Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
It may seem like an easy decision to fire an employee who is disruptive at work, shows up late or not at all, and keeps coworkers on edge all the time. It’s also an easy decision for an employer to go to great lengths to hold on to an employee who is talented, creative, passionate, […]
The White House recently instructed federal agencies to put the brakes on rulemakings related to employment. That same day, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would prohibit significant rulemakings until the nation’s unemployment rate improves. The White House’s March 20 order came out of its Office of Management and Budget and was sent […]
By Frederic Parisien Workplace harassment, at the onset, involves two players — the harasser and the harassee. A third party is added once a complaint is filed — the employer. And a fourth player, the union, is added if that complaint is a grievance. To what extent does the alleged harasser continue to be a […]
Litigation Value: Not much from this episode, but if Nellie sticks around her apparent prejudice against the Irish and Hispanics could lead to some sticky legal situations. Another week, another party in Scranton. Last night on The Office, Robert had the party-planning committee working hard on a party to welcome Nellie into the fold. Problem […]
Employers need to spell out their policies for off-hours use of mobile devices for work purposes or they risk racking up unnecessary overtime. Mobile devices have worked their way into virtually every area of our lives, both at work and at home. You may even be reading this blog on a smart phone or tablet […]
As peak vacation season nears and employees begin jockeying with coworkers to take off the days and weeks they want, employers may be wondering if their time-off policies are fair, simple, and effective or if they complicate work schedules unnecessarily. What’s more important — logging a specified number of hours every weekday, or producing an […]
By Marisa Victor and Yael Wexler Noncompetition clauses in employment contracts are difficult to enforce in Canada. Courts tend to regard them as unreasonable restraints on trade. Any ambiguity usually will be fatal. Nor will the courts generally use a “blue pencil” to remove ambiguous words. This was made clear in the recent appellate decision […]
Final rules that will govern the state-based insurance exchanges created by health reform include more detailed privacy and security requirements for the exchanges themselves and participating insurers. These restrictions also will apply indirectly to agents, brokers and others involved in this process. In the rules, published March 27 (77 Fed. Reg. 18310), the U.S. Department […]
Litigation Value: California and his cohorts swimming nude in front of employees = far too much to calculate; Andy trying to get his “monog” on = one trip to the hospital for an oxygen-deprived Dwight; and Kevin getting to create a party without the party planning committee’s input = priceless. This was certainly not our […]
by Susan M. Webman, Fortney & Scott, LLC For a number of years, the issue of whether the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) created a claim for hostile work environment based on membership in the uniformed services, a right not definitively named in the Act, has been raised in the trial courts. […]