Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
A: In today’s multicultural workplace and economy, it is important for many employees to become multilingual. With companies of all sizes connecting with colleagues and clients across the globe via Skype, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, language training is playing an increasingly important role, says Michael Schutzler, CEO of Livemocha (www.livemocha.com), which describes itself as the […]
SHRM’s definition of social networking services and multimedia platforms includes Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and other video-sharing sites, MySpace, Foursquare, Second Life, and photo-sharing applications. The “Social Media in the Workplace” survey found that 68% of participants have employees who use social media to reach external audiences, such as current customers, potential customers, and potential […]
An employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by firing five employees who complained on Facebook — off-hours — about their jobs, an administrative law judge for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held. So the employer must do penance by rehiring them and making them whole for any loss of earnings and other […]
Raise your hand if your business has not been disrupted by the weather in 2011. In the past two months, large parts of the Southeast and Midwest have been reeling from record numbers of devastating tornadoes; the West Coast had tsunami warnings following the earthquake in Japan; and the Mississippi River and its tributaries have […]
The case involving an employee who was discharged after posting disparaging comments about her supervisor on her Facebook page has been settled, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced in a news release yesterday. The NLRB caused a wave of unease among employers when it filed the case against American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. […]
By Maria Giagilitsis Along with the extraordinary benefits accompanying today’s rapidly advancing technology comes an increasing vulnerability for Canadian employers who strive to hire the “best of the best” information technology groups. On the one hand, “wizard like” computer skills are an invaluable asset — they can lead a company’s growth while sharpening its competitive […]
By Maria Giagilitsis It’s becoming more and more clear that an employee’s use of social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace may lead to justifiable discipline by an employer. On October 22, 2010, the British Columbia Labour Relations Board released its decision in West Coast Mazda (d.b.a. West Coast Detail & Accessory Centre) […]
By Adria Martinelli and Julie Athey After several delays, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued final regulations that interpret and implement the nondiscrimination requirements of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). For the most part, the final regulations don’t differ substantially from the ones proposed by the agency nearly two years ago. However, […]
by Jonathan Sterling and James Goodfellow An employer’s blogging and social networking policy that prohibits employees from posting disparaging comments online about coworkers or their employer has been deemed unlawful by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB recently issued a complaint and notice of hearing against American Medical Response of Connecticut (AMR), an […]
Group Publisher of Employment Law at M. Lee Smith Tony Kessler reviews Tommy Spaulding’s book It’s Not Just Who You Know, finding the author offers an insightful look into the five different levels of relationships. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, blogs, and Skype, most of us have cyber-lists filled to the brim with friends these […]