Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Readers may have noticed news reports that on August 30, a federal judge declared Rudy Giuliani was on the losing end of a defamation lawsuit filed by two Georgia election workers. He had claimed they were involved in election shenanigans but ultimately, the accusation was baseless. But that isn’t why he lost. Rather, the judge […]
Stormy Daniels, an adult film star, is suing a sitting U.S. president for defamation. She claims she had a brief affair with Donald Trump in 2006 and was paid to keep quiet about it on the eve of the 2016 election. President Trump tweeted his thoughts about her credibility, and the defamation lawsuit followed. Roy […]
You may remember that Jonathan Martin, a former starting offensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins, suddenly left the team during the 2013 season. He was a second-round draft pick in 2012 who played college football at Stanford. In college, he was twice selected as an All-American offensive lineman. During the 2012 season, he played at […]
The following case is a cautionary tale about decisive action and one type of legal risk: defamation claims. Although this particular case turned on a legal technicality, it’s useful to show how communicating about your reasons for taking an adverse action can turn into litigation.
Checking references has a way of putting employers in a pickle. When they want information about a potential new hire, they’re often frustrated when references divulge no more than dates of employment, position held, and pay rate. That “name, rank, and serial number” response can be frustrating. But when the employer is on the receiving […]
Taylor Swift’s complaint that a DJ grabbed her derriere while a photograph was being taken before a concert has led to a federal lawsuit. The DJ claims he got a bum wrap (pun intended) and that it was actually someone else at the radio station who groped the singer. Now the DJ’s got bad blood […]
The Comedy Central show Workaholics is currently in its fifth season of depicting a fresh (and hilarious) human resources nightmare week after week. The show is about three recent college dropouts (Blake, Adam, and Anders) who also happen to be roommates and coworkers at a fictional telemarketing company, TelAmeriCorp. To give you an idea of […]
Lately, have you felt feverish, light-headed, even giddy? Well then you must have Oscar fever. The stars! The gowns! The teeth! My god, those blinding white teeth! For you, March 2, 2014, was a night of luxury, glamour, and take-out noodles because NO WAY you were cooking for the family and risk missing J-Law stumble […]
NBC just seems to know when it’s my scheduled turn to blog reactions to The Office. Rather than face my intense scrutiny and the inevitable backlash from all of my loyal followers (i.e., my mom), the network punted, airing a full hour of Parks & Recreation instead. I was a few episodes behind anyway, so […]
by Robert A. Berry Business is tough. It’s even harder in today’s climate — and that’s assuming all of your employees are working for the good of the business. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. It may be a valued and trusted employee with many years of dedicated service, or it may be someone new […]