Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Nancy M. Cooper clarified part-time and temp status; today, her tips for avoiding related lawsuits, plus an introduction to the 50×50, the handy all-in-one compendium of state laws for HR managers. Cooper chairs the labor and employment practice group at law firm Garvey Schubert Barer in Portland, Oregon. Her tips came […]
By Mara Cherkasky A former customer service representative who suffers from irritable bowel syndrome and claims she was harassed by her bosses and eventually fired for seeking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act may move forward with her lawsuit, a federal court has ruled. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of […]
Religious employers are protected from discrimination claims made by their own ministers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Jan. 11. In its first ruling addressing the ministerial exception that is often read into the U.S. Constitution, the Court determined that “there is such a ministerial exception,” and that it bars ministers from bringing employment discrimination […]
GINA is, of course, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, says attorney Peter Lowe, and you do care about GINA and Facebook, because Facebook pages are likely to reveal prohibited genetic information. What is GINA: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act prohibits employers from collecting genetic information or discriminating based on genetic information. Genetic information includes information […]
Is that right? You can’t prohibit employees from saying bad things online, yet you also can’t allow them to say good things? To some extent, that’s true, says attorney Peter Lowe. Lowe, who is a partner at Brann & Isaacson in Lewiston, Maine, offered his tips at the BLR’s Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently […]
Top brass may have the last word when it comes to adverse actions. But even comments made by lower-level managers — including those in human resources — may be used to support the kind of discrimination claim that often follows in the highly emotional climate following a layoff. A recent appeals court ruling in a […]
Clever unionizing tactics such as changing independent contractors to employees and presenting employers with package deals are part of the new labor landscape, says attorney David Fortney. Fortney is a co-founder of law firm Fortney & Scott, LLC in Washington, DC, and is editor of Federal Employment Law Insider. He made his remarks about new […]
Some managers want the productivity losses from social media activity at work to be a tricky “social media” issue, but it’s not, says attorney Molly DiBianca. “It’s a simple management issue, just like somebody taking too many cigarette breaks. The supervisor or manager has to enforce rules and impose discipline if necessary.” DiBianca, who is […]
Social media. It’s affecting—or is that infecting—a lot of HR’s territory from recruiting to productivity to community. In today’s Advisor, attorney Margaret (Molly) DiBianca sorts out the key elements for your social media policy. DiBianca, who is with Young, Conaway Stargatt & Taylor LLP in Wilmington, Delaware, offered her tips at the BLR’s Advanced Employment […]
California lawmakers stayed busy throughout the year, passing a number of new wage, hour, leave and anti-discrimination laws. Here, in no particular order, are some of the biggies that go into effect Jan. 1: Pregnancy Disability Leave All employers with five or more employees will be required, starting Jan. 1, to continue to maintain and […]