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Court Rejects EEOC Guidance on Employee Alcohol Testing

An employer’s random alcohol testing of probationary employees did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, despite federal agency guidance to the contrary, a federal district court has ruled (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. United States Steel Corp., No. 10–12 (W.D. Penn. Feb. 20, 2013)). EEOC sued on behalf of a class of employees, arguing […]

Deja vu

Litigation Value: Nothing for Pam, but I’m sure the Philly real estate employees have plenty of gripes. Last night’s episode of “The Office” was a repeat of “Move On: Part I,” which we covered in our post “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do.” There were plenty of shenanigans in Scranton during that episode, so we […]

The Role Training Can Play in Narrowing the Skills Gap

Recent research from Cornerstone OnDemand (www.csod.com) identified three concerns related to training with which nearly every company grapples. The first concern is an increasing absence of ongoing training and development. Only 32 percent of employed American adults in the survey have received training and development to boost job performance in the past 6 months. The […]

IRS issues guidance on ACA’s ‘play or pay’ rules

by Michael Bindner The IRS has issued Notice 2012-58, which describes safe-harbor methods employers may use to determine which employees are “full-time” workers for purposes of the “shared responsibility” penalty of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is often referred to as Obamacare. Notice 2012-59, issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the […]

How the Wizard of Oz Can Help Us Be Better Managers

What can managers learn from the well-known characters in the Wizard of Oz? A lot, says business and leadership blogger Dan Oswald, who is CEO of BLR®. In a recent edition of The Oswald Letter, he explained how the Wizard of Oz can help us to be better managers. Here’s what Oswald said: Recently, an […]

‘Have Your Employees’ Backs’ on Back Safety Training

Preventing back injuries in your workplace is one of the most effective cost-control and productivity-enhancing efforts you can undertake. Training workers in back safety is an important part of that effort. Preventing back injuries To avoid injuring your back in the first place, use these back safety techniques: Adjust your workstation to fit. If your […]

California workers’ compensation reform: SB 863 brings permanent disability changes

Previous workers’ compensation laws in California created a situation where the costs associated with providing medical treatment and benefits to injured workers and administering workers’ compensation claims had begun to rise significantly. If costs were permitted to continue to rise, employers would be faced with increases in their workers’ compensation insurance rates, which would add […]

Was HR Exec Fired for Opposing Age Discrimination?

An HR executive, allegedly terminated for poor performance and not complying with the terms of his performance probation, argued that his termination was in retaliation for complaining about the CEO’s age-related comments. Background. In 2005, “Russell” was hired as vice president of worldwide human resources (HR) for Corbis Corporation. In July 2007, the CEO who […]

Stressed Out? You’re Not the Only One

Here’s a sobering statistic. More than one-third of American workers experience chronic work stress, with low salaries, lack of opportunity for advancement, and heavy workloads topping the list of contributing factors, according to a new national survey by the American Psychological Association’s Center for Organizational Excellence. Despite a growing interest in workplace wellness, only 36 […]

IT Cracking Down on March Madness—Unless You’re the Boss

March Madness is here, and it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement if you’re a sports fan. But before you try to sneak a peek at scores at your work station, you may want to think twice. One-third of IT professionals will take some action to prepare for March Madness, according to a […]