Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Brandon Gearhart A recent decision from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee employers) illustrates the importance of the interactive process when making employment decisions about a disabled worker. The court returned a previously dismissed Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim to the lower […]
Can a workplace wellness program actually result in a return on investment in your workplace? Can you really change your employees’ behavior and overall health and wellness? There are ample reasons to be skeptical: Wellness programs cost money and time. They are preventive and preemptive, which can be tricky when it comes to proving cost […]
BLR’s CEO Bob Brady invites you in for a “sneak preview” at something he and a lot of other good people have been working on for a long time. This column is about something I’ve been working on for over a year and something that will, I hope, benefit many of you. (And, if you’ll […]
by Tammy Binford Proponents of a diverse workforce understand that an employee group made up of all ages, races, and cultural backgrounds has a lot to offer. In spite of the advantages of diversity, though, employees’ differences can lead to a lack of understanding that holds everybody back. But is there a secret to capitalizing […]
By Antoine Aylwin and Edith Charbonneau Your employee quits his job and returns his smartphone. It contains information that shows he was scheming against you. What can you do with this? Could you use the e-mails found in the smartphone as evidence? This question was recently ruled upon by the Quebec Superior Court in Les […]
Last week, President Bush vetoed a spending bill to which a minimum wage increase was attached. The president’s veto message stated that he supports an increase in the federal minimum wage, but vetoed the bill because it included a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.
by Brad Williams, Holland & Hart LLP The U.S. Supreme Court’s Dukes v. Wal-Mart decision is enormously consequential for employers, particularly those facing “bet-the-company” class actions involving allegations of widespread discrimination. In essence, the Court answered a number of outstanding procedural and interpretive questions involving the federal class-action device in such a way as to […]
In spite of its one-year suspension of the employer mandate under health care reform, the government added implementation and compliance materials for employers to government websites. Meanwhile Republican legislators attacked not only reform’s revenue and penalty collection functions, but also its definition of full-time employees as 30 hours per week, saying it must become 40 hours a […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, attorney James Boudreau warned about the "phantom class action." Today, we’ll get more of his tips, and we’ll take a look at a unique HR audit program that will help you to find potential legal problems before the lawyers—or the feds—do. Boudreau’s remarks came at a Littler Mendelson Employer Conference in New […]
I’ve been told to prepare some training on documenting discipline issues. Can you give me some hints for how to make documentation more effective?