Tag: human resources

Rare Exception to FAA Kills Arbitration Clause

The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) enforces certain arbitration agreements involving federal law, including some employment disputes and claims against employers under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). But is an arbitration agreement that prohibits an individual from seeking relief provided by federal statute still enforceable? The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals […]

EEOC Files First COVID-19-Related Suit After Employer Rejects Remote Work Request

Along with a new wave of post-COVID-19 litigation surfacing across the country, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed its first lawsuit against an employer for allegedly failing to accommodate and unlawfully terminating a disabled employee who had asked to work remotely because of the pandemic. Facts Ronisha Moncrief was a health, safety, and […]

The New Age of Workplace Communication Could Be Instant Messaging

Before the mid-1990s, e-mail was a relative novelty in office communication. Today, of course, it’s perhaps the most prevalent medium for colleagues to communicate back and forth. Although it’s been the main method of communication for just a few decades, there are signs employees are increasingly looking to alternative forms of communication for collaborating with […]

How Freedom and Accountability Drive the Modern Workplace

In today’s highly competitive market, companies of all sizes and industries have to rethink their approach to recruiting top talent and retaining them. At the same time, there is a pivotal shift happening within the workplace: the move toward a boundaryless and distributed workforce. Unless they’re making or providing products in a manufacturing or service […]

Examining the Critical Factors Employers Must Understand About Candidate Expectations

As the United States navigates a historic labor shortage, it’s critical for employers to adapt to the changing employee benefits landscape and compensation demands. Employers must understand that today’s jobseekers are evaluating companies differently, and the kinds of benefits and wages that will attract them are changing, as well. According to beqom’s 2021 Employee Expectations […]

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Favorite Faces of HR: Reimagining HR Corporate Culture

When we started “Faces of HR” back in August 2019, we envisioned it as a profile series in which we could chat with professionals who are on the front lines of human resource work. It was our goal to get many perspectives on the breadth and scope of what HR professionals are doing and learn […]

7 Steps HR Should Never Miss when Offboarding an Employee

As the labor market gradually recovers from the COVID winter, the number of job openings finally surpassed the unemployed, reaching 10.9 million in Q3 2021. The separation rate has also floated up 3.9% to 5.8 million, which indicates more employees are leaving their current company voluntarily or involuntarily. Due to that fluctuation in personnel, HR […]

The Importance of Having a Remote Work Option

Perhaps the biggest silver lining of the COVID-19 pandemic is that companies across the globe have been forced to adopt a remote work policy for staff who aren’t essential to performing work on-site. For millions of workers, this has meant the attainment of a long-standing goal to have the flexibility and freedom of working from […]

Court Upholds Arbitrator’s Reinstatement of Employee Fired for Positive Drug Test

A federal district court in Massachusetts recently issued a decision that serves as a good reminder to employers to review their policies related to employee drug or alcohol use both on and off duty and ensure they are consistently applied. While the case involved a unionized employer, even nonunion employers should review the decision because […]

10 Things That Keep HR Pros Awake at Night (COVID-19 Edition)

HR pros wear many hats. Since March 2020, they have been at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to their many other tasks, they have needed to coordinate furloughs and layoffs, stay up to date with the latest health guidance, understand and implement coronavirus-related federal and state laws and regulations, introduce COVID-19 screening […]