Author: Jaclyn West

Lady GaGa’s Door is Open

Litigation Value: More fodder for Darryl’s racial harassment claim and $1,000 to re-write Sabre’s Open Door Policy. Where to begin, where to begin? I knew as soon as I saw the Hallowe’en costumes that we were in for quite an evening. And I must say, I agree with Kelly — can’t Michael just let the employees […]

Debunking Common FMLA Myths

by Joseph C. Pettygrove The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was very complicated when it was originally enacted in 1993. The sheer number of complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the courts since then confirms that employers and employees have long disagreed about how the law applies in their individual […]

NLRB Issues Decisions on Electronic Notice, Compound Interest

Yesterday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released two decisions dealing with remedial policies. The first decision addressed compounding interest on back pay, and the second dealt with electronically notifying employees and union members about NLRB orders in unfair labor practice cases. In Kentucky River Medical Center, 356 NLRB No. 8, the NLRB unanimously adopted […]

Overtime Class-Action News

By Donna Gallant The much-awaited appeal decision in Fresco v. CIBC was released in September. The appeal court declined to interfere with the original decision of Justice Lax. She had denied Dara Fresco’s bid to bring a class action against CIBC for unpaid overtime. This is one of three high-profile cases we have been following, […]

Accommodating disabled workers–undue hardship in hard times?

by Chuck Harrison When a warehouse worker was injured in a car accident in 2008, his employer did the right thing: Maersk Distribution accommodated his graduated return to work and provided him with light duties. Maersk stepped up again when the employee’s shoulder injury was further aggravated. But when the economy took a turn for […]

Hot List: Bestselling “Business Life” books on Amazon.com

Amazon.com updates its list of the bestselling books every hour. Here is a snapshot of what is hot right now, this Monday morning, October 25, in the “Business Life” section of the “Business and Investing” category. 1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. A new edition of the author’s principles […]

Doing the Wrong Thing – $8 Million; Doing the Right Thing – Priceless

Just the other day I read a story in one of our publications about Kara Jorud. Kara worked for the retailer Michaels as a store manager beginning in 2001. By all accounts, she was an exemplary manager and a hard worker. Her job required her to work extremely long hours, including weekends. In late 2007, […]

Corporate Espionage for Dummies

Prison Sentences for Michael, Dwight, and Jim: Up to seven years for interception of oral communications plus up to seven years for attempted theft of trade secrets. There may also be criminal conspiracy prosecutions against Meredith, Oscar, and Ryan. Litigation Value: Danny Cordray’s action for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Dunder Mifflin […]

Practical Steps for Addressing Theft in the Workplace

by Robert A. Berry Business is tough. It’s even harder in today’s climate — and that’s assuming all of your employees are working for the good of the business. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. It may be a valued and trusted employee with many years of dedicated service, or it may be someone new […]

End of the Canada-wide Information Technology Program

By Susan Bradley and Gilda Villaran In November 2009, we started a discussion on the fundamentals of Canadian work permits. Until now, Canadian employers didn’t have to obtain a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Services Canada for certain information technology (IT) professionals. Employers didn’t have to prove that they had advertised the position, that they […]