Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Karen Sargeant During these tough economic times, employers are often looking to increase flexibility. Several of our recent blog entries have discussed ways in which employers can do so – furloughs, work-sharing programs, changing employment contracts, and adjusting the size of the workforce. Recently, the British Columbia Court of Appeal granted Raytheon Canada some […]
Employment law attorney Michael Maslanka discusses Robert Sutton’s book The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One that Isn’t. General counsel are tagged as custodians of their companies’ most crucial, yet most sensitive and volatile asset: its employees. Henry Ford saw them as one big headache, immune from any analgesic’s curative powers: […]
by Karen Sargeant As many of you will know from earlier blog entries, Wal-Mart’s entry into Canada has been rife with union complaints. Beginning in the 1990s when employees at a Windsor, Ontario, store were automatically certified under relatively new certification provisions, employees and unions have filed numerous unfair labor practice complaints. The most recent […]
Many employers in Canada are assessing how they can continue to compete during the tough financial times that appear to be heading toward us. One of the most difficult decisions employers must make is how to reorganize or reduce labor costs in order to stay competitive.
At Thanksgiving time, we thought it would be good to take a look at some of the issues employers face during the holidays — drops in productivity, employees shopping online when they should be working, training seasonal workers, refereeing disagreements about holiday decorations, and, of course, navigating the office party. Lawsuits never take a holiday. […]
Final regulations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), were issued Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The new regulations allow employers more control over when employees can take leave. As expected, the new regulations cover the recently enacted leave benefits for family members of both seriously injured or ill service members and […]
While much of the focus on the recent election has been on the results of the presidential and federal and state legislative races, in Wisconsin, city of Milwaukee voters also passed a binding referendum creating an ordinance providing sick leave benefits for all employees working within the city. Effective immediately, the ordinance is being enforced […]
Cost of drinks: $500 Litigation Value: $100,000 – $1,000,000 (depends on how seriously someone gets hurt and who it is) Watching the Drunken Debauchery: Priceless, but probably not worth the risk. The problem that caught my attention during the “Business” Trip episode of The Office was the company-sponsored drinking event that led to Andy and […]
Update: New FMLA regulations issued by DOL on November 14, 2008 The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has sent to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) its final draft of revised Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations, which could be published in the Federal Register this month. These would be the first new […]
by Karen Sargeant Wondering if your company is a “best employer?” Canada’s Financial Post magazine recently identified Canada’s Top 10. The winners span the country. They include some of Canada’s best known companies, as well as some that are only well-known within their industry sector. The Financial Post contacted 16,000 private-sector employers to participate in […]