Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Kara E. Shea I recently participated in hosting a Wage and Hour Virtual Summit webinar. Wage and hour compliance — overtime, work-time issues, exempt status — is always a lively topic and typically results in lots of questions and feedback. This time around, most of the feedback surrounded remarks I made about individual liability […]
By Stephen Acker and Joel Henderson Four years ago in Ottawa, the Federal Canadian Government nipped a nascent spending scandal in the bud when it fired two employees of the Canadian Department of Public Works, Douglas Tipple and David Rotor. Tipple successfully grieved his termination before the Public Service Labour Relations Board, winning the largest […]
Litigation Value: Not much; yet. Kicking off Season 7, tonight’s premiere teaches us a valuable lesson — the perils of nepotism in the workplace. Nepotism in its simplest form is “favoritism” toward relatives, without regard to merit. Michael Scott’s misguided decision to employ his jackwagon of a nephew, Luke, as an office assistant illustrated nearly […]
by Mark I. Schickman You may have heard that California is going broke. As we look for more ways to generate revenue, one idea keeps cropping up: Move marijuana out of the underground economy and develop a new tax-generating agricultural product. Medical marijuana clubs have sprouted all over the state, and the November general election […]
Maybe not, according to a recent decision from the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case has many people wondering if reevaluation of the word “leave” in the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may be on the horizon. FMLA Complete Compliance Perception may be reality . . . In February 2007, Charlene Wisbey […]
By Bruce Grist and Derek Knoechel The transfer of employees from foreign-based companies to Canadian-based affiliates is an increasingly common feature of the Canadian labor market. Many employers are familiar with the often complicated process of obtaining the necessary work permits for such employees at the beginning of the transfer. However, ending the relationship between […]
Forgive me for repeating myself, but The Office was a repeat last night. Thankfully it was the last repeat before next week’s season premier, Thursday, Sept. 23 on NBC. Moving on. This was the episode where Jo sought to uncover who blew the whistle on Sabre’s faulty explosive printers. There really didn’t seem to be […]
by Susan Fahey Desmond Well, here it is — the Health Care Reform and Control Act. Beginning January 1, 2014, every individual will be required to have “minimum essential coverage” through individual market, employer-provided or certain other coverage (e.g., Medicare or CHIP). Also, beginning January 12, 2014, any employer who employed an average of 50 […]
By Tamara S. Killion Groom Law Group, Chartered On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. Among other things, the Act dramatically changes health insurance coverage, including employer-provided health insurance and employer-sponsored group health plans (together, “group health plans”). The law is complex and has many […]
By Gulu Punia and Kyla Stott-Jess When an employee is absent because of long-term disability, employers naturally wonder how long they must wait before the employment contract has been “frustrated.” If it has, the employment contract can be terminated. According to the recent Ontario decision of Naccarato v. Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd., however, the question […]