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The importance of showing up

I was watching a movie recently in which the lead character was up for a prestigious award. While she was visiting an elderly shut-in, the subject of the award came up. The shut-in confidently stated that the woman deserved to win the award. But the nominee wasn’t certain she was worthy of such recognition, so […]

Take a Load Off!

Begin by training workers to recognize the hazards, including: Slipping on wet or oily surfaces Tripping on broken floor surfaces Falling off dock edges Injuries from falls or unsecured dock plates Injuries caused by motion if someone forgets to chock trailer wheels Carbon monoxide exposure Back injuries from heavy lifting Injuries from run-ins with forklifts […]

‘It’s My First Amendment Right to Discuss Wages’

Beachboard, who is a shareholder in the Los Angeles and Torrence, California offices of national employment law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., shared his model computer usage policy at the SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition held recently in Atlanta, Georgia. ‘I’m just exercising my First Amendment rights’ Employees who are chastised or […]

Making restrictive covenants enforceable

by Ralph N. Nero and Keri L. Bennett Many of our recent articles have focused on decisions involving employees’ breaches or threatened breaches of restrictive covenants. Including restrictive covenants, such as nonsolicitation and noncompetition covenants, into employment contracts is important for employers to protect their business interests. In order to be enforceable, however, such covenants […]

‘I’m Just Exercising My First Amendment Rights’

Special from Atlanta–SHRM Annual Conference and Exhibition Employees act like children sometimes, and that puts the employer in the position of parent, says attorney Joseph Beachboard. And managers have to parent with policies, training, and discipline. Beachboard, who is a shareholder in the Los Angeles and Torrence, California offices of national employment law firm Ogletree, […]

Retailers and Hospitality Employers Face Steeper Reform Cost Increases

Health reform’s requirement that employers insure work forces will hit the retail and hospitality industries harder than others, because they are staffed with more low-wage and part-time workers, consulting firm Mercer LLC reported on Aug. 8. Forty-six percent of surveyed firms in the retail and hospitality sectors predicted health care cost increases of at least […]

6th Cir. Allows Bus Driver Trainee’s ADA Suit to Continue

To bring a discrimination claim, a trainee with a disability needs only show that she was qualified to participate in the job training; she doesn’t need to prove that she was qualified for prospective job, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals ruled Aug. 8. The case, Rosebrough v. Buckeye Valley High School, involved Tammy […]

Going for Gold

In honor of the Olympics, I have decided to hand out some well deserved medals to our Dunder Mifflin friends for keeping us laughing all these seasons.  I’ll only be handing out gold medals, because that’s the only color on my yogurt lids and I have run out of paperclips for the chains.  Without further […]

Privacy Training on Electronic Monitoring: A Case Study

When conducting privacy training on electronic monitoring, share the following case study with your employees: In this case, Janice Collins complains to her supervisor Bill Smith that one of her male co-workers, Jerry Bartolli, is viewing pornographic websites on the job. Furthermore, Collins says that Bartolli has been sending sexually explicit e-mails to several female […]

Social media fame: harmless or damaging to employers?

Seen any viral videos lately? Maybe a more pertinent question is: Fired anyone over a viral video lately? Videos and other social media posts run the gamut from cute kittens to dancing wedding parties. Sometimes, though, they delve into more serious subjects and become statements on political and social issues — issues that can embarrass […]