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Case Study: Employee Challenges DEI Training Video—But Neglects to Watch It

In recent months, many employers have faced increased scrutiny of and challenges to their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including claims that the programs amount to “reverse discrimination.” In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit (which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) rejected an employee’s reverse discrimination claim under […]

NLRB

New Decision on Misclassification Continues NLRB Trend

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) latest decision in a case involving the misclassification of workers is further evidence of the Board’s willingness to reverse precedents set under the previous administration, but the decision doesn’t lessen the risk of misclassifying employees as independent contractors.

How the Hell Can You Communicate if You Refuse to Talk? (Lee Iacocca)

“How the hell can you communicate if you refuse to talk to people?” Consultant Andrew Botwin quoted auto industry icon Lee Iacocca and illustrated with a picture of Lee and Snoop Dog hanging out. Botwin, founder of SPC Consulting, offered the following tips for “communicating up” at BLR’s 2013 Strategic HR Summit held recently in […]

Do you need an attitude adjustment?

by Dan Oswald Years ago, I heard a story about a couple of salespeople that left a lasting impression on me. The story went like this: A British shoe manufacturer sent two salespeople to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential. The first salesperson reported back, “There is no potential here—nobody wears shoes.” […]

4th Circuit Decision Highlights Changed Adverse Employment Action Standard

The Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis set the stage for an increase in claims arising out of circumstances in which an employee experiences a change in their working conditions that doesn’t rise to the level of a pay cut, demotion, or termination. The effects of the Court’s decision were […]

questions

Key Questions to Ask When Developing an Action Learning Model

A lot of the learning that companies and employees do throughout their training processes revolves around organizational theory or industry best practices. While it’s great to stretch the imaginations of trainees in looking at potential scenarios, most companies are frequently faced with enough real-world issues to focus training on the here and now. Those real-world […]

Employers Requiring Staff to Return to Work Risk a Talent Exodus

As the COVID-19 pandemic began to recede early in summer 2021, employers around the country started to firm up their plans for a return to the office after over a year of large-scale remote work. While the emergence of the Delta variant has paused or delayed many of those plans, a significant number of employers […]

Unemployment Compensation: Contested Claim Backfires Into $1.3 Million Lawsuit; 4 Must-Know Guidelines For Handling Claims

Some employers routinely protest claims for unemployment benefits without much consideration of the facts of each case. But one company recently discovered that an automatic challenge can boomerang into a costly lawsuit. We’ll look at what happened and offer some practical legal tips on how to approach unemployment insurance claims.