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Age discrimination or legitimate termination? Firing a 65-year-old can be tricky

What should an employer do when faced with a longtime manager with stellar performance reviews who doesn’t adhere to company policy, misses deadlines, has been written up for sexual harassment, and may be responsible for committing fraud? And does it complicate the situation if that manager is 65 years old?  Those were questions recently put […]

X-Men playing catch-up on genetics–the real-life wave of the present

Remember when the study of genetic information was deemed to be the purview of those in the medical field or reserved for films and television shows that were classified as “futuristic science fiction”? Not anymore. Today we live in a world where everyone is fully aware that their own genetic code and family history could […]

Include Customer Harassment in Your Harassment Training

According to a recent article on HR.BLR.com, you might want to incorporate a recent court case, which involved accusations of ongoing sexual and racial harassment by a customer, into your training on harassment. For the details of the case, click here. What the court said The appeals court majority reversed on the hostile work environment […]

Gaming the System—PA Sin Number Seven

Yesterday’s Advisor featured the first 6 of our 10 sins of performance appraisers; today, we present the rest of the sins.    [Go here for sins 1 to 6.] Sin #7. Gaming the system “John’s work is just OK, to be sure, but I need to give him a big raise to keep him, so […]

Does Your Harassment Training Include Harassment by Customers?

One court recently decided that an employer can be held liable for harassment from customers. The court in this case concluded that “an employer is liable under Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964] for third parties creating a hostile work environment if the employer knew or should have known of the harassment […]

The 10 Sins of Performance Appraisers

Performance evaluation—it’s hard to get it right, but, unfortunately, it’s easy—and expensive— to get it wrong. We’ve identified the 10 most common mistakes of managers and supervisors who conduct performance appraisals. We call them the “10 Sins.”   Sin #1. Failure to set meaningful goals “Well, Sandy, I think we did fairly well this year, […]

Out of PTO, Can’t Deduct, What Can You Do?

Here’s how to approach the situation: First, if it is important for the employees to be in the office during consistent work hours, make sure that is explained in a written policy. If the policy does not yet exist, create it if this is critical to your business. Make it part of the employee handbook […]

When Exempt Employee Has No PTO, Takes Time Off

PTO helps to bridge the gap between being required to pay salaried employees their full salary in a given workweek (even if they don’t work a full workweek), while also balancing how much time off can be taken without it becoming a problem. Employers often find themselves in a conundrum, however, over how to handle […]

Bonuses may be part of equation when calculating pay in lieu of notice

By Myriam Robichaud Most employers in Canada understand that when terminating an employee, reasonable notice of termination or pay in lieu of notice must be provided. While this principle appears simple, determining which elements of compensation must be included in pay in lieu of notice can be complicated.