Month: June 2009

Want a Seat at ‘the Table’? Think Strategically

The managers in charge of the company’s most expensive asset—its employees—are often overlooked for the strategic management team. Want a seat at the table? Think strategically and demonstrate how meeting staffing and talent needs is critical to achieving strategic objectives. HR has long been viewed as a service-delivery function, say experts at HR.BLR.com®. HR expertise […]

Will Gender, National Origin Make a Difference in Sotomayor’s Jurisprudence? – Part 1

by James M. Sconzo and James C. Goodfellow Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court has triggered a classic clash of left versus right. Those speculating on how Judge Sotomayor might rule on key constitutional issues have characterized her as everything from a level-headed jurist who applies the law to the facts of the […]

Will Gender, National Origin Make a Difference in Sotomayor’s Jurisprudence? – Part 2

by James M. Sconzo and James C. Goodfellow Last week, we disussed the overall makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court and the personal background of the High Court’s newest nominee, Sonia Sotomayor. We also looked at Judge Sotomayor’s decision in the discrimination case filed by New Haven, Connecticut, firefighters which was recently overturned by the […]

Limits Placed on Videotaping Picket Line Activities

In October and November 2006, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 were on strike and picketing at Palace Casino, located at one of Canada’s largest malls — West Edmonton Mall. Striking union members pointed a video camera at the entrance of the casino, recording the image of everyone who crossed the […]

"Satisfactory" really means "poor," Your Honor.

There’s nothing quite like an untrained manager’s documentation. Yesterday’s Advisor presented attorney Allison West’s first four principles of “bulletproof documentation.” Today, we’ll see steps 5 through 7 of the bulletproofing process, and take a look at a unique new training program. West shared her seven principles for bulletproof documentation during a recent BLR® audio conference. West […]

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Firefighters in Reverse Discrimination Case

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, the high-profile discrimination case involving firefighters employed by the city of New Haven, Connecticut. In a 5-4 decision, the Court reversed the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in favor of New Haven. Essentially, the Supreme Court said the city improperly threw […]

Hot List: New York Times Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times on June 29. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. hy some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of Blink: The Power […]

Reminder: Sexual Harassment Training is Mandatory in California

California is one of only three states in the country that require mandatory sexual harassment prevention training for supervisors. Of those three—Connecticut and Maine are the other two—the rules for California employers are the most detailed. Failure to adequately train supervisors can become evidence in a lawsuit that an employer hasn’t taken “all reasonable and […]

‘Weak documentation … I find for plaintiff’

Documentation. It should be one of management’s easiest tasks, yet it’s often done poorly or not at all. And there’s nothing like inadequate documentation to derail the defense in an employee lawsuit. Attorney Allison West shared her seven principles for bulletproof documentation during a recent BLR® audio conference. West is a principal with Employment Practices […]