Employee’s MySpace is Not Your Space, Says Federal Jury
If you’ve thought about firing employees for things they post to social media websites, a recent decision by a federal jury sends a clear message that you should think again.
Archives
Avoidance Discrimination—Silent, Subtle, Dangerous
Four men and a woman are at an out-of-town sales meeting. The men decide to go to a strip club, but because they don’t want to be guilty of harassment, they don’t invite the woman. "And they are right, there is no harassment, but there is discrimination," says Attorney Jonathan Segal. Or take a similar […]
Boeing May Have Discriminated in RIF Process, Ninth Circuit Rules
According to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), managers at the Washington-state based Boeing Corporation discriminated against female employees when they administered the company’s Reduction in Force (RIF) evaluations, used to determine which employees would be laid off. One Boeing employee, Antonia Castron, asked to be transferred away from a manager who often stated […]
Do Employee Facebook or MySpace “Friend Requests” Make You Uneasy?
If getting “friend requests” from employees on Facebook or MySpace makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone.
Mental Health Parity Changes Take Effect January 1, 2010
It’s time for employers to examine their health benefits to see if they’re in compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008, which takes effect on January 1, 2010. The law applies to most employers with more than 50 employees. It requires covered employers that offer a health insurance plan with mental […]
Subordinate Dating: ‘Most Dangerous Workplace Activity’
What about supervisors asking subordinates for dates? “It’s not recommended, in fact, it’s the most dangerous action in the workplace,” says Attorney Jonathan Segal. Segal’s remarks came as part of his “Harassment Quiz” at SHRM’s recent Annual Convention and Exposition in New Orleans. Segal is a partner in the Philadelphia office of law firm Duane […]
Absenteeism, Presenteeism, and Keeping the Workplace – and Workers – Healthy
By Julie Athey After a brief respite offered by the warm summer months, the swine flu is back in action just in time for the beginning of the school year and all the germ-spreading opportunities that offers. The resurgence of the H1N1 virus coincides with the regular flu season, one result of which is that […]
Arbitrator, Saskatchewan Court Give Jerk Employee a Perk, Not Work
What should an arbitrator do when a fired employee is too bad to be reinstated, but dismissal was for one reason or another unjustified? Surprisingly, for Canadian arbitrators the answer seems increasingly to be: “Give ‘em a big payout.” They are increasingly awarding these unsalvageable employees bigger awards than good employees would get in a […]
‘Red Flags’ Rule—What Are Your Obligations?
Yesterday’s Advisor introduced the Red Flags Rules for preventing identity theft. Today, we learn more about red flags, and we introduce an up-coming webinar on how to protect your customers’ and employees’ identities. Here are more typical red flags for identity theft. (Go here for the first three types of flags) 4. Suspicious Account Activity […]
Hot List: BusinessWeek’s Best Seller List
BusinessWeek magazine ranks the 10 best selling hardcover and paperback business books for September 2009 and gives a short summary. 1. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. As you’d expect with Gladwell, there are lots of surprises in his explanation of why some people succeed fantastically. Pluck and smarts get less play here […]