Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Many times, when employers receive an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citation—if not most times—they claim it wasn’t their fault, but rather the employee did something stupid. OSHA recognizes such a defense, called the “employee misconduct” defense. It is an affirmative defense, meaning the employer has the burden of proof in establishing the misconduct.
Employers should take a page out of the Kansas City Chiefs’ playbook regarding how to handle employee misconduct, particularly with respect to a high-value or high-profile employee. The Chiefs’ decision to release Kareem Hunt was undoubtedly difficult and likely unpopular with some fans. From an employment perspective, however, it was unquestionably the correct choice. Read […]
It seems that every day the news is full of stories about employees (whether they are NFL players or Hollywood starlets) protesting unfair treatment. Usually, when an employee complains about discrimination, harassment, equal pay, or other work-related topics, he or she is protected from discipline or termination because the conduct is considered “protected activity” under […]
by Andrea Moseley Last year, CareerBuilder found that 31 percent of employees don’t feel their workplace is well protected from a physical threat and 31 percent don’t feel their workplace is well protected from a digital hacking threat. Common sense dictates, and my experience representing corporate officials and employees confirms, that when people spend eight […]
Recently, Ben Affleck stepped down from directing the new Batman movie to focus on his recovery following recent treatment for alcoholism. His reason for stepping down was due to his belief that he was unable to give the directing role the focus and passion it requires. Alcoholism and drug addiction present complicated issues under the […]
You may be wondering why I selected to write about a movie that is not yet in the theaters. Truthfully, I do not need to see the movie to write about its relevance to HR issues. In fact, all that’s necessary is to read the title—Office Christmas Party. Yes, we are in Human Resources. What […]
Despite the conclusion of the 2016 Summer Olympics, Ryan Lochte is still “under water” with questions still looming after Rio police reports that the American gold-medal Olympian fabricated a story about being robbed at gunpoint in Brazil. Lochte initially reported that he and three other U.S. swimmers—James Feigen, Jack Conger, and Gunnar Bentz—were robbed at gunpoint […]
by Mohamed Badreddine Last chance agreements—what are they? How do they work? As we have indicated before, an employer and employee agree that the employee may remain employed provided that he or she complies with specific conditions. If the employee later breaches the conditions, he or she is immediately dismissed.
by Ed Carlstedt This week’s employment law lesson comes to us from the movie Horrible Bosses. In the movie, Julia (played by Jennifer Aniston) is a dentist who employs dental assistant Dale (played by Charlie Day). After Julia uses her boss status to torture and torment Dale for most of the movie, Dale finally records […]
by Jonathan R. Mook News reports of yet another workplace shooting have become all too frequent in our media-saturated world. The seemingly constant reports of shootings makes clear to all employers the inconvenient truth that no workplace is totally immune from the possibility that a violent incident will occur. Indeed, according to the federal Occupational […]