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The recent decline in financial markets has caused Canadian pension plans to become significantly underfunded. For instance, in Québec close to 97 percent of all defined benefit pension plans are currently underfunded. As this continues, many employers may look for ways to reduce pension costs or at least offset increases of those costs. Such losses […]
Time magazine is running a feature about The Office and NBC’s invitation for viewers to send in photos of hijinks in their own workspaces, like those often featured on the show. Some of the pranks featured on the show have been hilarious. From simple things like Jim enveloping Dwight’s stapler in Jello, to more complicated things like […]
ACME Insurance Company employs 500 employees and managers at its Toronto head office. They work in a pleasant, some might even say tranquil, office environment. In the 50-year history of the company, there has never been any hint of violent behavior in the workplace. To the contrary, some people find it too quiet there. Bawring, […]
Alexander Passantino’s advice to the lovelorn may not be the makings of the next Sex and the City show, but his pen holds serious sway with hipsters of the payroll specialist in crowd. Alex is the acting administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD). As the grand oracle of […]
Litigation Value: $50,000 (per Buffalo branch employee); $200,000 for various hostile work environment claims. “Company Picnic,” the season’s final episode, was a good one. Unfortunately, that also means that Dunder Mifflin is on the hook for several claims from some of its employees. One might think that the wrongful conduct took place at the volleyball […]
by David Micah Kaufman Like many of us, several of my friends have recently suffered vocational dislocation (no matter what we name it, losing a job is still a tragedy). One of these friends called me a few weeks ago and told me he had landed a position as a independent contractor for a financial […]
A little-known provision of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) makes treatment by a chiropractor different from treatment by almost any other health care provider. Let’s take a closer look at that provision. HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 topics, including FMLA What FMLA says about chiropractors The […]
By Leanne Fioravanti and Stephen Acker In these tough financial times, a number of companies are trying to reorganize themselves in order to avoid insolvency or bankruptcy. In Canada, there are several laws that help facilitate this process: the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA). For the most part, […]
by Al Vreeland What could be more noxious to the American soul than an assault on motherhood? We all have a mother (though some might question the genetic origin of lawyers). Many of us return to her apron strings when we need reassurance that we haven’t become fat and stupid (or at least completely so). […]
One of the clearest indications of an administration’s priorities is the budget and the amount of funding provided to various programs. Budgets always have winners and losers and reflect the degree to which programs will be implemented. A review of President Barack Obama’s proposed budget and recent agency actions demonstrates that increased enforcement of labor […]