Tag: Employment law

Bloodline: We did a bad thing

“We’re not bad people, but we did a bad thing.” This is the tagline for the Netflix original thriller-drama Bloodline. If you haven’t seen it, run to add it to your watch list immediately. The show takes us into the lives of the Rayburn family, owners of a picturesque beachside hotel in the Florida Keys. Despite the […]

What to say when CEO says don’t bother creating an employee handbook

Most human resources professionals understand the importance of a carefully written employee handbook. But sometimes the higher-ups in an organization don’t think about why such a document is advisable. Recently, a group of attorneys from the Employers Counsel Network, which focuses on employment law issues, was asked what to do when a CEO says a […]

Words of wisdom for successful employers

By Jane Pfeifle After 29 years, I am leaving the practice of law to become a judge in the 7th Judicial Circuit. As I look back on the past few decades, I want to share some observations of what successful employers do.  Fairness reduces the fare Being fair pays off. Employers that treat employees fairly […]

Go Scrooge yourself: 5 biz holiday party tips

‘Tis the season for your company’s annual holiday party. And while the notion of drinking, eating and generally enjoying merriment with your coworkers, subordinates, and superiors may seem innocuous, it is anything but. What seems like a festive occasion during the most wonderful time of the year is, if sledded incorrectly, a mine field of […]

Further clarification on ‘unjust’ dismissals

By Louise Béchamp As we reported previously, employers in Canada’s federal sector have had the right to dismiss employees without cause with one caveat. Only if the dismissal was not “unjust” within the meaning of section 240 of the Canada Labour Code. In Wilson v. Atomic Energy of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal determined […]

Plan a holiday party that makes merry and avoids ghosts of revelries past

Everybody’s heard the office party horror stories—some merrymakers get drunk, unfortunate comments are made, even more unfortunate outfits are worn, and sometimes somebody even gets hurt. It’s enough to make the human resources department want to retreat to the North Pole until mid-January.  Solutions to party woes do exist, however, and even if the party […]

Employers face greater scrutiny for employee misclassification

by Ryan B. Frazier Employers sometimes classify employees incorrectly under the law. For example, employees may be treated as independent contractors, who are considered self-employed. Although misclassification may be intentional, it is most often done mistakenly under a belief that workers are properly classified.  Employees are misclassified for many reasons. Employers may try to avoid […]

Puerto Rico Health Insurer Will Pay Record $3.5M HIPAA Settlement

A Puerto Rico health insurer agreed to pay $3.5 million in a HIPAA settlement after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, investigating multiple breach reports from the company, found what it called “widespread noncompliance” throughout the organization. Triple-S Management Corp. is an insurance holding company that offers many insurance products and services through […]

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3 tips on firing employees—Les Miles/Mark Richt “silly season” edition

With the college football regular season coming to a close, you may have noticed that a different kind of season has begun, a time referred to by authors and sports bloggers alike as “silly season.” The fun (and farce) is typically kicked off by the mid- to late-season rumors that a formerly promising coach of a prominent […]

Yogi Berra: baseball great and secret HR consultant

by Dennis Merley Baseball hall of famer Yogi Berra passed away in September at the age of 90. In addition to being a great player for the perennial champion New York Yankees in the 1950s and early 1960s, he was known as a type of clown-prince for his penchant for amusing malapropisms related to baseball […]