Month: February 2011

Independent Contractors Considered Workers for Health and Safety Purposes

By Rosalind Cooper Feb 21, 2011 Northern Exposure

Updated: Feb 21, 2011

By Rosalind Cooper For years employers across Canada have struggled with the difference between independent contractors and employees. Individuals believed to be independent contractors are often classified as employees after their relationship ends, leading to liability for employment-related severance and other amounts. The courts, human rights tribunals, and other administrative tribunals are constantly grappling with […]

You Violated a Safety Rule—Comp or No Comp?

By Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR Feb 21, 2011 Benefits and Compensation

Updated: Feb 21, 2011

In yesterday’s Advisor, we looked at two informative comp cases. Today, another case, plus an introduction to the one-stop, online HR problem solver, HR.BLR.com. If you violated a safety rule and were injured, do you get workers’ compensation? When Peter Mars first joined Bowman Company as a machine operator, his supervisor, Jim Larson, gave him […]

Expert Gives Tips on Preventing Intermittent Leave Abuse

By Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR Feb 21, 2011 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Feb 21, 2011

This content was originally published in January 2010. For the latest FMLA regulation changes, visit our FMLA article archives or try our practical FMLA compliance guide. Barbara Dahlen, Human Resources manager for Bellefontaine Habilitation Center in St. Louis, Missouri, knows a few things about preventing intermittent leave abuse. As a speaker at a recent seminar […]

Relationships 101

By Dan Oswald Feb 21, 2011 Oswald Letter

Updated: Feb 21, 2011

No, I’m not here to talk about your love life. I’ve been married for 23 years and I would never presume to have the least bit of insight to share with you regarding that topic. And my wife would gladly confirm that if I did provide any advice, you’d be best to ignore it! I’d […]

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

By Resources for Humans Feb 21, 2011 HR Management & Compliance

Updated: Feb 21, 2011

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the Wall Street Journal with data from Nielsen BookScan. 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? Do you feel […]

It Can Pay to Challenge Assumptions

By Diversity Insight Feb 20, 2011 Diversity & Inclusion

Updated: Feb 20, 2011

By J. Robert Brame Social critics routinely criticize Western culture as being racist, sexist, xenophobic, and more recently, ageist and “lookist,” the latter being the widely asserted preference within our society for the more attractive over the less attractive, especially regarding women. Some of these “problems,” including racism, xenophobia, and ageism, have been enshrined in […]

National Origin Discrimination and English-Only Rules

By Diversity Insight Feb 20, 2011 Diversity & Inclusion

Updated: Feb 20, 2011

By Troy D. Thompson In fiscal year (FY) 2009, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) received 11,134 charges involving claims of national origin discrimination ― an approximate 57 percent increase since 1999. Although the EEOC has not yet disclosed its statistics for FY 2010, all indications are that these claims continue to rise. Given that […]

EEOC Complaints Reach All-Time High

By Diversity Insight Feb 20, 2011 Diversity & Inclusion

Updated: Feb 20, 2011

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency responsible for the enforcement of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, recently released its statistical data on fiscal year 2010 filings. The data indicated that workplace discrimination complaints against private sector firms reached an all-time high in 2010. The Commission reported that filings with the federal agency […]

Employee’s own testimony sinks her case

By Diversity Insight Feb 20, 2011 Diversity & Inclusion

Updated: Feb 20, 2011

By Richard L. Rainey We often tell clients that not all lawsuits are filed because an employee has evidence of discrimination or believes she was discriminated against. Rather, sometimes they’re filed because the employee thinks she was treated unfairly. That concept is illustrated in a recent case out of Durham. Background Iretha Lawrence, an African […]