Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
We’re deep into spring, the time when cubicle-bound employees may be planning their escape and vying for prime spots on the time-off calendar. Or maybe they’re so busy with the daily grind that they don’t even dream of walks on the beach or majestic mountain views. When it comes to time off, HR professionals deal […]
Today’s workplace is facing a classic good news-bad news scenario. It’s good news that hiring shows signs of picking up. But if recent surveys are any indication, that good news hasn’t made much of a dent in the bad news – that more workers than ever are experiencing rising stress levels. The 2013 Work Stress […]
By Alix Herber and Keri Bennett Human Rights Tribunals across Canada are constantly expanding the interpretation of prohibited grounds. Ontario has recently joined Manitoba and the Northwest Territories and gone one step further by recognizing gender identity as a prohibited ground.
Litigation Value: None. I think The Office gods have been reading my blog entries and decided they’d give me an hour-long episode with very few legal issues. In last night’s episode, three main characters made significant career moves. Dwight received the manager promotion, Andy quit his job to pursue fame, and Jim decided to stay […]
by Amanda Shelby The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) recently issued Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations became effective on March 8. Although the new regulations don’t radically change the landscape of the FMLA, they do contain some significant modifications. What do you need to know to ensure that your policies and practices are […]
The U.S. Supreme Court is now weighing arguments in a case with important ramifications for the many employers that have been accused of retaliation — or who fear being accused of retaliation — when they discipline or fire an employee. For workers, the case raises questions about the strength and scope of Title VII’s anti-retaliation […]
No one wants to get burned by hiring a bad apple, so it’s common for employers to conduct background checks to lessen the chance of bringing a dishonest employee into the workplace. But as hazardous as it is to have shady employees, it also can be dangerous to step out of line when checking people […]
By Michel Bellemare Every job has its own peculiarities. What might be a minor shortcoming in one type of employment could be catastrophic in another. This is especially true when the breach touches on the very heart of the duties assigned to an employee. This, at least, is what an employee learned in a recent […]
Litigation Value: Aside from a potential workers’ compensation claim for Toby, from having a paper airplane thrown directly into his eye, Dunder Mifflin is getting off light this week. This week, we all got to relax a bit, as the Dunder Mifflin employees let their hair down and their competitive beasts out and took part […]
by Timothy P. Brechtel and Ricardo X. Carlo As if you didn’t have enough to worry about as healthcare reform heads toward full implementation in 2014, the new whistleblower protection provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may present a trap for unsuspecting employers looking to cut costs by tweaking their workforces. Under ACA Section […]