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$4.5M Settlement Ends Decade-long Disability Suit against USPS

The U.S. Postal Service will pay $4.5 million to settle claims that it failed to accommodate employees with hearing impairments. The court-approved agreement ends the decade-long class action dispute. The class action (Hubbard v. Donahoe, No. 03-1062 (RJL) (D.D.C. July 31, 2013)) stemmed from two related actions brought before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. […]

Should You Build Talent or Buy It?

In yesterday’s Advisor, consultant Ron Katz tackled issues in talent management; today, his take on the build or buy decision, plus an introduction to the all-things-HR-in-one-place website, HR.BLR.com.

Train Employees to Avoid These 3 Leadership Mistakes

Leadership expert John Hamm, author of Unusually Excellent: The Necessary Nine Skills Required for the Practice of Great Leadership (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, February 2011, www.unusuallyexcellent.com), has spent his career studying the practitioners of unusually excellent leadership via his work as a CEO, venture capitalist, board member, high-level consultant, and professor of leadership at the Leavey […]

How to Deal with Depression and Work Restrictions: Give the Doctor a Note

In requesting documentation to back up an accommodation request, employers should specify what types of information they are seeking regarding the disability, its functional limitations, and the need for reasonable accommodation. The employee can be asked to sign a limited release allowing the employer to submit a list of specific questions to the healthcare professional.

Common sense ain’t so common

by Dan Oswald Have you ever known someone who was incredibly intelligent but had absolutely no common sense? I’ve known a few. So the other day when a colleague was describing to me a book he came across that contained “cowboy logic” and the line, “I’ve learned that common sense ain’t so common,” it got […]

Q&A on California final pay laws

When dealing with California final pay laws, the details are where it gets tricky. For example, if an employee resigns with two weeks’ notice, normally you would have until the employee’s last day to provide the final paycheck—but what if you want to ask the employee to not work the notice period? When is the […]

Adviser Identifies Ways Plan Sponsors Can Manage Fiduciary Risk

Although defined benefit pension plan sponsors have engaged investment managers for years, it’s only recently that defined contribution plan sponsors have begun exploring this option to limit liability risk for their fiduciary role. “Because employers want to avoid litigation, which could result in personal liability for investment committee members, many plan sponsors are seeking ways […]

Talent Management: Your Hammer Is Your Screwdriver

Talent management isn’t about software, says consultant Ron Katz. That’s just a tool. And it’s not about hiring or succession planning. It’s about positioning the organization to move powerfully in a positive way. To do that sometimes you have to use a hammer as a screwdriver, he says. Katz made his comments at BLR’s Strategic […]

Are Your Leaders Trained to Avoid These 4 Mistakes?

Leadership expert John Hamm, author of Unusually Excellent: The Necessary Nine Skills Required for the Practice of Great Leadership (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint, February 2011, www.unusuallyexcellent.com ), has spent his career studying the practitioners of unusually excellent leadership via his work as a CEO, venture capitalist, board member, high-level consultant, and professor of leadership at the […]

Employees required to prove what they didn’t steal

By Kyla Stott-Jess A recent Alberta Court of Appeal case, 581257 Alberta Ltd. v. Aujla, is good news for employers. The court reversed the normal onus of proof, requiring the employees to prove that certain monies they deposited into their bank account were not stolen from their employer.