Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
College seniors can be excused for looking anxiously at their calendars this time of year. The days are ticking away toward spring graduation, meaning the real world of adult responsibility awaits. But as excited as young adults are about their first foray into the professional world, the unknowns spark a barrage of scary questions: What […]
by Cole Wist If an employer skimps on safety protections for its workers, will it also ignore environmental protections? The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) think so. Tag-team approach The DOL and the DOJ are teaming up under a new Worker Endangerment Initiative to investigate and prosecute worker […]
by Michele L. (Warnock) Brott What business doesn’t value its customers? After all, the customer is always right. The trouble is, customers are people, too, and people come with a variety of biases and bad behavior that can create issues for employers. In other words, racist, sexist, or discriminatory customers can present a liability problem […]
It’s a rare boss who expects workers to spend hours constantly on task without taking the occasional 10- or 15-minute break to rest and recharge. But tell that to employees who, because of workplace culture or their own insecurities, think their careers will suffer if they’re not knocking themselves out every minute of the day. […]
The glitz, glamour, and celebratory nature of last night’s Academy Awards were dimmed by the ongoing controversy about the total lack of racial diversity among Oscar contenders for the last two years. In response, Chris Rock delivered a scathing monologue criticizing the Academy and its members, the large majority of whom are white and male. […]
by Stefan Kimpton Most Canadian employers know about their obligations to provide notice or payment instead of notice to employees when terminating their employment without cause. But what about employees? Do they also have to provide their employers with reasonable notice of their intention to quit their job? What happens if a key employee leaves […]
by Vanessa L. Goddard What makes a business a good place to work? Those of you who do not unwind by watching YouTube or reading Wikipedia entries may be surprised to learn a little about Google as an employer. Remarkably, Google has unlimited sick leave—an unheard of, mind-boggling concept. Google has legal aid (ahem). The […]
by Matthew H. Parker Senior-level employees often enter into contracts stating they will receive separation pay if their employment is terminated unexpectedly. For example, employers often promise executives severance pay unless they are fired “for cause.” Other times, a company will promise that an executive can resign and collect severance pay following a change in […]
by Ed Carlstedt This week’s employment law lesson comes to us from the movie Horrible Bosses. In the movie, Julia (played by Jennifer Aniston) is a dentist who employs dental assistant Dale (played by Charlie Day). After Julia uses her boss status to torture and torment Dale for most of the movie, Dale finally records […]
by Louise Bechamp A recent arbitration decision out of the province of Quebec (available in French only) involving the director of a bankrupt corporation serves as a reminder that directors can be personally liable for unpaid employee wages, notice of termination, and vacation pay.