Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Lyndel Erwin An eager young college graduate approaches you looking for work as an intern and offering to do the job for free just to gain experience and make contacts in the industry. A retiree offers to volunteer in your hospital just to have something to fill her day. It looks like a win-win […]
By Karen Sargeant We all know proving cause for termination in Canada is difficult. Poor performance rarely equates to cause. And employees seem to be entitled to warnings in most cases. But surely it is cause if an employee slaps another. Not so, according to one Ontario judge in Shakur v. Mitchell Plastics.
Litigation Value: Frank can collect from Pam and Dwight the cost of cleaning paint off his truck. “Shouldn’t someone get fired for this?” That’s the question Pam asked while confronting the large orange butts that someone (Frank) spray-painted on her warehouse mural in “Vandalism,” the second of two new episodes tonight. Of course someone should get fired, […]
Everyone knows the clichés “cheaters never prosper” and “honesty is the best policy,” but that doesn’t mean employees always take those maxims to heart. Whether it’s padding an expense account, failing to clock out for lunch, or large-scale embezzling, some employees will cross the line into unethical territory. Take, for example, the case of the […]
Employers paid more than $400 million to resolve discrimination cases filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in fiscal 2012, according to data released by the agency Jan. 28. Among private-sector workers, retaliation, race and sex discrimination, respectively, were the most common discrimination charges. Other highlights from the EEOC’s fiscal 2012 statistical summary: 99,412 […]
by Tammy Binford A bipartisan effort to reform U.S. immigration policy includes what the proposal’s authors say is a plan to “create an effective employment verification system” as well as a way to “establish an improved process for admitting future workers to serve our nation’s workforce needs, while simultaneously protecting all workers.” Eight U.S. senators—Republicans […]
By Kyla Stott-Jess The Alberta Court of Appeal has recently added to the ongoing debate in Canada over who is or isn’t an employer in the human rights context. In its recent decision in 375850 Alberta Ltd. v. Beverly Noel and the Director of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, the dismissal of the complainant’s appeal […]
Litigation Value: Fire in the Hole prank = potential assault and battery charges for Dwight (not to mention the dry cleaning bill); Toby’s awkwardly affectionate overtures to Nellie = fodder for a potential hostile work environment claim against the Human Resources Manager; and using the Dunder Code to hunt for the fake holy grail = priceless. […]
by Tammy Binford It’s a rare HR professional who hasn’t struggled with the question, “How can I make certain I’m getting the most useful information during job interviews?” Asking insightful questions goes a long way toward addressing the problem, but figuring out just what to ask can be tricky. Will a particular question elicit a […]
Employees’ postings on social media have been called “online water-cooler talk,” essentially comparing it to office gossip. But most HR professionals have had to learn one big difference the hard way. Water-cooler talk doesn’t leave a permanent record, and social media does. One way the two do compare is the common topic of supervisors. Unfortunately, […]