Month: May 2014

Illinois employers need to prepare for same-sex marriage law

Illinois’ same-sex marriage law, which was passed last fall, is set to take effect June 1. The new law will affect Illinois employers in various ways. Employers will need to treat same-sex spouses the same way they treat opposite-sex spouses. This will have ramifications for employer-sponsored health plans with spousal coverage and retirement plans. Also, […]

Do You Include Autism in Your Diversity Training?

Patty Pacelli, author of the book, Six Word Lessons for Autism Friendly Workplaces, gives us her expert insight into the employer benefits from becoming an autism-friendly workplace. Her book addresses issues including disability laws, reasonable accommodations, unwritten social expectations, and the best and worst jobs for people on the autism spectrum. Pacelli says that with […]

Bravo!

No, he wasn’t in a production of “Batman the Musical,” but an actor did a damn good job of thwarting the impact of a workplace accident that could have injured others.

NLRB invites briefs on case concerning use of employer’s e-mail system

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is inviting interested parties to file briefs in a case that could overrule a decision that allows employers to restrict employees’ use of their electronic communication systems. On April 30, the NLRB issued its decision in Purple Communications, Inc. That decision notes that on October 24, 2013, an administrative […]

Employee: ‘Survey Says I’m Underpaid’

“I’m grossly underpaid as these surveys show,” says your employee as he or she comes down the hall armed with a pile of downloaded survey data. Consultant Barry L. Brown, SPHR, CCP, has a plan for blunting these attacks. Of course, it may be that your compensation program is flawed, but it’s more likely that […]

Why the Trend Toward Variable Performance Pay?

“Employers want to end the entitlement mentality of across-the-board increases and move to a pay-for-performance mentality,” says consultant Teri Morning, MBA, MS, SPHR, SPHR-CA. “Organizations are looking for less expensive, less permanent solutions, such as lump sum payments, bonuses, or just paying top performers,” she adds. Increasingly, employers are less averse to withholding merit increases […]

Limiting an arbitrator’s jurisdiction to modify last chance agreements

By Mohamed Badreddine Last chance agreements are a tool commonly used by workplace parties in Canada to give an employee accused of serious or repeated misconduct one last chance to keep his or her job. These agreements are sometimes used to manage an employee’s absenteeism, poor job performance, or drug or alcohol addiction. They may […]

Train Your People to Avoid Age Discrimination

Q. Who is covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)? A. The ADEA covers all employers with 20 employees or more and applies to all employees and job applicants aged 40 or over. Q. What employment actions are prohibited by the ADEA? A. The ADEA prohibits age discrimination in any term or condition […]