Author: Kathryn McGovern

EEOC Plans Disability Hiring Goal for Federal Employers

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced May 15 its intent to issue regulations that create a plan for federal employers to serve as “model employers” of workers with disabilities — a plan that may include a hiring goal, according to the commission. The announcement came just weeks after a 7-percent hiring goal for federal […]

Are Your Employees Trained on Discrimination Definitions?

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently grappled with the question of what constitutes actionable harm to an employee in an employment discrimination case. Let’s look at what the court decided. Facts Mark Laster, an African-American male, worked for the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan. In June 2010, President Barack Obama was a guest speaker […]

EEOC Lawyer Says Leave Is a Very Reasonable ADA Accommodation

While most courts agree that coming to work regularly is an essential job function, many courts also have found that leave for a specified period of time is a reasonable accommodation if it does not cause an undue hardship. Chai Feldblum, a commissioner with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, discussed “leave as a reasonable accommodation” under the ADA […]

Do You Have an Employee Wellness Plan?

Employee wellness plans have been gaining popularity in recent years, and with good reason: they can benefit both employees and employers. An employee wellness program is simply a program that intends to promote the health and well-being of employees. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but the key is that the program […]

More Pay? No, Better Recruiting

Case Study: Company Situation A large high-tech firm was experiencing a significant amount of annual turnover by their sales reps, says DiMisa, who is senior vice president and the head of the Sales Force Effectiveness Practice at Sibson Consulting. Initial analysis showed that the cost associated with the company’s turnover was more than $50 million […]

$2 Million Mistake—Hiring the Wrong Salesperson

And it’s not just dollars, adds DiMisa, who is senior vice president and the head of the Sales Force Effectiveness Practice at Sibson Consulting. Your salespeople are the company’s ambassadors, the conduit to the customer, usually the first impression, and maybe the only impression. You don’t want the wrong people in those roles, DiMisa says. […]

Employers and Health Plans: Panelists Don’t See ACA Exodus

The jury’s still out on the impact of health care reform on employment‐based health benefits, but predictions of mass instability are certainly not materializing, reform experts said May 15 at a policy forum sponsored by the Employee Benefits Research Institute in Washington, D.C. The Affordable Care Act will not trigger a rapid exodus from employer-sponsored […]

Friending, Unfriending, and Linking In on Social Media

Casual References Casual references on LinkedIn or other professional social media sites pose legal risks: Defamation (if they are negative and untrue). Misrepresentation (if they are positive and untrue). Evidence of pretext in an EEO claim (if you terminate for poor performance but you’ve written a glowing recommendation on LinkedIn). Segal’s recommendation: Make clear to […]

The ABCs of ASTD Becoming ATD

Here’s how the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) explained its recent name change, to the Association for Talent Development (ATD): This change recognizes the dynamic growth and influence the broader training and development profession has today and will in the future. The scope and global impact of the field has grown dramatically since […]