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Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis

President-Elect Barack Obama has chosen former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle as his Secretary of Health and Human Services and health care czar. Daschle lays out his ideas about how to fix the ailing U.S. health care system in his book Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis, which was published in February […]

What You Must Do Now—FMLA Notice and Certification

Yesterday’s Advisor covered policy revisions required by the new FMLA regs. Today we’ll look at changes required in notice and certification procedures, and we’ll introduce the complete guide to the new regs. Some of the biggest changes in the final FMLA regulations were to the provisions for FMLA notice and medical certification. General Notice Obligations […]

Amazon’s Best Management and Leadership Books of 2008

Trying to think of a good stocking stuffer for someone you know (or yourself)? The powers that be at Amazon.com have put together their “Best of 2008” lists. Here are their editor’s choices for best management and leadership books. 1. The Management Gurus: Lessons from the Best Management Books of All Time by Chris Lauer. […]

IRS Lowers Standard Mileage Rate for 2009

The IRS standard-mileage-reimbursement rate for 2009 will be 55 cents per mile for all business miles driven, down from the rate of 58.5 cents a mile that was in effect in the second half of 2008. The IRS had made a special adjustment for the second half of 2008 in response to a spike in […]

New FMLA Rules—Steps to Take Now

Yes, many of the changes to the FMLA will help employers in the long run, but in the meantime, it’s a hassle—the feds didn’t allot much time for putting the new rules into effect. Here’s what BLR editors recommend you do first. Family Military Leave: Add and Revise Policy Provisions The National Defense Authorization Act […]

“Day Without a Gay” Nationwide Protest May Result in Work Shortage

Some gay rights advocates are calling for “A Day Without a Gay” protest and boycott across the United States on Wednesday, December 10, to show opposition to California’s Proposition 8 and to show the power of the gay and lesbian community. Organizers are encouraging people to strike by “calling in gay” to work, taking the […]

What do recent changes in the Canadian Parliament mean for businesses?

by Brian Smeenk Much has been happening on the political front in Canada in the past two weeks. It has kept us spellbound, but all the politics has certainly not advanced the government’s economic agenda. On Monday, December 1, the three opposition parties in the federal Parliament announced that they had formed a coalition and […]

Canadian Employer Avoids Prior Severance Promises

by Karen Sargeant During these tough economic times, employers are often looking to increase flexibility. Several of our recent blog entries have discussed ways in which employers can do so – furloughs, work-sharing programs, changing employment contracts, and adjusting the size of the workforce. Recently, the British Columbia Court of Appeal granted Raytheon Canada some […]

Are ‘Stealth’ Violations Lurking in Your Selection Standards?

Employers with the best of intentions can get tripped up by “stealth” violations of testing discrimination laws, says Fay Hansen, blogging on the Workforce Management website. Fay Hansen points out several situations in which employers get into trouble with their testing. Jobs change The first stealth problem is simply that jobs change. In today’s work […]

That’s What She Said named to ABA Journal’s Blawg 100

For the second year in a row, we’ve been selected as one of the ABA Journal’s Blawg 100, a list of the 100 best blogs for lawyers as chosen by the editors of the ABA Journal, the flagship magazine of the American Bar Association. They’re running a contest to determine which blawgs are the most […]