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Cost of drinks: $500 Litigation Value: $100,000 – $1,000,000 (depends on how seriously someone gets hurt and who it is) Watching the Drunken Debauchery: Priceless, but probably not worth the risk. The problem that caught my attention during the “Business” Trip episode of The Office was the company-sponsored drinking event that led to Andy and […]
Imagine this: One of your employees violates company policy and state law by disclosing confidential company records to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to buttress her discrimination charge. After learning about the activity, you fire the employee — who then sues you, claiming you retaliated against her for filing an EEOC charge. Does an […]
by Karen Sargeant Wondering if your company is a “best employer?” Canada’s Financial Post magazine recently identified Canada’s Top 10. The winners span the country. They include some of Canada’s best known companies, as well as some that are only well-known within their industry sector. The Financial Post contacted 16,000 private-sector employers to participate in […]
by Mark Schickman The historic Democratic Party election sweep is apt to have a major effect on America’s employment and labor policy. The policies promulgated by the Obama White House will receive a favorable reception from both houses of Congress. Here are some of those policies. Free HR Hero White Paper: What’s Next? Seven Possible […]
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) provides, at its core, reemployment rights for employees returning from military service and protection from employment discrimination following reemployment. Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit clarified that a qualified service member’s reemployment rights can’t be delayed or otherwise limited […]
Litigation Value: $50,000. In this week’s episode of The Office, Michael Scott is on camera calling Kelly Kapoor dusky and exotic, and then Dwight Schrute, the assistant to the regional manager, refers to her southern India birth before he threatens her. A jury somewhere will find against Dunder Mifflin for race discrimination. Of course, that […]
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. […]