Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
How many “Fs” does it take until it’s illegal? “You don’t care,” says attorney Jonathan Segal, “because long before it’s illegal it’s unacceptable, and you should act.” It all depends, says Segal. Say someone just got some terrible news and he says, “Oh, f—.” Is that harassment? No, says Segal, but it may be inappropriate. […]
In yesterday’s Advisor, we featured attorney Joseph Beachboard’s tips for employers doing background checks using social websites. Today, we move on to his specific recommendations and introduce an audio conference on controlling blogs and other Internet challenges. Beachboard’s comments came at the recent SHRM Annual Convention and Exposition in New Orleans. He is a shareholder […]
Is it now negligence if you don’t do background checks on MySpaceTM and Facebook? “We’re not there yet for every job,” says attorney Joseph Beachboard, “but it’s getting there for sensitive jobs like installers and home care providers.” Beachboard’s comments came at the recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Convention and Exposition in […]
Reacting to the persistent economic downturn and the inevitable reductions in force that have followed, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued guidance for employers regarding how to draft severance agreements that release potential bias claims.
By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady Your plate is probably overly full with downsizing, trying to make ends meet, and trying to keep your budget projections at least somewhat in line with reality. The last thing you need to be dealing with is a lawsuit brought by a disgruntled employee or former employee. But […]
Things are getting really busy, and now employee A wants FMLA leave, B has jury duty, and C needs an accommodation. It can be frustrating, but employees have rights, and it’s foolhardy to challenge them. In yesterdays’ Advisor we began covering 10 essential steps for avoiding employee lawsuits. Here are steps 5 through 10: Step […]
Maybe—but it depends on how your paid time off benefits are structured. In California, there are two types of paid time off: time that “vests” and is considered to be part of an employee’s wages, and time that does not vest.
If an employee mentions feeling harassed, bullied, or discriminated against, but is concerned about retaliation, is the employer required to get the complaining employee’s permission before starting an investigation into the problem?
As workplaces become more technology-dependent, more and more companies are hiring information technology (IT) employees to work in-house.
In almost every case, when you investigate the underlying cause of an employee lawsuit, you’ll find that the manager or supervisor either caused it or could have prevented it. Managers and supervisors cause lawsuits simply by: Saying the wrong thing or asking the wrong questions Treating employees unfairly Humiliating, harassing, or retaliating, or Doing nothing […]