Month: November 2010

South Dakota Voters Just Say No to Medical Marijuana

By Jane Pfeifle Though a similar measure was narrowly defeated in 2006, this year South Dakota resoundingly rejected Initiative 13, which called for the legalization of medical marijuana. As a result employers can breathe a sigh of relief because the measure raised numerous questions about how they might be called on to respond to employees […]

What Maine Election Results Mean for Employers

By Daniel C. Stockford While voters handily reelected both of Maine’s Democratic representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives, a sea change occurred at the state level as the governorship and the legislature apparently have switched from Democratic to Republican control. In a surprisingly close governor’s race, Republican Paul LePage appears to have narrowly held […]

Coloradans Reject Anti-Health Care Reform Initiative

By Tobie Hazard On Election Day, Colorado voters rejected Amendment 63, the Health Care Choice Act, which would have amended the Colorado Constitution to prohibit the state from requiring a person to obtain health care. The ballot initiative was intended to thwart President Barack Obama’s federal health care law signed last March, which requires almost […]

Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization

Sarah Hulsey, PHR, reviews Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization by David Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright, finding it insightful and a must-read for HR and management at all levels. It isn’t often that I read a business management book that I can’t stop talking about, but I absolutely loved […]

What Tennessee Election Results Mean for Employers

By John B. Phillips, Jr. After the midterm elections, Tennessee’s congressional delegation will be made up of seven Republicans and two Democrats, a net gain of two seats for the GOP. Tuesday’s election continues Tennessee’s move toward a solid-red Republican state. Both U.S. Senators are Republicans, though neither was up for election this year. In […]

‘I need FMLA—I’m his father in loco parentis’

Who’s a son or daughter under FMLA? Not as easy a question as it might appear to be. And the flip side—who’s a parent is equally murky. Fortunately, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has clarified the situation somewhat. It’s not that hard to determine family relationships when there’s a biological or legal relationship, […]

Accommodation of Family Status on Same Footing as Other Human Rights

by Ralph Nero and Ida Martin Do parents of young children have the right to refuse a geographic transfer? In the case of three employees at the Canadian National Railway (CNR), the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) has recently answered “yes.” Last month, the CHRT released three decisions dealing with three CNR employees, Cindy Richards, […]

Timekeeping—If It’s So Simple, Why So Many Lawsuits?

In yesterday’s Advisor, we offered tips for managing the basics of HR legal issues. Today, the rest of the tips and an introduction to a program specially designed for smaller or even one-person HR departments. Once again, a tip of the Advisor hat to attorneys John K. Skousen and Christopher J. Boman, partners at the […]

Hot List: Wall Street Journal’s Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the Wall Street Journal with data from Nielsen BookScan on November 1. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? […]