Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
There are dozens of details to take care of in the day-to-day operation of your department and your company. We give you case studies, news updates, best practices and training tips that keep your organization fully in compliance with ever-changing employment law, and you fully aware of emerging HR trends.
Employer preparation for preparing for health care reform’s pay-or-play provisions, especially data reporting (under Sections 6055 and 6056) to the IRS, can be complicated by: (1) changes in workers’ employment status (from part-time to full-time); (2) an organization’s switching from one measurement method to another; and (3) the structure of controlled groups and subsidiaries, speakers […]
Yesterday’s Advisor covered several aspects of pregnancy discrimination as laid out in recent guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Today, more about pregnancy plus notice of a timely new webinar on benefits for same-sex couples. [Go here for the first part of the discussion on pregnancy discrimination] Requiring Leave May an employer […]
Pregnancy discrimination is often motivated by concern—pregnant women don’t need to be stressed—or chauvinism—pregnant women should take leave. In fact, though, those attitudes are discriminatory. And the plot thickens if a disability or FMLA leave is involved. EEOC’s recent guidance helps employers figure out where they stand. Pregnancy discrimination is often motivated by concern—pregnant women […]
An employee who was “forced” to work both during her pregnancy and immediately after her child’s birth, rather than take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, may have a viable FMLA interference claim when the employer later penalizes her, to the point of employment termination, for alleged poor performance, the 11th U.S. Circuit […]
by Jeffrey A. Gruen New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has signed the state’s “ban the box” legislation, meaning that most employers will be prohibited from asking applicants about their criminal histories until the conclusion of the first job interview. The legislature passed the Opportunity to Compete Act in June, and Christie signed it on August […]
Guest columnist, Ryan O’Connell, confesses at HR.BLR.com® that sometimes it’s necessary to strip away all the preconceived notions about how to succeed in an industry, reshuffle roles, and take an untraditional approach to change things for the better. That’s even true—maybe especially true—in industries as steeped in tradition as winemaking. At NakedWines.com, O’Connell says his […]
An employee who took “unexcused” leave from work when a dog bite turned into a serious health condition was fired after failing to submit medical certification forms in a timely manner. The deadline complied with the Family and Medical Leave Act; however, a federal district court held that a jury should decide whether the employer […]
Sometimes it’s necessary to strip away all the preconceived notions about how to succeed in an industry, reshuffle roles, and take an untraditional approach to change things for the better. That’s even true—maybe especially true—in industries as steeped in tradition as winemaking. Typically, there are three groups involved in winemaking: The winemakers, The distributors, and […]
by Andrew J. Sommer and Alka Ramchandani San Francisco’s new “ban the box” law, titled the Fair Chance Ordinance, will limit the timing and scope of inquiries into an applicant’s or employee’s criminal history when it takes effect August 13. In addition to banning inquiries into criminal history on job applications, the ordinance also places […]
When investigating a breach of IT network security leading to leakage of protected health information, HHS looks for consistency in the covered entity’s response — with both HIPAA rules and the organization’s own written procedures, according to a former official with HHS’ Office for Civil Rights. OCR tends to “expect a perfect assessment done the […]