Category: HR Management & Compliance

There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.

Recertification Request Doesn’t Interfere with FMLA Rights

An employer’s request for medical recertification to establish eligibility for Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave didn’t violate the Act, the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Arkansas) recently ruled. Missing 16 consecutive days rather than the expected four to five days set forth in the original medical certification was a significant […]

Unconditional Offer to Reinstate Employee Prevents Wrongful Discharge Claim

I often receive calls from employers that say they just met with an employee to talk about job performance, the session didn’t go well, and now the company has received a bizarre communication from the individual and doesn’t know how to proceed. After I’ve read the message and talked with the employer, it becomes clear […]

Guns at Work: Keeping Employees Safe in Troubling Times

Every year, nearly two million American workers report being workplace violence victims, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In fact, homicide is the fifth-leading cause of workplace fatalities in the United States, accounting for eight percent of all fatal on-the-job injuries. Nearly half of all states, however, now have laws in some […]

Top 10 Noncompete Law Developments of the Past Year

Lawmakers and courts continued to demonstrate hostility toward noncompete and no-hire agreements in 2021. The activity underscores employers’ need to stay current on the diverse state-specific limitations governing restrictive covenants, new federal activity in the area, and ongoing case law developments.

Employers Can’t Fire Employees for Placing Rebuttal in Their Personnel File After All

Last March, we wrote about a surprising ruling in which the Massachusetts Appeals Court concluded employers in the state aren’t legally prohibited from firing employees for exercising their right to file a rebuttal in response to a negative document placed in their personnel file. The decision wasn’t unanimous, the dissenting opinion was persuasive, and the […]

Extension of Form I-9 Verification Flexibilities May Signal Major Change

Since March 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its enforcement agency, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have issued changing guidance on how and when an employer may satisfy the Form I-9 in-person inspection requirements during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Since April 1, 2021, they have allowed employers to delay […]

CCPA

HR’s Growing Role in Cyber-Risk Management

As the corporate world becomes increasingly more remote and employers have less control over their employees’ systems, it becomes even more imperative that companies understand the risk of cybercrime and put the proper precautions in place to prevent a breach or an attack. Your cybersecurity policy must be comprehensive, and it should start with the […]

Flexibility Could Widen the Gulf Between White Collar Workers and Others

One of the silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the way it has served as a catalyst for businesses to experiment with and embrace forms of workplace flexibility that millions of workers have been craving for decades. While many are celebrating what they see as the most significant change in workplace norms in […]