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by Kathryn M. Grigg Although employers may want to avoid the uncomfortable topic with employees, you can’t avoid your legal obligations to an employee’s former spouse postdivorce. For a period of time after a divorce, you’re required to offer health insurance continuation and conversion benefits to an employee’s former spouse and dependents. Here’s a summary […]
2014 dawned with reports that employee turnover would reach critical mass during this year. Salary.com’s annual “January Job Hunters” survey claimed that employees were in many ways more satisfied with their jobs than in years past, but a whopping 83 percent of the people surveyed said they planned to look for a new job during […]
by Peter Lowe Internal workplace investigations turn sour for a variety of reasons, including haste, poor preparation, ineffective documentation, and a lack of investigatory skills. But in my experience, the biggest obstacle to fair and thorough investigations is the bias of the investigator. When an investigator starts out with a preconceived notion of guilt or […]
What do billionaires Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and David Geffen have in common besides having achieved extraordinary success in business? The answer to that question for some employers is: They’re unemployable. None of those business greats earned a bachelor’s degree. The value of a college degree is often debated among employers, but many now are […]
by Brian R. Garrison The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been focusing its attention on policies in nonunion companies’ employee handbooks, finding certain policies violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by restricting employees’ ability to engage in protected concerted activity. Continuing that trend, the NLRB recently found that work rules barring employees from […]
The 2014 wave of college graduates has hit the employment shore, providing employers with a flood of eager applicants ready to put their newly acquired skills to work. But are they landing on solid ground or shifting sand? Some statistics indicate the terrain is more stable than in recent years, but the road is still […]
by Robert M. Vercruysse In February 2014, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) once again announced that it was going to change the rules for Board-conducted elections. This time, there is a properly appointed five-member NLRB. The Board’s previous attempt to change the election rules failed because the courts held that it didn’t have a […]
by Holly K. Jones, J.D., If there’s one thing on which smokers and nonsmokers can agree, it’s that smoking is an expensive habit. While tobacco companies and trade groups challenge coupon and discount bans on cigarettes, employers have taken up a different fight against the rising costs of smoking. For several years, employers have begun […]
by Adam P. Boyd The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes basic rights and wage protections, including overtime pay requirements, for American workers. The majority of workers covered by the Act must be paid 1 1/2 times their regular pay rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 per workweek. On March 13, President […]
What should an employer do when faced with a longtime manager with stellar performance reviews who doesn’t adhere to company policy, misses deadlines, has been written up for sexual harassment, and may be responsible for committing fraud? And does it complicate the situation if that manager is 65 years old? Those were questions recently put […]