Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is an important and ongoing strategy of any HR plan. Ensuring that your company supports hiring, engaging, and retaining diverse workers with varied backgrounds will set your company up for long-term success and an increased bottom line. This topic offers the latest strategies for talent management, key insights from diversity leaders, case studies on D&I in the workplace, and more.
by Susan G. Fentin I’m old enough to remember a time when sexual harassment wasn’t illegal, in the era before the courts began to apply Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to such claims. I have vivid memories of getting a “back rub” from a manager in the small office where I […]
by Andy Rodman Q My company is having difficulty attracting qualified candidates for high-tech positions. We’re considering implementing a referral bonus policy, under which a current employee would be paid $500 for referring a candidate who is hired. Is this type of policy legal? A There is nothing inherently illegal about a referral bonus policy. […]
by Maggie LeBato and H. Mark Adams Both federal and state laws prohibit employers from discriminating against employees because of their religion. The courts have further ruled that the prohibition against religious discrimination requires you to accommodate your employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs unless it would cause undue hardship to your business. You might assume, […]
On March 24, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released unemployment numbers showing that the 2014 unemployment rate among military veterans dropped to its lowest point since 2008. Employers’ recognition of the strengths that veterans bring to the workforce is at least one factor for this drop in unemployment. […]
by Rick Morgan Today’s current events are rife with bad news. The despicable and senseless murders at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, do not end at the doors of this historical house of worship. The event, however, does bring into focus an issue that our country and workplaces continue to wrestle with on […]
As the nation’s military continues its downsizing phase and unemployment statistics for veterans remain significant, attention is turning to efforts intended to help veterans find jobs. Civilian employers have been focusing on ways to recruit former service members, and more than a handful of states have passed laws in recent months to allow employers to […]
by Ryan B. Frazier The legal landscape related to sexual orientation and gender identity has been shifting in recent years. The impact of same-sex marriage on employers and other topics involving homosexual employees and their partners have been featured in previous issues of this newsletter. Recent lawsuits and statements by key governmental officials have now […]
by Dinita L. James Last July, the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The focus rightly was on how far we have come as a society in eliminating discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. Close on the heels of that celebration, however, recent […]
by Kaitlin L. Hillenbrand Q One of our employees recently told the HR director that she “prays for death every night.” Is there anything we are legally required to do in response? A A condition that causes an employee to become suicidal may be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In that case, […]
by Charles S. Plumb On Monday, June 1, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and against Abercrombie & Fitch Stores Inc. in a religious discrimination lawsuit involving a Muslim job applicant at its Tulsa store. In some ways, the Supreme Court’s decision may have the unintended result […]