Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Whitney Brown On August 26, a TV reporter and cameraman were fatally shot by a former coworker while on location doing a live interview in Roanoke, Virginia. That same day, a sous chef at P.F. Chang’s in the Northshore Mall in Peabody, Massachusetts, was stabbed to death by a coworker. Just this week, a […]
A Texas oil field construction and services company will pay $30,000 to settle an EEOC retaliation lawsuit after the company fired its only female roustabout, Elma Garza, after she reported being sexually harassed on the job. Garza was hired by the company in January 2012 as a dump truck driver, and spent most of her […]
by Marc Ouellet Do employers in Canada have absolute discretion when it comes to probationary employees’ performance evaluations and whether or not to maintain employment after the probationary period? In Union des employées et employées de service, section locale 800 v. Limocar Estrie Inc. (available only in French), where the business in question was unionized, […]
Employers write policies to make their workplaces run smoothly. When employees know the rules, expectations, practices, and procedures, they should be well-equipped to work productively and harmoniously. But as important as policies are, they can be problematic too. A survey released in August from Business and Legal Resources (BLR) shows what issues employers tackle with […]
by Brendan Gooley and John Herrington As many employers know, the list of potential plaintiffs who may sue an employer for alleged employment discrimination extends beyond current and former employees and includes rejected job applicants. We want to take the time to remind you of that unfortunate fact and offer five easy steps to minimize […]
Imagine a guy, a married guy, more specifically an unhappily married guy, and even more specifically an unhappily married guy lacking a moral compass. The guy creates a discrete (ha!) profile on AshleyMadison.com, a dating website for married people whose tagline is “Life is Short. Have an Affair.” No need to prowl hotel bars at […]
by Marc Rodrigue In February, the province of Ontario appointed the Honorable John C. Murray, a former judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and management-side labor lawyer, and C. Michael Mitchell, a former union-side labor lawyer, as special advisers tasked with reviewing both the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) and the Ontario […]
by Mark I. Schickman Many of my clients are looking for ways to redefine the working relationship away from the employee model. There are various motives for this: the desire to avoid employee liability, the hope to avoid paying taxes and benefits, and the goal to avoid “head count” (whatever that means). But the law […]
by Burton J. Fishman Employers are beginning to comprehend how the widespread availability of medical marijuana will affect the workplace. Newly garbed with medical justification, more workers are claiming a “right” to use marijuana at work. Employers, confronted with a note from the ever-more- aptly-named “Dr. Feelgood” authorizing employees’ use of the drug, are often […]
by Chuck Harrison A single incident of misconduct can still justify the termination of a unionized employee’s employment. So ruled a labor arbitrator in British Columbia recently. In Fortis Energy Inc., (February 16, 2015) the employee had engaged in an incident of stalking and intimidation of his wife’s supervisor. Compounding his offense, he did this […]