Tag: Employment law

Do Your Benefit Plans Violate the ADEA?

by Stephen Stine We aren’t getting any younger, and neither are your employees. As a result, employers are increasingly having to confront age-related issues that may lead to legal liability. These issues arise not only in the context of hiring and firing decisions but also in the design of benefit plans. To ensure your benefit […]

Medical Marijuana Compassionate Use Laws Among 2010 Legislative Actions

by Lorraine Yeomans The 2010 state legislative sessions have kicked off across the nation, and one of the first pieces of legislation to be signed into law this year was a bill legalizing the use of medical marijuana. On January 18, as one of his last acts before leaving office, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine […]

Religious Accommodation Versus Gender Equality

By Dominique Launay In the province of Quebec, a woman was asked to leave two different French classes in Montreal. The woman, a recent immigrant from Egypt, refused to remove her face cover. After being allowed to sit at the front of the class (so all men were behind her) and make presentations with her […]

Diabolical Laughter

This week’s episode was another repeat, and it was just as cringe-worthy as the first time it aired. Doug Hall did a fabulous job covering this episode in first run, so I’ll just use this space to talk about an issue that has been ongoing since the very first episode of the series: the personality clash […]

Alcoholism and ADA, FMLA Liability:What Employers Need to Know

by Brian Burbrink According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 17.6 million people — about one in 12 adults — abuse alcohol. Based on the statistics, odds are good that one or more of your employees suffers from alcoholism and may need treatment. The case illustrations below provide insight into avoiding liability […]

Calculating How Much FMLA Leave an Employee Has Available

As we all know, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period. Employers are allowed to define the 12-month period any way they wish — much like they are entitled to define the seven-day period that comprises a workweek […]

Working Notice: Is It Right for You?

By Hadiya Roderique Despite signs of a recovering economy, Canadian employers are still looking for ways to downsize operations and minimize human resources expenses. One cost-effective manner is to give working notice when terminating an employee. What is working notice? Working notice is an alternative to paying out a lump sum upon dismissal. The employee […]

A Tale of Two Repeats

Litigation Value: Very Little.  Destination Wedding = $25,000; Niagara Falls Ceremony after Escaping Wedding = $100; Diapering Angela’s Cat = Priceless. Given that last night consisted of two repeats, two of my colleagues have already done a wonderful job of covering issues raised by the Dunder Mifflin gang’s antics last night. Although last night’s episodes did […]

How Texting Can Get You into Trouble at Work

Has texting grown up enough to become a corporate communications tool? Are your employees using their company-provided phone, PDA, or smartphone to send text messages? HR professionals, IT leaders, and other executives are pondering the above questions at the moment. Text messaging is becoming more mainstream. Workers who came to maturity in the age of […]