The Dullest Job in HR?
In HR, sometimes the dullest jobs are the most important—like updating job descriptions. This specific task is probably not the reason you were drawn to a career in HR, to say the least … but it’s time to bite the bullet.
Tag: Disabilities Act
Top 10 Potential Perils of Employment Policies
The employee handbook: Probably not the most enjoyable part of your job. It’s even less fun when a judge rules a policy unenforceable for some reason, forcing your company to hand over thousands of dollars to a disgruntled employee or former employee.
Free Disability Awareness Summits: Sacramento & Los Angeles
The California Department of Rehabilitation is hosting two business summits later this month – one in Sacramento, and the other in Los Angeles. The events are free and are designed to help small businesses improve their compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and related state laws. Disability representatives and employment specialists from the […]
EEOC Issues Final GINA Regs
Final regulations implementing the employment provisions (Title II) of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) were issued today by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). GINA prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or applicants on the basis of genetic information about the employee, applicant, or their family members.
DOL Offers Disability Law Advisor Tool Online
The Department of Labor (DOL) has a tool available on its website for employers that want to make sure their policies and practices don’t discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities. The online Disability Nondiscrimination Law Advisor, available at www.dol.gov/elaws/odep.htm, helps employers determine which federal disability nondiscrimination laws apply to their business, including: Title I of […]
Job Descriptions: 3 Common Mistakes–and a Tool for Avoiding Them
If anyone questions your layoff selections—and they will—employees’ attorneys are going to scrutinize the job descriptions on which you based your determinations. What will they find? A full set of up-to-date, accurate, and complete job descriptions, right? Well, maybe not a full set—and maybe not all accurate and complete and up to date, either. Here […]
Dispute Resolution: What Are Your Recommendations Concerning Arbitration Agreements?
I’m tasked with making a recommendation concerning arbitration agreements for our employees. My questions are: Do you recommend these agreements? For all employees? How do we go about establishing this for new and current employees? Any particular pitfalls to watch out for? — Elaine, HR Specialist in Encino The typical employee arbitration agreement requires […]
Disabilities: What Decisions Do We Face When a Worker Becomes Permanently Disabled?
An employee has submitted a claim for permanent disability under workers’ compensation. Assuming it is awarded, what do we do next? Do we terminate him? If so, at what point? How long do we have to keep him on our group health insurance? What about other issues like bonuses? —Sybil, HR Specialist in Ventura 400+ […]
Workplace Bias: EEOC Spotlights Work/Family Balance in New Guidance
Responding to the emerging issue of “family responsibility discrimination,” the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published new guidance on how federal equal employment laws apply to employees who must balance work and family. The new guidance, “Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities,” offers examples under which discrimination against a working parent […]
Disability Bias: Disability-Based Misconduct Is Part of Disability, Says Court
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers California, has released a controversial new opinion suggesting that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects misconduct stemming from a disability as part and parcel of the disability itself. The case involved Stephanie Gambini, an employee of Total Renal Care, Inc, who suffered from bipolar disorder. Gambini […]