Month: May 2008
Prepare Your 20-Something Employees for Career Success
Just My E-pinion By Guest Columnist Alexandra Levit If, as shown on TV’s “60 Minutes last week, you’re perplexed by the differences new 20-something employees display from Baby Boomers in their job behaviors, you’re not alone. But don’t despair. Because author, business conference speaker, and Huffington Post advice columnist Alexandra Levit, an expert on Generation […]
Hunter Caught a Cougar
LITIGATION VALUE: $200,000 (should Hunter lose interest in Jan and sue); $30,000+ (in emotional distress for those who had to witness Jan’s “love dance”). You know it’s a funny episode when you laugh out loud, even though you are all by yourself — and you’ve seen it before! For the second time, “Dinner Party” does not disappoint. Tonight’s […]
Ban on Gay Marriage Ruled Unconstitutional in California
In a divided 4-3 ruling, the California Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional state laws limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples.1 The case arose out of San Francisco’s move, back in 2004, to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. The decision was immediately challenged, and the California Supreme Court ruled then that the marriages were […]
Two New U.S. Supreme Court Rulings May Mean More Retaliation Suits
The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down two new rulings that give employees more leeway when suing employers for retaliation based on race and age.
Dealing with Difficult People
Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka reviews the book Dealing with Difficult People, from the Results Driven Manager series published by Harvard Business School. Review covers three of book’s best tips for managers for dealing with employees. Ever see those business book paperbacks in airport concession stands? You know, the ones in the metal racks that […]
‘It’s not in my job description!’ 5 Positives–and 3 Negatives–of Job Descriptions
Job descriptions are the basis for so much of what we do in HR, yet—if we’re not careful—they can also be the basis for severe and expensive problems. Today, the accent is on the positive. Tomorrow? Well, we’ll see. Susan M. Heathfield, HR consultant and speaker, shares her five positives and three negatives of job […]
Supreme Court Recognizes 2 New Retaliation Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in separate decisions that retaliation is prohibited under two federal discrimination statutes that don’t clearly say so — 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and the federal-sector provisions of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries In the first case, a Cracker Barrel assistant manager sued […]
New Limits Placed on ‘Bad Faith’ Damages in Terminations
by Helen Gray McCarthy Tetrault A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal places new limits on a trial judge’s ability to award damages for conduct on the part of an employer during the termination process that is said to amount to “bad faith.” While it’s an Ontario decision, it can be expected to […]
Understand Workers’ Applications for Permanent Residence
By Naseem Malikand Daniel Pugen McCarthy Tetrault Let’s say you are the human resources director for a Canadian-based operation with affiliates in other countries. One of your numerous responsibilities is to manage the company’s temporary foreign workers, including Americans, in Canada. A challenge you face is handling retention issues with some foreign workers. Given their […]