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What I Learned from My Own Mistakes

In the movies the leading man often was portrayed as the strong, silent type. A man of few words, but those words carried a lot of weight. Think Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry muttering, “Go ahead.  Make my day.” But as I was reminded recently, in business being a man of few words isn’t such […]

How To Keep Former Employees Quiet

“Rant sites” are one of the darker aspects of social media—they’re where people go to air their grievances in a public online forum. And if someone has just left your company under less-than-optimal circumstances, the focus of their rantings could well be you.

When an Employee Wants to Resign but Continue Working

by Susan Hartmus Hiser Q: We have an employee who has been having performance problems. He has offered to resign in lieu of being placed on a performance improvement plan, but he wants to continue working for another couple of months because he feels he has a better chance of getting a new job if […]

Medical Evidence, Lay Testimony Sufficient to Prove FMLA Claim

by Lauren E. Moak The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided an issue previously unresolved by the court. In doing so, it held that a combination of medical evidence and lay testimony is sufficient to show an employee was “incapacitated” as defined by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The decision overturned […]

Survey Says: Most Offer Disability Insurance, but with Longer Waiting Periods

By Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR Just My E-pinion LOGO Our ongoing BLR/HR Daily Advisor Employee Fringe Benefit Survey Series recently queried readers about disability and group insurance. Seventy-seven percent of respondents offer short-term disability, and 82 percent offer long-term disability. Meanwhile, 5 percent offer group auto insurance, 5 percent offer group homeowners’ insurance, and 13 […]

Teaching Managers to Resist Retaliation

Yesterday’s Advisor exposed the danger zones of retaliation. Today, how to teach managers to avoid retaliation and a look at a unique 10-minute training system that keeps managers and supervisors out of legal hot water. How can you keep your managers out of the retaliation danger zone? First of all, they have to recognize the […]

Retaliation—Easy to Avoid, Hard to Stop

Retaliation—surely the dumbest mistake managers make, and one of the most expensive. Fortunately, it’s also the easiest mistake to avoid. Peter worried that a dangerous chemical was being used without proper protection, and he reported it to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). His boss, Sheila, was not happy. “Peter’s wrong,” she said. […]

Do Age-Based Early Retirement Programs Violate Human Rights Code?

By Ralph Nero and Ida Martin Are pension plans that provide age-based early retirement programs discriminatory? In a decision that may be important across Canada, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has recently answered no. In Kovacs v. Arcelor Mittal Montreal, Kovacs argued that he had been discriminated against on the basis of his age by […]

FMLA: Who’s an ‘Employee,’ and How Far Is 75 Miles?

Yesterday’s Advisor hit the first two prongs of the FMLA eligibility test. Today, we’ll cover the "50 employees within 75 miles" prong and we’ll get an introduction to the popular "FMLA Bible." The third part of the three-prong test for employee eligibility (go here for the first two prongs) has nothing to do with the […]