Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Brian Smeenk What if one of your employees reports to you he is very upset about what a coworker (“John”) wrote in a social networking web site about their boss? The statements are false and injure the boss’ reputation. If seen widely, they would be hurtful to the boss’ family. You are shown the […]
Cost of Trips: $800 Potential Exposure for Out-of-Office Accidents: $25,000 per employee Litigation value for Dunder Mifflin’s missteps: $0. This has to be some kind of record. For the fourth week in a row on The Office, we have a new episode in which no one at Dunder Mifflin did anything to put the company […]
Employers face a real challenge in meeting client and customer needs when staff members take time off work under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) or ask for extensive disability accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). But what’s already a difficult situation can become downright aggravating when you have reason to believe […]
by Brian Smeenk On October 9, 2008, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in RBC Dominion Securities v. Merrill Lynch Canada. The court restored an award of approximately $1.5 million in damages against a branch manager who had coordinated the defection of almost all his branch’s sales group from RBC to Merrill Lynch. […]
Litigation Value: $0. Shockingly, I don’t think Dunder Mifflin can be held liable for any conduct in the “Crime Aid” episode of The Office. That doesn’t mean I think it’s advisable for Michael Scott and Holly to be messing around at work, for Phyllis to auction off sexual favors (“hugs”), or for Dwight to point […]
by John Vering On Oct. 3, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ reported that over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed has increased by 2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points. Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 159,000 in September and thus far in 2008, payroll employment has […]
by Tony Puckett Recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new guidance on religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also issued two other sets of materials addressing religious discrimination: “Questions and Answers: Religious Discrimination in the Workplace” and “Best Practices for Eradicating Religious Discrimination in the Workplace.” […]
by Mark Schickman Look around your workplace, and you will see baby boomers who are rethinking their retirement plans. They have had their anniversary date in 2010 circled on their calendars for a decade, they have bought their retirement condo, and they have calculated the rate of investment return that allows their retirement fund to […]
by Brian Smeenk Employers with operations in Canada may well ask: “What’s going on up there? What will Canada’s federal election mean for business? How is the world financial crisis playing out there?” It would appear that the most accurate answer to these questions, at this time at least, would be a typically understated Canadian […]
by Kara Shea I’m often asked to give advice about whether employees are exempt from the overtime requirements of federal law. I have to say that it’s a pretty easy call about 70 percent of the time. But then there’s that troubling 30 percent of jobs that give my clients (and, truth be told, yours […]