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Negative Blogs: Your Story or Theirs?

No matter what you do, your company is going to be featured on blogs, says Alison Davis. “So you have a choice as a company—either you lay out the story from your perspective, or you let someone else write it.” Davis, a communications consultant, recommends a thorough and proactive approach to social media on the […]

Republicans Block Controversial NLRB Nominee Craig Becker

On Tuesday, U.S. Senate Republicans (along with two Democrats) used a filibuster to block Craig Becker’s nomination to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In a 52-33 vote, the Democrats fell short of the 60 votes needed to end the Senate debate on Becker’s nomination and move to a final vote. Senators Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) […]

Court Clarifies Standards for Mixed-Motive Claims

“Mixed-motive” discrimination claims are among the most confusing kinds of employment cases. A mixed-motive bias claim occurs when an employee alleges that bias was one of the reasons that the employee was terminated or suffered some other kind of adverse employment action. In these cases, the employer asserts that there was a legitimate reason for […]

Virginia Senate Passes Sexual Orientation Bias Protection for State Workers

by Michael E. Barnsback On Monday, February 8, the Virginia Senate passed a bill (SB 66) prohibiting discrimination in state employment that includes sexual orientation as a protected category. Although Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine issued executive orders prohibiting discrimination (including sexual orientation discrimination) in the state workforce, this is the first time that […]

Social Media: Your Best Offense or Your Best Defense?

Social media usage is coming like a tidal wave, and employers need to be thinking about their offense—how to present themselves online—and their defense—how to respond to negative expressions about their company on blogs and rant sites. Alison Davis, a communications consultant, recommends a thorough and proactive approach. Davis is CEO of Davis & Company […]

What Happens When Child Care and Work Conflict – More Guidance for Employers

By Ralph Nero and Ida Martin As we reported last week, decision makers across Canada are struggling with the meaning of discrimination on the basis of family status. Last week we looked at a Human Rights Tribunal decision out of British Columbia. This week we look at a recent Ontario arbitration decision, Re Power Stream […]

Smart Managers, Dumb Moves

In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered several common legal but stupid actions that managers think are smart. Today, we’ll hit a few more, and we’ll take a look at a unique HR audit system that ferrets out stupid moves before the feds do. (Go here for legal but stupid moves 1 through 3.) 4. Auto-Deducting for […]

Hot List: New York Times Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times on February 8. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. hy some people succeed — it has to do with luck and opportunities as well as talent — from the author of Blink: The Power […]

Legal, Yes, But Stupid

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and that goes for many managers who think they know all about employment law. Unfortunately, there are a lot of actions that may be technically legal, but practically stupid. Here are some of management’s favorite legal but stupid actions: 1. Firing At-Will Employees for No Reason […]

Courage Is Critical at Work

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by those you did.” Mark Twain Ever find yourself at work wondering whether or not to speak up in a meeting? You have an idea that you think might really make a difference, but you’re unsure how it might […]