Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
By Antoine Aylwin A month ago, we reported on the Ontario Court of Appeal’s surprising decision in R. v. Cole. In that decision the Court of Appeal said that a high school teacher was protected against searches on his work computer by the police absent a search warrant. The Court of Appeal based its decision […]
Wednesday, in NASA v. Nelson, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the government didn’t violate federal contract employees’ constitutional rights by using certain background investigations. In this case, contract employees at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory sued NASA, alleging that the background checks it was using violated their constitutional rights to informational privacy. The background […]
by Joseph C. Pettygrove The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was very complicated when it was originally enacted in 1993. The sheer number of complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the courts since then confirms that employers and employees have long disagreed about how the law applies in their individual […]
by Susan Fahey Desmond Well, here it is — the Health Care Reform and Control Act. Beginning January 1, 2014, every individual will be required to have “minimum essential coverage” through individual market, employer-provided or certain other coverage (e.g., Medicare or CHIP). Also, beginning January 12, 2014, any employer who employed an average of 50 […]
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a public employer did not violate an employee’s constitutional privacy rights by searching his personal (and often sexually explicit) text messages that were sent and received on his employer-issued pager. The Backstory The City of Ontario, California, issued pagers that could send and receive text messages to Ontario […]
By Alix Herber While many employees are allowed to access and use the Internet and e-mail on company computers for “limited” personal use, it’s not uncommon for them to misuse this privilege. In Poliquin v. Devon Canada Corporation, the Alberta Court of Appeal was asked whether an employee could be fired for cause because he […]
by Susan Fahey Desmond In addressing the ever increasing costs of health care in the United States, Congress is looking at options that would theoretically make health insurance more affordable to Americans. The task of making health insurance more affordable to all is monumental. President Obama has said, “There’s no quick fix; there’s no silver […]
On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, has officially reached the level of a pandemic. Swine flu first became big news in the U.S in late April and early May, but within a couple of weeks was off most people’s radars. Although it […]
Imagine that you’re a hiring representative for your employer (in this case, a Burger King restaurant), and you’ve just discovered how to use MySpace. You decide to check the profiles of the employees who work the midnight shift. While perusing one employee’s profile, you notice a link to a video. As you click on it, […]
by Derek Knoechel In 1990, a 21-year-old woman was caught shoplifting. She then pleaded guilty to a charge of theft, receiving a conditional discharge. Some five years later, she applied for a position with the Montreal police force. So began a 13-year legal odyssey culminating in a Supreme Court of Canada decision (Montréal (City) v. […]