Tag: Employment law

Tough terminations: Handling the fallout

Firing an employee—especially a longtime employee who seems to be a loyal, hardworking asset to the employer—is never easy. But policies exist for a reason, and when they’re broken tough decisions need to be made. A recent termination of an employee apparently trying to do the right thing has sparked headlines and illustrates the dilemma […]

Work hard, play hard work harder

As discussed in our previous blog post, the Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin scandal has dominated the sports and national headlines. Lost somewhat in the midst of an Incognito-Martin-centric sports news cycle were the recent health scares of Denver Broncos coach John Fox and Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak during week 9 of the NFL season. Fox, […]

Objective medical proof not necessary for accommodation duties to arise

By Marc Rodrigue Under human rights legislation across the country, Canadian employers have a general duty to accommodate employees who are unable to perform their work for a period of time because of illness or disability to the point of undue hardship. This may require an employer to grant an employee a leave of absence […]

Obligations and opportunities in dealing with veteran employment issues

by Susan M. Webman Monday is Veterans Day, so we wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of some of the laws that regulate employing the men and women who have served our country as well as the opportunities that come along with employing veterans. The government’s recent focus on veterans’ employment issues, in […]

Security Among Questions Dogging Exchange Rollout

New concerns about data security on the health care reform exchanges are being raised by Republican lawmakers, who cite an internal agency memorandum that warned of inadequate testing on the eve of the exchanges’ Oct. 1 rollout. The security control assessment required by the Federal Information Security Management Act “was only partially completed” because the […]

Offensive personal foul

Suspended Miami Dolphins offensive lineman and last-guy-to-realize-people-save-voice-mails-and-texts Richie Incognito is 6’3″ and weighs 319 pounds. He is (was) a member of the Dolphins’ players leadership council, and he was a 2012 Pro Bowler. Incognito, however, may finally be facing an insurmountable opponent: the corporate employment lawyer. The Dolphins put Incognito on indefinite suspension after reportedly […]

Got conflict? Help managers know what to do

It’s a rare workplace that seldom experiences conflict. In fact, a 2008 global study on workplace conflict found that 85 percent of employees in the study experienced conflict at some level, and 36 percent of U.S. employees said they had to deal with conflict always or frequently. Globally, that figure was just 29 percent.  With […]

Toys “R” Us Will Pay $35K for Requiring Deaf Applicant to Provide Own Interpreter

Retailer Toys “R” Us will pay $35,000 to settle allegations that it required a deaf applicant to provide her own interpreter for a job interview  according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. EEOC filed suit earlier this year on behalf of Shakirra Thomas, alleging multiple Americans with Disabilities Act violations. According to the commission, Thomas […]

High court rules on noncompete, nonsolicitation clauses in business sale

By Isabelle East-Richard A recent Supreme Court of Canada decision arising out of Québec will have broad ramifications across Canada. In Payette v. Guay Inc. (2013 SCC 45 (September 12, 2013)), the Supreme Court of Canada settled the debate over whether the employment contract provisions of the Civil Code of Québec also apply to noncompete […]

Arbitration: then (in a Michael Crichton novel) and now

The late Michael Crichton had an interesting contrarian streak for a popular fiction novelist. In one of his last novels, State of Fear, he stuck his thumb in the eye of the global warming/climate change “consensus” (it remains the only novel I remember reading that had footnotes).  Readers saw his contrarian streak a decade earlier, […]