Tag: Employment law

Workplace communication: It’s more than just talking

Everybody knows the importance of effective communication in the workplace. Achieving it, though, can be tricky. Some people speak without listening. Others find themselves too distracted to understand what someone else is trying to say. Written communication often gets bogged down in jargon and misinterpreted. And those are just some of the problems that can […]

Conciliate First, Court Tells EEOC as it Tosses out Lawsuit

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may not sue an employer unless it has engaged in pre-litigation conciliation — even for pattern or practice claims — a federal district court has held. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Oct. 7 dismissed an EEOC suit alleging that CVS Pharmacy’s separation agreement violated […]

Bullying in the Workplace: New Laws or Stronger Employer Policies?

Bullying in the workplace is an issue that 72 percent of Americans are aware of, according to a 2014 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute. However, the institute believes not enough is being done to fight this problem because workplace bullying is not considered protected discrimination under federal employment law. So through its Healthy Workplace […]

10 FMLA tips for HR professionals

By Jason Ritchie The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can be one of the most daunting employment laws HR has to deal with. There are very specific rules and procedures that must be followed to ensure that both employee and employer are protected. Recently, employment law attorneys from Holland & Hart in Billings, Montana, […]

Breaking Bad: Disciplining employees for off-duty conduct

You can hardly get through your morning coffee these days without seeing another story about some athlete, model, or actor who abused his wife, trashed her Beverly Hills hotel room, or went all Archie Bunker in a racist Twitter rampage. Usually, high-profile celebrities are bound by employment contracts that require strict adherence to an impeccable standard of personal conduct. But what can the average employer do if Walter […]

It’s not a settlement when the parties can’t agree on what they agreed to

By Christina Hall It is usually good news for employers and employees if they are able to resolve an employment dispute and reach a settlement before engaging in protracted litigation. However, finalizing the details of a settlement can be a tedious process. When the parties rush through the process or fail to properly consider the […]

IRS Mandates Electronic Filing by Large Retirement Plans

IRS issued final regulations requiring employer retirement plan sponsors or administrators that file at least 250 returns in a calendar year to submit Form 5500 annual reports and other plan-related documents electronically. The regulations are effective Sept. 29, and apply for plan years that begin on or after Jan. 1, 2014, and have a filing […]

Cursing, fighting, and screaming could be protected under the NLRA

Too bad workplaces don’t come with the technology that allows employers to replace curse words with the bleeps so often heard during profanity-laced tirades on television. Then, maybe, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) wouldn’t be called on to settle disputes such as one that occurred after a bikini contest at a Hooters restaurant in […]

Multitasking hinders productivity

by Dinita James Multitasking increases worker productivity, right? That is at least common wisdom. It seems that if we can do two, three, or even four things at once, we are accomplishing more in less time. Research on the human brain is pointing decidedly in the other direction, however. According to one recent study, multitasking […]