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Baltimore council votes to ban the box

by Kevin C. McCormick Employers in Baltimore will face new restrictions in conducting criminal background checks now that the city council has passed a tough new “ban the box” law. Bill 13-0301, titled “Ban the Box—Fair Criminal Records Screening Practices,” passed the Baltimore City Council on April 28 and was expected to gain Mayor Stephanie […]

Pros and Cons of a BYOD Policy

Bring Your Own Device. These are words that are becoming more and more common for employers these days. They’ve even spawned their own acronym: BYOD. In general, BYOD is a policy in which an employer is allowing or even requiring employees to use their previously personal electronics for work use.

Casual References and Endorsements on Social Media

Yesterday’s Advisor featured tips on social media policies from Attorney Jonathan Segal. Today, his tips on casual references and endorsements and friending and unfriending work colleagues.   Casual References Casual references on LinkedIn or other professional social media sites pose legal risks: Defamation (if they are negative and untrue). Misrepresentation (if they are positive and […]

Finding inspiration from a profound moment at the airport

by Dan Oswald I’m sitting in the airport in Austin, Texas, and the faint and rare sound of a bagpipe can be heard in the background. It seems, at the very least, out of place in a major-city airport. As the sound grows louder, it’s clear that whoever is playing the instrument is drawing closer. […]

Don’t Deny It, Social Media Is Mainstream—and Full of Pitfalls

Don’t try to deny it, social media is mainstream now, says Attorney Jonathan Segal, and its influence is only going to grow. Before too long, the workplace will be 75 percent Millennials, and they use social media with a vengeance. (By the way, Boomers aren’t that far behind, he adds.)   Social Media includes, for […]

Clip[pers] his tongue!

This past week the biggest story in the NBA was not the excitement of the first round of the playoffs, but the comments L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling allegedly made to his girlfriend. In an audiotape released Friday by TMZ, a man (allegedly Sterling) is heard chastising his girlfriend for associating with black people and […]

My Salaried Employee Has No PTO But Needs Time Off—What Can I Do?

Employers often find themselves in a conundrum, however, over how to handle miscellaneous time off that was never even requested as PTO. For example, what happens when the work hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but an employee has a personal appointment that requires him or her to arrive late? Usually this is not […]

Clear offer of employment needed to argue mitigation

By Katherine Pollock Want to change a Canadian employee’s terms or conditions of employment? It’s not as easy as it once was. Depending on the nature of the change, it may amount to constructive dismissal. If it does amount to constructive dismissal, simply providing notice of the change may not be sufficient—as the Court of […]

Regression Analysis: a Case Study

A nonprofit home healthcare agency has asked “a consultant” whether its CEO is fairly paid relative to the marketplace for similar agencies. The Agency has supplied a database to the consultant, who also has his own survey database of CEO pay. This case will demonstrate how regression data can be used to answer this question. […]

Train Employees on the Effective Use of PPE

Here’s what the court said: In analyzing the facts of this case, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania had to determine whether the company was negligent and, if so, whether negligence caused Wyatt’s injury. In addition, the court had to decide whether Wyatt knew before the accident that he was required […]