Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Kyla Stott-Jess The Alberta Court of Appeal has recently added to the ongoing debate in Canada over who is or isn’t an employer in the human rights context. In its recent decision in 375850 Alberta Ltd. v. Beverly Noel and the Director of the Alberta Human Rights Commission, the dismissal of the complainant’s appeal […]
In a 5-4 opinion delivered Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court held that state employers are immune from suit for damages under the self-care provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). In the case, Daniel Coleman sued his employer, the Court of Appeals of the State of Maryland, for $1.1 million in damages when […]
On June 21, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Jacqueline Berrien participated with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Attorney General Eric Holder in a roundtable discussion of employment strategies for getting individuals with criminal records, including recently released prisoners, back to work. Employers, service providers, academics, policy advocates, and former prisoners also participated. The […]
Litigation Value: Squiggle Quips = $3.95 per package; delicious dinner without your wallet = an embarrassing (and defamatory) mugshot on the restaurant wall; finding out Angela publicly joked about urinating on Gabe = priceless. Last night provided us with an evening of reruns, but I love The Office and have been known to watch episodes […]
Yesterday, in Thompson v. North American Stainlessi LP, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an employee-friendly ruling in a third-party (or associational) retaliation case. The Court unanimously held that a man who was fired after his fiancée filed a gender discrimination charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) could sue for retaliation under Title VII […]
The Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned a trial court’s dismissal of a case without trial. The case was filed by a female manager in Colorado who claimed she was discriminated against after being forced to choose between moving to California as a part-time customer service representative or “voluntarily” resigning. HR Guide to […]
There’s an unfortunate truth HR professionals must deal with: It only takes one errant supervisor to undo all the hard work put into creating and perfecting polices and initiatives. Your company’s diversity initiative is no different. According to diversity consultant and founder of QUEST Diversity Initiatives LLC Natalie Holder-Winfield, you can’t just write up your […]
It’s going to be quite a week. Today, of course, is the national holiday that celebrates the birth of the legendary civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tomorrow, the nation and the world will witness history in the making as the first African-American is sworn in as President of the United States. Looking […]
Another week without even a rerun, so to find something to write about, we turn to Steve Carrell’s movie catalogue. Anchorman proves to provide plenty of HR lessons — lessons that are strikingly similar to those we see with Michael Scott and gang in Scranton. LITIGATION VALUE: $1,000,000 (in pre-inflation, 1976 dollars). Obviously, there is […]
In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion expanding the range of employer conduct that employees could use to support a retaliation claim. But as with anything new, questions immediately arose. Is a dirty look now considered retaliatory? An off-putting e-mail? What about a humiliating public censure? This uncertainty left employers understandably concerned. But […]