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by John Phillips Here we go again. First, cooking queen Paula Deen. Now, NFL player Riley Cooper. The two situations are different, but both involve use of the N-word. For Deen, the question was whether, at some point in the past, her use of the N-word and her consideration of having black employees dress up […]
Low-wage workers in cities across the country carried signs and voiced demands for higher pay last week, but those strikes and similar work stoppages last May differ from traditional walkouts. Unlike in most strikes, the picketers aren’t part of a union although they are getting encouragement from organized labor, especially from the Service Employees International […]
by Gene Magee As if learning the ropes under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) isn’t enough, employers offering health benefits to employees also need to gear up to comply with new Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations that go into effect later this year. This article provides an overview of where the new […]
Horror stories abound of bad bosses. Some are bullies, others inept, still others well-meaning but ineffective. Whatever the reason, bad bosses damage productivity and morale. They also take a toll on an employers’ ability to recruit and retain top talent. A recent survey from online career community Glassdoor on the impact of managers on employment […]
by Jonathan R. Mook The American Medical Association (AMA) has officially designated obesity as a disease. In doing so, it explained that obesity is a “multi-metabolic and hormonal disease state” that leads to unfavorable outcomes like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The AMA’s action has focused renewed attention on the so-called obesity epidemic and […]
Progressive HR departments have been on the workplace flexibility bandwagon for years now as employers try to recruit and retain top talent. The best and brightest will be productive, loyal and creative contributors if they have time to tend to what’s important in their lives outside of the workplace, the thinking goes. Recently, though, headlines […]
by Craig L. Olivo and Hilary L. Moreira The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) prohibits employers from discriminating in any term or condition of employment based on employees’ or applicants’ “genetic information.” It also prohibits you from requesting, requiring, or purchasing genetic information (with narrow exceptions). GINA was passed by Congress out of concern that […]
An employee may think the grass is greener in a new job on the other side of the fence. Once in the new position, however, he may start longing for the good old days in his old job. What to do with such an employee can put an employer in a quandary. Recently, a group […]
by Robert P. Tinnin, Jr. With the national and local economic downturn, an increasing number of unsuccessful job applicants are filing discrimination charges, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state law enforcement agencies are examining job applications more closely for evidence of unlawful bias. The focus of these agencies has not radically changed, […]
by Joan Farrell June’s here and school’s out for the summer! For many teenagers, that means finding a summer job; and for most, it’s their first job or their first experience in a workplace. That means employers should be ready to provide training—and not just in the how-to’s of the job, but in appropriate workplace […]