Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The decision in Quinn v. St. Louis Co. illuminates a fine line for employers. While eligible workers must be granted unpaid time off for qualifying serious health conditions under the FMLA, the court showed that interference must have material consequences – such as actual denial of time off – for employees to make a convincing […]
The U.S. government is sharpening its whistleblower protection program, hiring and training more OSHA agents to cultivate employee complaints against their companies. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) wants to increase the number of “whistleblower managers,” who work with disgruntled employees to dig up dirt on companies for alleged violations of workplace laws. Their work […]
Alleging that a supervisor exacerbated an employee’s pre-existing health condition is not a valid theory of liability under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled. The issue of serious health conditions covered by the FMLA causes human resources professionals some confusion. But as the 7th Circuit’s decision in […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney Mindy Chapman offered her take on e-mail dangers in the workplace. Today, her 10 sins of e-mail writers, plus an introduction to a unique CD collection of pre-written HR policies. Chapman, a popular speaker and consultant and president of Mindy Chapman & Assocates LLC, offered her tips at the recent SHRM […]
‘Innocent’ little e-mails and text messages can cost companies billions, wreck promising careers (of politicians and HR managers), and cause untold hassles. In today’s Advisor, attorney Mindy Chapman sorts out the issues. Chapman, a popular speaker and consultant and president of Mindy Chapman & Assocates LLC, offered her tips at the recent SHRM Annual Convention […]
An employer’s desire to quickly fire an employee can drag it into violating labor laws. Recently, the firing of an employee for misusing 20 minutes of family medical leave led to conclusions that the firing was retaliation for union activity. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided to uphold an NLRB […]
An employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by firing five employees who complained on Facebook — off-hours — about their jobs, an administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held. So the employer must do penance by rehiring them and making them whole for any loss of earnings and other […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, Sir Richard Branson riffed on HR and management. Today, Arianna Huffington and Michael J. Fox echo some of Sir Richard’s ideas and add a few of their own. Huffington (of Huffington Post fame) posits three basic instincts in the pursuit of happiness—survival, sex, and power—and adds a fourth—doing something for others. That […]
Sir Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, and Michael J. Fox all spoke at the recent SHRM Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas—and each had a few timely hints for HR Managers: Sir Richard Branson, the British entrepreneur who has started about 300 companies, doesn’t think much of American policies regarding flextime and vacations. He calls the […]
As the earthquake that shook Washington, D.C., area today demonstrates, damage to your primary place of business can occur suddenly and without warning. Having a crisis management plan on the ready is essential to minimizing the interruption to your business. The business continuity plan improves the company’s capacity to return to business, thereby minimizing financial […]