Author: Stephen Bruce, PhD, PHR

Please Sue Me Part II–Documentation and the ‘60 Minutes’ Approach

In yesterday’s Advisor, we featured three of Hunter Lott’s tips from his book Please Sue Me. Today, we look at two more and at a work-saving policy writing tool. Lott, who shared his tips during a SHRM conference, is a partner at HCap International, a human capital training and consulting organization in Lawrence, Kansas. His […]

Congress Approves Expanded Disability Bias Protections–Get Ready for the Changes

Last week, Congress approved important legislation, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (S. 3406), to amend the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide broader protections for disabled workers and turn back the clock on Supreme Court rulings that Congress deemed too restrictive of disabled employees’ rights. President Bush is expected to sign the Act, and […]

Please Sue Me–How Managers Beg for Lawsuits

It used to be so much easier, says Hunter Lott. “If you won’t work, I’ll fire you or cut your pay.” Try that now, he says. Employees will say, “Big deal, go ahead and I’ll sue.” Lott is a partner at HCap International, a human capital training and consulting organization in Lawrence, Kansas, and the […]

Job Descriptions–Your First Line of Defense

In the last issue of the Advisor, we covered methodology and appraisal in layoffs. Today, we look at the role of job descriptions–and at a surprising new job description development and storage system. If anyone questions your selections for layoff (and yes, someone is going to question them), and you considered skills and priorities for […]

It’s Layoff Time–and EEOC Is Watching

How’s this for a news flash: People don’t like to get fired. And when they do get fired, they look for someone else to blame. Guess who? “You fired me because I’m X (fill in the blank with the name of a protected class).” That’s one lawsuit, but that’s not the end of it. The […]

Kids Back to School–Parents Too?

Summer is over, and the kids are back at school—and so are their parents. As you well know, some of your employees will undoubtedly be traveling to their children’s schools at various times throughout the school year for meetings and activities. Do you know the rules regarding when parents can take work leave to participate […]

Workplace negativity–Don’t just say NO

By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady BLR CEO Bob Brady is on vacation this week, so we’re offering one of his most popular columns that deals with a problem that most all HR managers face—negativity. A reader recently wrote to ask how to deal with “negativity,” specifically, employees who can see only the dark […]

Taming Intermittent Leave FMLA (Ha, Ha, Says Expert)

“Let’s talk about how to handle abuse of intermittent leave rules,” says attorney Jeffrey A. Wortman. Then he chuckles, underscoring the near impossibility of easily managing intermittent leave under the FMLA. Wortman, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and Nancy M. Cooper a partner in the Portland, Oregon, office of […]

Will the Brinker Meal and Rest Breaks Decision Stand?

Most California employers know by now that a California appeals court recently issued an important decision in Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court, interpreting the state’s meal and rest period requirements and giving employers and employees welcome flexibility in scheduling breaks. (See our complete coverage here.)