Month: October 2014

Do You Train Supervisors to Make Good Decisions?

  A decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa shows how far some former employees will reach to stretch their termination into some legal claim against their employer. More important, though, it underscores the importance that training and supervisor/manager competence can play in protecting employers from spurious legal claims. Background […]

Voters in four states to decide on minimum wage hikes

Voters in four states—Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota—will decide on minimum wage increases when they go to the polls on November 4, and Illinois voters will make their opinion on the issue known in a nonbinding vote. Information on state ballot measures from Ballotpedia indicates: Voters will decide whether to increase Alaska’s minimum wage from […]

Halloween tips to avoid a total nightmare

It’s that time of year again. Time for Halloween and all the candy, cheesy ghost stories, and inappropriate costumes that come with it. While Halloween can be fun and exciting, the fallout for employers can be all fright. Office Parties. While workplace costume parties can lighten the mood in the office, employers should be proactive […]

Insuring long-term disability insurance

by Richard E. Johnston In Canada, benefit plans are subject to legislation related to income tax, human rights, and employment standards. However, there is little specific regulation of benefit plans other than pension plans. A key exception is the provision of long-term disability benefits that are not funded under an insurance contract—at least for federally […]

Will City Slickers Give You Your Next Big Idea?

Among my favorite movies is the 1991 film City Slickers. Billy Crystal plays radio ad salesman Mitch Robbins, who is having a bit of a midlife crisis. Mitch and his two best friends decide to leave New York City to spend 2 weeks on a cattle drive in the Southwest. It’s there that Mitch meets […]

Train Employees to Conquer Their Fears

Just in time for Halloween, a survey by Accountemps reports on what frightens employees. According to the results, 28 percent of respondents said making a mistake on the job is their biggest workplace fear. Workers were asked, “Which one of the following is your greatest workplace fear?” Here are their responses: Making errors on the […]

Health Care Reform Mandates: Impending Dates

The next three months are crunch time. Employers have to get moving on several deadlines, most of them required under health care reform. Some reform rules should have taken effect in 2014, but were subject to the year-long delay instituted by the Obama administration. Health Plan Identifiers Nov. 5, 2014 is the deadline for large group […]