Tag: North Dakota

Despite Labor Shortage, Businesses Can Benefit from Hiring and Training ‘On Demand’

With the U.S. unemployment rate at an all-time low and job openings at a 17-year high (with a reported 6.6 million openings as of June 2018), it’s hard to imagine that job growth has slowed and even stagnated in parts of the country. The fact is, rural areas and smaller cities are scrambling to find […]

In Search of Balance

Employees want it, and sometimes change jobs hoping to find it. Yet, work-life balance remains elusive for many people.

Mentor Sued for Sexual Harassment Blames Lack of Training for His Behavior

In a recent court case, a male scientist allegedly expressed his interest in having a sexual relationship with a female graduate student on numerous occasions while mentoring her on remote research excursions deep in the woods of Alaska. The student later sued him and the university where she was pursuing a doctorate degree, alleging hostile […]

Timing Is Everything: Returning Employees to Work After FMLA Leave

By Mika Shadid Tucker, JD You must carefully consider the timing when you execute certain employment decisions that affect an employee who recently exercised her FMLA leave rights. Implementing a previously contemplated adverse employment action isn’t discrimination as long as the FMLA leave wasn’t a motivating factor.

FMLA: Does Texting Apply Under Call-In Policy?

By Steve Jones If you have an attendance policy that requires employees to follow a certain procedure to notify management of absences but you occasionally receive notice in a way that isn’t specified in the policy (e.g., a text instead of a phone call), you should make sure you’re consistent in accepting or refusing the […]

‘Word of the Year’ Has HR Pros Perplexed

The Oxford Dictionary has again issued its annual list of words that have been “significant” for the past 12 months. And this word is one that may have HR pros perplexed, not that the definition is going to help clear up the confusion.

Making ‘Subjective’ Employment Criteria ‘Objective’

Most employers understand that they should discourage the use of subjective criteria to make hiring, advancement, and severance decisions. However, many supervisors still insist that they must consider subjective criteria because factors like “attitude,” “initiative,” and “reliability” simply can’t be made objective. True or false? Let’s break it down. Every employee undoubtedly has certain tasks […]

Must an Employer Grant Permanent Intermittent FMLA Leave?

Maybe not, according to a recent decision from the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The case has many people wondering if reevaluation of the word “leave” in the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may be on the  horizon. FMLA Complete Compliance Perception may be reality . . . In February 2007, Charlene Wisbey […]