colorado secretary of state on August 22. The “Just Cause Initiative,” which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 55, gathered more than 130,000 signatures […]

Louisiana Governor Signs Firearms Law

Effective August 15, Louisiana will join a growing number of “red” states that have limited employer policies banning guns from the workplace. Under the new law (Senate Bill 51), employers may not prohibit employees from storing “lawfully possessed” firearms in their locked personally owned or leased vehicles while parked on company property. The new law […]

Michael Scott and the Popularity Contest at The Office

There is no question that Michael Scott wants all his employees at The Office to like him. He even fessed up to it in the episode where he hit Meredith with his car. Well, sort of — Michael said, “I enjoy being liked. I have to be liked. But it’s not like this compulsive need […]

Let The Office Olympic Games Begin!

The world is fully in Olympics mode, including our friends in Scranton, who are surely reliving their own Games of the First Dunder-Mifflin Olympiad. In the episode from the second season, Jim and Pam entertain themselves (while Dwight and Michael are away buying Michael’s condo) by throwing objects into Dwight’s coffee mug. They discover that […]

Beware Liability When Workers Talk on Phone While Driving

by Karen Sargeant former of McCarthy Tetrault We have all heard the statistics (and it’s no surprise!) — driving while talking on a cell phone increases the likelihood of a car accident even if you use a “hands-free” set. At the same time, your employees have cell phones, iPhones, BlackBerries(R) and other personal data assistants […]

Michael Scott Lives in Provo

Much like I wondered whether Santa was real as a kid, I often wonder if there is a real-life Michael Scott out there somewhere. This week, I think that I found the answer! When sales took a slump for a Provo, Utah, company, a supervisor came up with the idea of “waterboarding” one of the […]