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One Form, Two Form, Here’s A New Form! The New I-9

By Holly K. Jones, JD There’s going to be a new I-9 form for human resources professionals to start using by late January—if you haven’t trained them on it already, do so right away! Here to help with some entertaining (and informative) Seussian poetry is BLR Senior Legal Editor Holly K. Jones, JD.

Quebec Court of Appeal: People (not workplace policies) harass people

by Alexis Charpentier Workplace harassment is a complicated and evolving area of the law. The lines between an employer’s right to manage its employees and harassment are often blurred. Fortunately, the Court of Appeal of Québec has provided some clarity in a recent decision in Syndicat des travailleurs de l’aluminium d’Alma, local 9490 (Syndicat des […]

Warding off age discrimination claims in era of older workers

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that nearly a quarter of the workforce will be made up of people age 55 and older by 2024. That contrasts to 1994, when just 11.9 percent of workers fell into that age group. If the projection for 2024 is correct—and the aging of the baby boomer generation […]

What’s gender identity got to do with work?

by Amanda M. Jones From Bruce Jenner’s announcement that he was transitioning to become a woman named “Caitlyn” to North Carolina’s passage of a so-called bathroom bill requiring schools and public agencies to restrict bathroom use to the facility corresponding to a person’s biological sex at birth, gender identity issues have become the subject of […]

Election dynamics in the workplace: Free speech? ‘You’re fired’

by Courtney Bru None of us were immune from this year’s presidential election dynamics. Disrespect and name-calling have seemed more prevalent than policy discussions. The election was highly polarizing, potentially pitting employee against employee.  In the midst of it all, employees were often misinformed about their “free speech rights” in the workplace. A recent instance from Georgia […]

Target to spend millions on single-stall bathrooms

by Ryan Olson Target recently announced that employees and customers at its stores may use the public restroom that corresponds with their gender identity. Now, amid criticism of its transgender bathroom policy by some customers, the company has said that it will spend $20 million to make single-stall bathrooms available in every store. Controversial policy. […]

Pizza discrimination?! Customer sues Florida Domino’s for employees’ alleged bias

by G. Thomas Harper A pregnant Moroccan Muslim woman has sued a Domino’s Pizza franchisee in Davenport over the quality of pizza and treatment she received from employees of the restaurant. The customer brought suit in state court in Polk County against the franchisee, Michael P. Jarvis, both as an individual and as the owner […]

U.S. Workforce Desperate to Keep Sick Coworkers Away During Cold and Flu Season

Trying to avoid cold and flu in the workplace has reached desperate levels, as nearly half of people surveyed would give up a vacation day to a sick worker to ensure they don’t bring illness to the workplace, according to the seventh annual cold and flu season survey from Staples.

IRS Announces 2017 Standard Mileage Rates

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued the 2017 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes.