Tag: Employment law

Beware of Union-Organizing Pitfalls

On October 14, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that the number of union organizing petitions filed from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024, increased nearly 30% from the same period the year before and more than doubled from the same period in 2021. Why Have Union Certification Petitions Increased? A significant […]

‘Rethinking’ Training: Consider a Cognitive Spin

I just finished reading Magic Words: What to Say to Get Your Way, by Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at the Wharton School of Business. It’s especially useful to HR professionals, who are often tasked with training duties and helping improve employee performance. Here are three training gems Berger offers. Gem #1: Leverage the Power […]

Agencies Issue Health Plan Guidance: Preventive Services, Contraception, Cybersecurity

Recently, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor (DOL), and Treasury proposed new regulations aimed at promoting access to contraception. Separately, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and DOL recently published additional pieces of guidance affecting health plans. Self-funded health plan sponsors in particular should review these proposed rules and recent notices and determine […]

Ask the Expert: Could Bereavement Leave Be Covered by the FMLA?

Question: An employee who has been approved for intermittent Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave to care for his mother is asking for two days off to bring his mother to his cousin’s funeral in another state. Would this also be covered under the FMLA? Answer: The employee may be covered under their FMLA […]

How to Deal with Backlash While Still Achieving DEI Goals

Not so long ago, employers enthusiastically touted their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. But then the backlash set in. A growing number of employers–bowing to pressure from people opposed to what they see as “woke” policies–are dismantling their programs or at least being low-key about them. So now, many employers are exploring how they […]

Second Trump Administration Will Target Workforce Agencies

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to make major changes to the federal government in his second term, including an overhaul of the workforce enforcement agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor (DOL). EEOC The EEOC currently has three Democratic members including Chair Charlotte Burrows and one Republican, Andrea […]

Trump Administration Likely to Bring Fundamental Changes in Government

Donald Trump and the Republicans’ sweeping victory promises to bring equally sweeping changes to the federal government. Let’s examine the likely impact of the new administration on each of the major workplace agencies, from personnel to policies, regulations to enforcement. Although there are many uncertainties among the numerous campaign pledges, one certainty is this: The […]

Corporate Transparency Act Halted

A federal judge in Texas has instituted a nationwide injunction, halting the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its associated reporting rule, which required “reporting companies” to submit reports to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) detailing the identity of each beneficial owner of the reporting company by January 1, 2025. In Texas Top […]

Good Job Interview? Here’s How to Help Seal the Deal!

Great interview! This is the job for you! Now what? Be strategic and thoughtful, as Art Markman suggests in his insightful article “4 Ways to Follow Up After a Job Interview,” published on November 5, 2020, in the Harvard Business Review. Four Options Always remember that your focus must be on the person who interviewed […]

Tackle This Simpler HR Checklist in the New Year

New Year’s resolutions: Be they professional or personal, simplistic or life-altering, the beginning of the year affords a fantastic—albeit arbitrary—opportunity to effectuate change. Whatever. I’m not great about keeping New Year’s resolutions. I make them. Usually. Sort of. Sometimes I even pick them back up mid-year, but usually they go dormant long before it warms […]