2020 from New England Viewpoint: It Was ‘Wicked Awful!’
Brighter days are ahead, but looking back helps us to appreciate the future so much more.
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Diversity and Inclusion: Driving Business Success Through a Strong Culture
For years, diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts were nonexistent in most companies. Even after D&I gained more widespread focus, corporate efforts to promote D&I were largely symbolic and vague or focused purely on the numbers—i.e., seeking to fill X% of positions with women or people of color.
Princeton Pays 1M in Gender-Based Pay Discrimination Settlement
Princeton University recently agreed to pay nearly $1 million in cumulative back wages to 106 female professors whom the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) found to be victims of gender-based pay discrimination.
IRS Seeking Comments on Paperwork Burden of COBRA’s Notice Rules
Have you noticed how much notice issues regarding federal continuation coverage seem to be cropping up everywhere—such as in the news, the courts, and the administrative agencies? Well, the latest matter involves part of the regular evaluation of paperwork requirements conducted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Kansas City Passes CROWN Act to Protect Natural Hair Types
Kansas City, Missouri, is the latest jurisdiction to implement a “CROWN Act” ordinance, prohibiting discrimination based on natural hair types and hairstyles commonly associated with race and racial identity.
Employee Mental Health in the Aftermath of the 2020 Election
As any sampling of memes on Facebook or Instagram will reveal, 2020 has been a wild year. In fact, we don’t even need memes to understand that!
Expect COVID-Friendly Hiring Practices to Continue Well into 2021
Even though the COVID-19 vaccine is being distributed across the nation, mass inoculation may not occur until mid-2021, which means the same hiring practices you’ve been using throughout the pandemic will still be in play in the new year.
Healthcare Providers Wrestle with Religious Bias Claims
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has dealt with a wide variety of discrimination claims against healthcare providers. The OCR recently announced the resolution of two major complaints, which should serve as a reminder to pay close attention to actions that could be discriminatory.
3 COVID-19 Lessons to Help Us Prepare for a Better 2021
From the rapid shutdown of the workplace, to the gradual return to the office, to the day-by-day challenges of coping with stress and dealing with guidance updates, COVID-19 has certainly kept me on my toes. Here are some reflections on when the virus became reality, where it has taken us this past year, and how […]
The Importance of Taking Good Notes
Effective note taking may seem like such a basic skill that it’s too elementary to include in a corporate training program or so fundamental that you’d assume all employees would have already learned it at some point. Unfortunately, that is often not the case.